From Field to System - Instantly. The Future of Drone Data Integration.
Now Available On-Demand
Duration: 60 minutes
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Summary
Drone inspections are rapidly transforming how utilities monitor substations and critical field assets—but collecting images is only the first step. The real challenge lies in converting drone-captured data into actionable maintenance decisions quickly, accurately, and without manual bottlenecks.
A featured utility perspective will be shared through the real-world experience of Matt Cooley from People's Electric Cooperative in Oklahoma, where drone inspections of transmission structures have been part of operations for several years. While drone flights significantly improved field visibility, the office process remained labor-intensive—requiring teams to manually review videos, extract still images, and determine the correct structure association for documentation and follow-up actions.
This practical utility experience highlights a challenge many utilities face: collecting excellent field data but struggling to efficiently convert it into usable maintenance records and asset intelligence.
The webinar will then explore how modern asset management platforms can bridge that gap by integrating drone photos, GPS coordinates, thermal imagery, and inspection findings directly into the asset record. Utilities can automatically associate images with the correct assets, generate inspection records, trigger work orders, and identify thermal hotspots before failures occur—reducing manual effort, minimizing human error, and improving decision-making.
Recent workflow improvements have also enabled field crews to tag video observations directly from the drone controller, allowing the correct frames to be identified and linked to the right assets with greater speed and accuracy. This supports one-person inspection crews, improves compliance readiness, and strengthens preventive and predictive maintenance strategies.
Join us to see how utilities are moving beyond drone flights and turning field data into smarter, faster, and more reliable operational decisions.
Speakers
Matt Cooley
Distribution Services Unit Manager
Peoples Electric Coop
Matt Cooley serves as Distribution Services Unit Manager at People’s Electric Cooperative. Prior to this role, he was the Director of Substation/Transmission Services, where he played a key role in improving system efficiency and workflows. With a forward-thinking approach, he focuses on leveraging technology to enhance operations and drive efficiency, emphasizing innovation, collaboration, and continuous improvement in service to the cooperative and its members.
Billy Lara
Director of Customer Experience and Field Operations Support
MinMax Technologies
Mr. Lara is a distinguished expert in the electric utility field, whose extensive experience spans asset management and inspections at MinMax. His unique background encompasses military service and comprehensive field operations in municipal utilities, leveraging his expertise to optimize eSMART’s design for the end user.
Following his high school graduation, Mr. Lara embarked on a career with the US Navy as an Electronic Technician on the USS Anzio (CG-68) in Norfolk. This period was instrumental in developing his technical acumen, along with a deep-rooted discipline and a commitment to excellence. Transitioning to civilian life, he devoted nearly ten years to serving the City of Statesville as a Substation Specialist, where he was responsible for asset inspections, testing, and maintenance. Billy was instrumental in leading significant projects, such as the upgrade of Substations from traditional wired RTU systems to the advanced DNP IP communications infrastructure. He also played a key role as the lead technician in the smooth transition of asset data from a Legacy SCADA System to a more sophisticated software platform, demonstrating his ability to harness technology to improve efficiency and performance.
Mr. Lara has earned an Associate of Science in Electrical Engineering Technology from Catawba Valley Community College in North Carolina. He is furthering his expertise by pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering Technology at the prestigious University of North Carolina at Charlotte.
