ARGUS International, Inc. has announced that Skytec, LLC is the world’s first Drone as a Service (DaaS) provider to complete an ARGUS Unmanned Aviation Audit.
The Platinum Rating is the highest ARGUS rating an organization operating unmanned aircraft can achieve. Only companies who have demonstrated successful implementation of industry best practices relative to their operations and maintenance with the utmost regard for safety through the evaluation of an on-site audit may achieve an ARGUS Platinum Rating. ARGUS collaborated with various internal and external subject matter experts with a vast amount of UAS experience to develop a comprehensive standard for the unmanned industry, said officials.
“Creating a safety culture is paramount to the commercial UAS industry," said Joe Moeggenberg, president and CEO of ARGUS International, Inc. "Companies like Skytec who focus on providing DaaS operations must be methodically examined and reviewed if the industry is to develop an effective safety ecosystem. We are extremely pleased to announce Skytec as our first unmanned operator to successfully complete the ARGUS Unmanned Audit and earn the ARGUS Platinum Rating. As the first operator in the world to achieve this rating, Skytec has demonstrated a new level of safety for the UAS industry.”
“We are proud to become the first Platinum Rated Drone as a Service provider under the ARGUS Unmanned Standard,” said Bill Rogers, Skytec CEO. “UAS is a young, rapidly developing industry. Adhering to the highest possible safety protocols and standards – and undergoing a third-party audit to certify those practices – is a core tenet of Skytec’s mission. We believe that our industry will grow and scale even more successfully as more and more providers also commit to achieving higher safety ratings for their operations via third party certification.”
The ARGUS Unmanned Audit Standard was designed for commercial unmanned aircraft operations to evaluate their operational safety based upon a universal set of standards and industry best safety practices. To achieve the Platinum Rating, Drone as a Service providers must undergo an on-site audit including evaluation of all safety practices, documentation and daily operations.
To attain an ARGUS Platinum Rating UAS operators must be a legal entity with applicable insurance, have UAS operational policies, have procedures and processes validated, have a functioning safety management system and an emergency response plan in place, undergo pilot background checks, have at least one UAS in operation, undergo an in-depth historical safety analysis, and complete an ARGUS on-site audit with no safety of flight findings. All significant finding from the on-site audit must be rectified to achieve an ARGUS Platinum Rating.
To view the ARGUS Unmanned UAS Registry with all the rated operators visit, http://argus.aero/argus-unmanned-uas-registry/.