KOMATSU & FlyFreely Case Study

Industry

Construction/Manufacturing

Challenge

Operating across different clients in varying locations meant a mountain of compliance paperwork and obligations. A process of booklets, paper forms, Google Earth and a multitude of spreadsheets created delays and an extremely onerous level of governance that was a major blocker for operations.

Results

FlyFreely created a single-source of truth worthy of scaling their operations on. Standardised and automated workflows meant faster, easier and more consistent missions across all clients.

Key Product

FlyFreely (Teams Plan)

www.komatsu.com.au

16+

Advanced Pilots

Jurisdiction Operations

2nd

largest construction manufacturer

“We went from countless spreadsheets & paper forms to everything our drone program needed in a single source of truth. From insurance reports, to repeatable missions and quick airspace checks, we can run everything easily. We can access it all at the click of a button.”

James Mackenzie

Drone Product Manager @ KOMATSU

About KOMATSU

Komatsu is the world's second largest manufacturer of construction equipment and mining equipment in the world. Komatsu provides essential equipment, technologies and services to the construction, mining, energy, government, waste and quarry industries.

The Challenge

As Komatsu started and scaled its drone operations, issues began to arise. Operating across different clients in varying locations meant a mountain of compliance paperwork and obligations. Originally utilising an improvised process of booklets, paper forms, Google Earth and a multitude of spreadsheets, this fragmented approach created complexities, delays and an extremely onerous level of governance that made operations and reporting a nightmare.

The Solution

FlyFreely Drone Management Platform:

- Offline Capability: The Field App's functionality in areas with minimal network access revolutionized the way pilots plan, fly and collect data (auto-syncing once back in connectivity).
- Simple Reporting: Reporting for all of the drone program - regular flight logs & conformance, to maintenance & compliance reviews. With one click, we can generate a report for our insurers, then get right back to flying.
- Repeatable missions: The mission workflows can help all pilots quickly plan and complete a range of missions. Repeatable missions make it even easier for pilots to copy and run fast compliant flights in seconds.
- Segmenting operations: FlyFreely can separate operations according to jurisdictions, whilst being able to share down authorities and visibility for all of Komatsu’s operations.

The Results

Operational Efficiency: With FlyFreely, disparate systems were consolidated into one. The team went from using multiple systems down to one that can now be accessed in the field and office.
Safety & Compliance: Pilots now have standardized workflows, checklists and JSA’s aligned with CASA-approved operations manuals, leading to safer and more compliant operations.
Pilot Ease of Use: Having a compliance system is important, but having one that is simple and easy for any pilot to access and fly is extremely valuable and important. Our pilots are busy people, and FlyFreely now allows them to easy plan, execute and collect the data they need for clients in seconds.
Informed Decision-Making: The Chief Remote Pilot can now efficiently monitor and report on operations across the company and feel comfortable with CASA compliance.