We are always looking for innovative approaches to improve our way of working, whether it's becoming more efficient or looking for a more sustainable application.
Our Chevron Green Consultancy division is trialling a smartphone clip-in thermal imager to enhance their Ecological Clerk of Work supervision.
The work we're running the trial on is a collaborative effort between our sister company, Chevron Traffic Management, our operations division, Chevron Green Services and our Consultancy division.
Our Environmental team supported the production of a Construction Environmental Management Plan (CEMP) for the works and have an ECoW on-site during the de-vegetation stages of the project. As some of the work site is within a Site of Specific Scientific Interest (SSSI) and Schedule Ancient Monument, our ECoW has to ensure that the clearance teams work to any constraints and are fully briefed on the sensitive locations they are working in.
They are predominantly looking for nesting birds and reptiles. As much of the work is being undertaken at night, the visibility is reduced, making it very hard to see whether there are any nesting birds or reptiles. The night vision cameras we're trialling provide images via a tablet or phone, highlighting areas emitting a heat source, enabling a clearer view, especially amongst dense areas of vegetation which are extremely difficult to view otherwise.
The camera also allows our ECoW to see much higher up into the trees to check for nesting birds or bats. It allows for a far more thorough check with the added bonus that it takes half the time than traditional checks. As our confidence grows with this technique, it should enable ECoWs to reduce the number of physical inspections into dense vegetation, brambles, down steep slopes, etc., with the added benefit of being far less invasive for the species in question.
It's been a successful trial so far, and we look forward to developing the use of the camera into other surveys and projects we work on.
