Aviation assistance has been essential to our industry since the mid-1900’s.
Today, as technology has advanced, the use of aviation has become more prevalent and unique solutions are becoming more viable. As a subsidiary of Quanta Services, Inc., SERVICE ELECTRIC Company has the ability to leverage our relationship with Quanta Aviation Services to identify solutions for any project. We partner with our preferred aviation vendors to provide detailed project plans and identify the safest way to complete your scope.
SEC divides our aviation services by two categories: Manned, or un-manned.
What We Offer:
- Manned Operations: This would include any aircraft in which the pilot is onboard during operations.
- Unmanned Operations: This would include any aircraft in which the pilot is on the ground during flight operations.
Our Typical services
Manned Operations
Manned operations are further divided by: Light Duty, Medium Duty, and Heavy Duty operations:
- Light Duty: Tasks that are accomplished with this method are typically performed with smaller helicopters (ex. MD500) and include: rope pulling, marker ball installation, structure transfers, light material delivery, and crew transports.
- Medium Duty: Tasks that are accomplished with this method are typically performed with medium sized helicopters (S-61 or UH-1N) and include: general pole or material delivery, and crew and small equipment transport.
- Heavy Duty: Tasks that are accomplished with this method are typically performed with large helicopters (CH-47 or S-64) and include: general pole or tower delivery, foundation and heavy material delivery, and crew/larger equipment transport.
Unmanned Operations
Unmanned operations are typically referred to as UAS/UAV aka “Drone” operations. SERVICE ELECTRIC Company currently offers two classes of drone work classified as Light Duty and Heavy Duty:
- Light Duty: These operations are typically performed by a single pilot with small UAV (Drone) and spotter. Applications include but may not be limited to: aerial photography, job progress documentation, aerial inspections, storm damage assessment, or critical task monitoring.
- Heavy Duty: These operations are typically performed by a single pilot with large UAV (Drone), spotter(s), and sometimes operators for other attached devices (see drone tensioner operation below). Applications include but may not be limited to: rope pulling operations, light material delivery, grapple attachments and others.
- Rope pulling operations: SEC has a patent-pending process for pulling ropes with our heavy-lift drones. With rope installation capabilities of up to 3,000’ in a single span, obstacle crossings are no longer a helicopter-only option. Our drone tensioner design allows us to pull the ropes under tension to keep our rope elevated and off your obstacle and gives us the ability to pull back a larger rope for conductor installation providing an all-in-one package operation.
- Grapple operations: Recently, we’ve developed a grapple operation capable of being flown with the drone, but strong enough to handle extremely heavy loads. This application technique allows us to attach rigging to compromised structures without subjecting employees to unknown tensions or forces. Applications include storm damaged structures or conductors, material retrieval, and remote tag line installations.
- Read more about Unmanned Operations.
