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World’s First Augmented Reality Remote Rope Inspection Testing Service

DMT GROUP has announced the expansion of its digital service offering with a new capability in remote rope inspection. This follows the successful completion of a first test-run on a transmission mast of Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR), Europe’s second largest media company. DMT is the first company in the world to offer remotely assisted non-destructive rope inspections – delivering benefits in terms of efficiency, accessibility and sustainability.

The latest development is a collaboration with the in-house rope testing centre in Bochum, and enables DMT to provide high-quality and non-destructive remote inspection for magnetic induction rope testing from anywhere in the world, with the assistance of augmented reality (AR) technology. Communication between the remote DMT specialists and the inspectors on-site takes place with the aid of AR glasses and a platform on which the data is temporarily stored for further processing. The AR glasses transmit the images of the inspection work on the ropes to Essen, enabling DMT’s team to explain manual operations or information to the inspectors on-site using visual representations.

Dominik Bartsch, expert at DMT’s Rope Testing Centre said: “As a rule, we conduct on-site rope testing in pairs or threes with the support of the customer on site. That means an enormous amount of planning each time – who has time when, what the weather will be like, what equipment will be needed. Remote rope testing shrinks the planning effort to a minimum, saves timae, and makes the process much more efficient. In the shipping industry, the rope test is a prerequisite for companies to be allowed to use their cranes in various projects, yet carrying out an audit is enormously time-consuming, as certain experts have to travel from ship to ship all over the world to do so. The field of application for rope testing also extends to hoisting cables, crane cables, cable cars, bridge wire ropes, anchoring and offshore wire ropes. Our expanded remote rope inspection capabilities unlock new possibilities for our clients and enable us to deliver high quality safety services in an efficient and sustainable manner.

In order to maintain the usual high level of expertise and quality of DMT’s specialist safety office – the Rope Inspection Centre – remote rope inspections will be offered in future with the help of specially trained and instructed inspectors from service p<artners on site; for this purpose, the inspection equipment and AR glasses will be sent to the customer.”

Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, a series of travel restrictions has severely limited experts, subcontractors and international consultants to deliver essential safety services. Further, according to Statista over 55 billion euros are spent annually by Germany companies on employee travel before the pandemic – and companies are now increasingly looking at ways to drive operational efficiency whilst reducing their environmental impact.

Reflecting on this, Margareta Spajic, Project Manager in the Digital Business Development & Technologies, DMT GmbH and Co. KG, said: “Minimising the number of trips consultants can contribute significantly to the sustainability of a company. It makes a difference to the carbon footprint when three or four employees no longer have to travel to the ends of the earth for each order. Likewise, more jobs can be done in the same amount of time and new markets can be opened up geographically where we previously had not yet been able to offer our services.”

The solution comes directly from the digitalisation incubator within DMT titled: Remote Work. The Digitalisation office has supported many projects for example the Internet of Things (IoT) construction monitoring platform ‘DMT SAFEGUARD’ which is now in use worldwide.

DMT will provide its remote rope inspection later this year, when a bridge test is scheduled in Taiwan. Additional ideas for using remote inspection in mining and quarrying projects are under development.

Further information:
DMT Group
www.dmt-group.com