Lyttelton Port Shortlisted for TT Club Safety Innovation Award With Drone-Based Container Roof Inspections

Lyttelton Port Company (LPC) has been shortlisted for the TT Club Innovation in Safety Award with its high-resolution drones to eliminate manual work-at-height inspections across its inland ports and depots. Handling around 500,000 TEU annually in Christchurch, New Zealand, LPC previously relied on Elevated Work Platforms (EWPs) to conduct container roof checks, post-wind stack inspections and structural roof assessments.

Each empty container entering the yard required survey staff to ascend and descend an EWP to inspect the roof condition. Following high wind events exceeding 32 knots, personnel were also required to enter operational areas to assess stack integrity, creating additional safety concerns and operational delays. The new approach replaces these manual processes with drones equipped with advanced zoom cameras, enabling remote visual inspections while keeping personnel out of high-risk zones.

Drone-based inspection both shortens container turnaround time and provides marked benefit in preventing falls and stack collapse incidents. UAV data is captured digitally and integrated into operational decision-support systems. LPC's approach offers a scalable digital safety standard template for container terminals exposed to environmental events.

Key Takeaways:
1. Lyttelton Port has been shortlisted for the TT Club Innovation in Safety Award with its drone-based inspection programme.
2. Handling 500,000 TEU annually, LPC previously relied on Elevated Work Platforms for container roof inspections.
3. After wind events exceeding 32 knots, personnel had to enter operational areas to assess stack integrity.
4. High-resolution zoom-camera drones eliminate manual work-at-height risk.
5. Drone data is integrated into a digital record system, offering a scalable safety template for container terminals.