UAV Program Development

1. Develop An Internal Drone Program

a. The first step in the process is to start working on your organization’s internal drone program. This includes company policy, internal workflow processes, and procedures, Standard Operating Procedures (SOP), or SOG.

b. Many organizations Google “drone programs” and try to adapt other companies program. This never works because every organization runs differently and has different requirements.

c. Many companies have no experience with drones so they have no idea what should be inside or included. We can help your organization develop the entire program as we have a wide variety of experiences in this area. We develop a custom program around your company and you have the final say and decisions that go into it.

d. Our SOP’s contain all internal workflow policies and procedures such as:

i. Commitment to safety policies

ii. Approved drone usage.

iii. Procedures for requesting flights

iv. Night flying operations

v. Equipment check out and inspection policies

vi. Future training requirements

vii. Defining the entire UAS team and their roles

viii. Audits and assessments

ix. All support documentation such as Remote Pilot manuals, Crew Resource management, and Maintenance programs

e. We start this process with a conference call with all organization stakeholders to acquire the necessary information to develop the first rough draft. From there it normally takes 1 to 2 revisions and the drone program is ready to go.

2. Equipment Purchasing

When it comes to drones and UAV equipment, there are a ton of options out there and it can get easily overwhelming.

We remove the stress by taking a look at your objectives and budget to determine your best options. We will also set up all your equipment, apps, and firmware before delivering it.

3. Certificate of Authorization (COA) 

“IF” the agency doesn’t need to fly directly over people and get each of their officers Day Time Waivers to fly at night. In most cases, it is good to apply for a Certificate of Authorization with the FAA and apply for the ability to fly over people in extreme emergency situations. With the COA you can fly at night time without a waiver but the COA has the following limitations.

• Monthly reports – For every flight flown under the COA it requires all flight data to be reported.
• Evidence issues – There have been issues getting evidence submitted captured with a drone if the drone operator is not Part 107 certified.

Built into our cost and overall program development includes Steel City Drones completing the FAA Application for the Certificate of Authorization.

4. Program Integration and Training Initiation

a. Finalize the drone program and all program documents.

b. Perform 4 days of onsite training.

c. Get the staff Part 107 certified and start training the staff.

5. Continued Training & Support

a. We highly recommend monthly group training sessions as the initial training is not enough. Each remote pilot needs continual practice while they are developing.

b. We developed monthly video training exercises that our clients will be able to access that will allow them to continue to train in an organized and structured process.