Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (SRNS) Site Services and the Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) teams are expanding their use of drone technology to enhance Savannah River Site (SRS) infrastructure inspections— improving safety, reducing labor needs and delivering measurable cost savings.

In 2023, SRNS and SRNL formalized a Service Level Agreement (SLA) to support aerial inspections of key structures and systems, including domestic water elevated storage tanks, river water piping corridors, fire water tanks, roof systems, power distribution, steam pipelines, and other critical assets that support ongoing operations.

During each mission, Site Services Reliability Centered Maintenance (RCM), Operations, and Engineering personnel collaborate with a SRNL pilot and spotters to review real‑time imagery, enabling qualified staff to perform detailed visual assessments directly from the drone controller interface.

“By integrating drone technology on-site, we are redefining how maintenance inspections are performed, especially for elevated and remote assets,” said Dawson Oglesby, SRNS Site Services RCM Team. “In scenarios where safety is a concern, drones allow us to assess hard-to-reach areas without placing personnel at risk. Not only does this improve safety, but it also streamlines the inspection process, saving both time and costs while delivering accurate, real-time results.”

Each flight includes certified Federal Aviation Administration Part 107 pilots and at least one visual observer. The NNSA Savannah River Field Office Aviation Manager and the SRS Operations Center are notified before each mission, and access to inspection areas is restricted to maintain safety. All new operations undergo a Flight Readiness Review Board evaluation to identify and mitigate safety and security risks before takeoff.

Traditional inspections of certain areas require substantial manpower and physical access. For example, inspecting river water piping in wetland terrain previously required two to six workers to cut access paths, haul equipment and navigate challenging ground conditions. Drone‑based inspections eliminate land disturbances, reduce labor requirements, improve safety, and accelerate assessment timelines. In one case, transitioning to UAS inspections resulted in more than $43,000 in cost avoidance. As a result, SRNS Site Services leadership has committed to partnering with the SRNL UAS team for river water piping assessments moving forward, reducing the need for invasive ground access while capturing high‑quality imagery to support maintenance decisions.

“We’re always looking for safer, more efficient ways to verify that our systems meet regulatory standards and are operating as designed,” said Randy Keenan, SRNS Director of Site Services. “Using UAS, our personnel can evaluate conditions in a fraction of the time it takes to walk or climb an inspection route, while quickly identifying erosion concerns, equipment issues, or structural wear.”

Drone technology has also proven to be safer and more effective for regulatory inspections, once performed by staff climbing elevated structures. UAS flight assessments of domestic water elevated storage tanks can verify hatch locks, aviation warning lights, vent screens and other compliance‑related components without requiring personnel to scale the towers.

The UAS program began in 2017 to support SRNL, SRS contractors, and research and development efforts, later expanding to serve partners across the Armed Forces, federal agencies, law enforcement and the intelligence community. Today, the team has conducted hundreds of flights supporting infrastructure inspections, emergency response exercises, radiation detection, aerial photography, training events and Light Detection and Ranging surveys.

The SRNS Site Services RCM team continues to work closely with the SRNL UAS team to assess emerging technology needs, benchmark UAS best practices across the DOE Complex and pilot expanded applications for preventive and predictive maintenance. To date, the RCM team has facilitated more than 50 joint inspection flights as additional project managers adopt UAS as an inspection tool.

“UAS technology has become a powerful asset for SRS,” said Troy Lorier, SRNL UAS Operations Manager and Aviation Safety Officer. “This SLA ensures we can deliver consistent, high‑quality inspection support while helping SRNS improve efficiency, reduce risks and make more informed maintenance decisions.”

The partnership provides a standardized, reliable process for applying drone technology across mission‑critical infrastructure. As adoption grows, both organizations anticipate continued improvements in safety performance, operational efficiency and cost savings.