INSPECTION & MONITORING
Five questions to answer before a robotic inspection pilot
Plan an inspection robot pilot around the asset, sensing evidence, environment, review workflow, and operating constraints.For Asset reliability, EHS, and site inspection teams · 5 min read · Updated 2026-09-10Inspection automation is valuable when it produces a better, repeatable observation and delivers it into a real review workflow. The robot is only one part of that system.
What observation changes a decision?
Name the condition to observe, the evidence a reviewer needs, the acceptable quality threshold, and the decision that follows. A long video feed is not automatically useful inspection evidence.
Can the environment support repeatability?
Map line of sight, lighting, communications, elevation changes, hazardous-area requirements, access rules, weather where relevant, and human work patterns. The answer may change the appropriate platform entirely.
Where does the finding go?
Agree on who reviews the capture, how an exception is triaged, what gets retained, and how the result reaches the maintenance or site process. This closes the gap between a compelling demonstration and an operating capability.