Insider View: How New York Power Authority Powers Their Enterprise Drone Program with ANRA MissionManager

As the world embraces the potential of drone technology, enterprises like the New York Power Authority (NYPA) are finding innovative ways to leverage unmanned aerial systems (UAS) for streamlined operations.  Drawing insights from a recent ANRA Huddle webinar featuring NYPA’s UAS Program Manager Peter Kalaitzidis and ANRA Technology‘s Chief Strategy Officer Brent Klavon, this article delves into NYPA’s adoption of cutting-edge technology and software to enhance the efficiency and safety of their enterprise drone operations.

The Role of Comprehensive Drone Program Management

Amidst the ever-expanding possibilities of drone technology, the need for effective management tools becomes increasingly evident. Enterprises like NYPA are turning to comprehensive drone program management solutions to navigate the complexities of their operations. As enterprise drone programs scale, these tools play a critical role in ensuring seamless operations, mitigating risks, and navigating the regulatory landscape for advanced drone operations.  NYPA uses ANRA’s MissionManager to ensure that their drone program continues to grow as they add more resources and look ahead to deploying at scale advanced operations, including flight beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) with the regulatory waivers they’ve earned.  MissionManager offer an array of features, from fleet management and pilot tracking to maintenance scheduling, live video streaming, work order flow, and data analysis.

NYPA’s Vision: Efficient and Safe Drone Operations

NYPA’s approach to drone operations centers on achieving operational efficiency while prioritizing safety. Peter Kalaitzidis, NYPA’s UAS Program Manager, succinctly outlines the organization’s philosophy: “Our goal here at New York Power Authority is to do work more efficiently.” A key element of this strategy involves leveraging drones to capture crucial data, minimizing the need for human involvement in potentially hazardous situations. NYPA uses internal resources for drone operations, training existing personnel to utilize drones to perform their responsibilities more safely and effectively.  Kalaitzidis emphasizes, “We want to risk the machine and not the person. Safety is the overall driving force behind the program.”

The Imperative for Enterprise Drone Program Management Solutions

NYPA’s UAS program has proven its value to the organization, growing rapidly.  As enterprise drone programs evolve and encompass multiple drones, pilots, and geographic locations, the significance of drone program management tools becomes evident. Brent Klavon, ANRA Technology’s Chief Strategy Officer, sheds light on the growing importance of these tools: “When you scale drone operations, you want to optimize the efficiencies of those operations.” He underscores the need for tools that empower enterprises to manage diverse assets and resources seamlessly.

In a landscape where efficiency is paramount, Klavon elaborates on the potential impact: “ANRA Mission Manager is really about how we make our customer more efficient and how we make large scale drone operations safer. The solution used to be a spreadsheet for managing assets and resources.”  Spreadsheets are simply not practical at scale – and can’t match the ecosystem of critical tools that a drone management platform provides. “We develop software that we can put in the hands of someone like Peter to manage all of his assets, and all of his resources: pilots, batteries, drones, and more. From there, we allow the workflow to be able to assign missions to those individuals to go out into the field and deploy those technologies.” By streamlining workflows and automating mission assignments, drone program management tools enable organizations to focus on strategic decision-making.

Integration and Synergy

ANRA Technology has long background in the development of uncrewed traffic management, airspace management, and data services.  They company is a global leader in developing the technology and regulatory framework for drone integration.  That specialized knowlege and broad technology portfolio enables MissionManager’s deep capabilities in drone operations management.  “MissionManager leverages our experience in advanced drone operations, regulations, and airspace management principles to directly target the needs of enterprise drone programs,” says Amit Ganjoo, ANRA Technologies Founder and CEO.

MissionManager is a focused solution: but ANRA’s system is designed so that drone program management tools can integrate with existing systems, facilitating collaboration and innovation. Klavon notes, “When we start to bring NYPA’s legacy systems into that same platform, it really starts to become nteresting for Peter and other enterprises that want to be able to connect with these new technologies with existing platforms. They are able to enhance traditional methods or maybe even think of new methods of obtaining that same data.”

NYPA’s journey highlights the transformative potential of drone programs combined with strong program management tools. The partnership between NYPA’s pilots and stakeholders and ANRA’s MissionManager underscores the pivotal role of drone program management tools in enhancing operational efficiency and safety. By emphasizing data capture, safety measures, and streamlined operations, NYPA showcases a strategic approach to creating value with drone technology. The integration of ANRA MissionManager signals a shift toward holistic solutions that evolve alongside the demands of enterprise drone programs. As the collaboration between NYPA and ANRA Technology unfolds, it reinforces the importance of an ecosystem of software solutions in shaping the future of drone program management.

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