Aurora, CO – June 16, 2011 – Merrick & Company has announced a new service offering for the power transmission industry. In response to the North American Energy Reliability Corporation’s (NERC) alert released late last year requiring power transmission line owners to document the existing conditions of their transmission assets, Merrick is providing helicopter-mounted light detection and ranging (LiDAR)/imaging multi-sensor data acquisition and processing for power line owners throughout the U.S. Helicopter-mounted multi-sensor systems provide greater accuracy in capturing the details of such issues in transmission corridors as power line sag, encroachment of vegetation, and structure information – some of the many components of in-field condition and clearance assessments. In addition, the ability of helicopters to tightly maneuver over transmission corridors, regardless of terrain, provides a cost-effective and speedier method of collecting the data versus traditional land surveying or fixed-wing aircraft data collection.
“We’re seeing an increasing demand for these types of services as line owners and operators work towards complying with NERC’s requirements,” said Torin Haskell, GISP, of Merrick. “And, helicopter-mounted, multi-sensor data acquisition platforms have clearly become the data collection method of choice.”
The North American Energy Reliability Corporation’s mission is to ensure the reliability of the North American bulk power system and is certified by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to establish and enforce reliability standards.
About Merrick
Merrick & Company, an $125 million geospatial, engineering, architecture, design-build, and surveying firm, serves domestic and international clients by providing geospatial technologies, products, and services for the sustainable infrastructure, energy, and national security markets. The firm’s most recent work includes providing terrestrial scanning for an electrical substation for Xcel Energy and acquiring light detection and ranging (LiDAR) data for F.E. Warren Air Force Base and for a wind farm located in Kansas. Merrick maintains 10 offices in the U.S. as well as two offices in Mexico and an office in Canada. More information about Merrick’s GeoSpatial Solutions business unit is located at Merrick GeoSpatial Solutions.