
PRESS RELEASE – 09 March 2022
The companies will be pioners in providing this type of service in Latin America, known globally as a highly efficient prevention and maintenance method, becoming a milestone for both the electricity industry and the national aeronautical sector.
More than 18 years of experience in the aeronautical industry, a company that has the largest and most modern fleet of helicopters in the southern cone, add to the trajectory of bbosch, a company that has more than 60 years of excellence in the industry metalworking and development and electrical infrastructure, in order to launch in the region the air washing service of insulators by helicopter.
The development of this new system in Chile has been carried out a few years ago in Europe, Africa and North America, and it has the highest electrical and aeronautical safety standards in the market, achieving, moreover, making washing operations more efficient in time and resources.The Ecocopter-bbosch alliance seeks to positively impact the country in the electrical maintenance market with insulation washes that improve the sustainability and reliability of energy systems. The washing of insulators by helicopters allows access to high and medium voltage power transmission lines in all types of geographical areas, faster washing and the use of less water.
Regarding the washing procedure, once the system has been installed in the helicopter and the transfer to the work area has been carried out, the system tank is filled with demineralized water, to then take off and fly to the line according to planning. Once on site, the aircraft is positioned to one side of the tower and the washing of the chains begins from a turret that expels pressurized water, all controlled by an operator who is located next to the helicopter. In this way, it is possible to eliminate the dirt and waste generated by pollution, salinity and the passing of time in these conditions, which occur especially in the northern part of the country.
The characteristics of this advanced washing system allow you to work quickly and efficiently, since approximately 30 to 90 seconds are used for each washed chain (depending on the size). Added to this, given the characteristics of the equipment, significant savings in water management are
expected, since, compared to traditional land-based methods, the helicopter washing system uses 84% less demineralized water.
Definitely, it is estimated that, with this system, the insulation chain washing works are up to 500% more efficient compared to the traditional land method.
The objective of these works is to keep the insulation chains in an optimal state of cleanliness, in order to avoid possible cuts in the line that could affect citizens. The National Electric System (SEN) includes electricity generation, transmission and distribution facilities, which encompass range from the Arica Parinacota region to the Los Lagos region. This system is the largest nationwide, since it has 35,501 km of transmission lines in 3,100 km of territory, providing electricity to a large part of the country. An electrical system of this magnitude requires arobust maintenance in all its phases and areas “For us it is a great milestone to incorporate this technology in Chile. We acquired a washing system with international and exclusive certification to install them on any helicopter in our AS350 fleet, in addition to training our crews with experts from Europe. With this we aim to have a worldwide technical and human capacity, in order to carry out a job of excellence in terms of productivity, efficiency and prevention of occupational risks, responding to the needs of our clients safely and in the expected times”, says José Tomás Díaz, Business Development at Ecocopter. The alliance with Ecocopter reinforces our vision of innovation and exploration of new businesses in order to be more competent with our clients. We are specialists in the industry and we incorporate into our processes solutions that integrate quality, compliance and innovation to respond in a sustainable way to the needs of a connected, competitive and dynamic world. We will carry out the washing of high voltage line insulators with the highest electrical and aeronautical safety standards in the market”, highlights Pablo Bosch Kreis, Manager of Planning, Development and New Businesses at bbosch.
With regard to safety in this type of aeronautical activity, Ecocopter has International BARS Certification (International Operational Safety), FDM System (real-time tracking), safety management system (SMS), in addition to an intense training program for the crews.