From Paper to Drones: The Evolution of Utility Inspections
- Jeannine Stoll
- Sep 24
- 2 min read
Updated: Sep 26
In the early 1900s, as the United States rapidly electrified, the first long-distance transmission lines were strung across wooden poles by hand. Over time, these lines evolved into an intricate network of power infrastructure stretching across deserts, forests, and mountains.
For decades, the way utilities inspected and maintained this infrastructure remained largely unchanged.
Then: Climbing Poles with a Notebook
Back in the days, Mike worked as a utility inspector in rural Colorado. His days began before sunrise, as he drove long distances with a climbing harness, notepad, and 35mm film camera.
At each site, he strapped on his gear, climbed a pole, and visually inspected conductors, insulators, and crossarms. Notes were handwritten, defects sketched, and photos snapped — hoping the film survived the week.
Back at the office, everything was typed, developed, and filed manually. Data was siloed, making it hard to retrieve and impossible to compare over time.
Now: Scaling Inspection Programs
Fast forward to 2025. Liam still manages inspectors — but instead of climbing poles, they pilot coordinated drone missions covering hundreds of miles of lines weekly.
Standardized, georeferenced flight plans consistently capture the right images. Data uploads automatically, and teams review results from the office, flagging issues and planning maintenance without leaving the ground.
What used to take days in the field now takes hours — with consistent, scalable results.
Extending to Automation
For assets that require frequent monitoring — such as substations, solar farms, and remote lines — Liam utilizes autonomous dock systems that operate daily, capturing imagery and thermal data without human intervention.
These always-on inspections keep critical assets under constant watch and free up inspectors for higher-value tasks.
From Data Chaos to Coordination
Early drone programs produced disorganized and inconsistent images that were difficult to use. Today, platforms like Drone Harmony Asset Inspector help utilities:
Collect consistent imagery for each asset
Automatically have the data structured, sorted, geolinked and uploaded to the cloud
Mark findings in the field or in the office and annotate them to gain actionable insights
Integrate results with GIS, enterprise, and AI tools.
Instead of folders of photos, teams now work with rich, time-stamped data that drives asset management decisions.
Benefits of the Modern Drone Harmony Approach
Inspect More Assets with Fewer Experts
Field teams use Drone Harmony to collect consistent, reliable data — while experts work remotely to inspect and analyze. This means:
Fewer site visits
Faster turnarounds
Broader coverage
Oversight and Control into Every Inspection
Gain full visibility into every stage of the inspection process. From capture to sign-off, you know what’s been done, by whom, and what happens next.
End-to-end visibility
Sign-off tracking
Action audit trail
Data That Defends Every Maintenance Decision
Structured, verifiable data with visual documentation provides clarity and justification for every maintenance action — no guesswork, no overreach.
Verifiable data
Visual proof
Optimized maintenance
Explore real-world examples of drone-based utility inspections in our YouTube playlist Asset Inspections.
Want to see how Drone Harmony supports modern utility inspections?
