By Namita Shibad | Sep 14, 2024 09:12 AM IST
Niharika Kolte Alekar's Volar Alta revolutionizes industrial inspections using drones and AI, enhancing safety, efficiency, and cost savings.
Think drones and you immediately link them to outdoor spaces whirring in the skies to do different tasks. But using drones in closed spaces? Why on earth would one want to do that? But when you think like an entrepreneur and like Niharika Kolte Alekar, founder, Volar Alta, then you turn accepted notions on their head to deliver newer uses that give more meaning and depth to products. Identifying problem It began when Niharika was working with a consultancy firm and while preparing a report for a merger and acquisition of a company. Here she saw first-hand that technical due diligence is laborious, time-consuming and uses inefficient methods.
Imagine sending a man into a 110-metre tall chimney, large tank or a boiler for an inspection. Not to mention the risks like chemical fumes, large confined spaces etc. Besides the safety of the workers, there was also the question of efficiency that manual inspections carried. She says, “The heavy and process industries often rely on outdated and inefficient inspection methods, leading to high costs, safety risks, and unplanned downtimes. Manual inspections in hazardous environments, such as confined spaces, not only endanger workers but also fail to provide comprehensive and real-time data.
So, during this mergers and acquisitions (M&A) exercise, the entrepreneur in her found a problem and now the job was to look for a solution. And voila! The solution was zooming in the skies. Only now it had to zoom in on boiler tanks. “Recognising this gap, I knew that leveraging cutting-edge technology could revolutionise thehowspections and maintenance are carried out in these critical sectors.”
Tech to the rescue
So she thought of putting drones in the boilers and chimneys. Not only would drones do what humans were doing but they could deliver better results as they could capture detailed images and data. And used with AI we could analyse these images and data and present a complete picture to the customer.
Instead of waiting for something to break, businesses can now see potential problems before they happen and fix them in advance. This not only keeps workers safe but also saves companies time and money by preventing unexpected breakdowns and costly repairs. This helps with proactive decision-making. The industry urgently needed a solution that could deliver accurate, real-time insights while enhancing safety and efficiency. And so Volar Alta saw the problem and found a solution. Says Niharika, “This idea quickly evolved into a comprehensive proprietary platform that offered workflow digitisation, technical insights, and data visualisation tailored specifically for the heavy and process industries. Using drone technology and AI, Niharika was all set to step into boiler tanks and chimneys.”
Initial hurdles Armed with the solution, Niharika stepped out into the market when a vile virus put her plan on hold. “There was a shutdown in March 2020 and selling my solution seemed impossible. So very quickly I pivoted. The police were looking at security so we offered drones to help them. I hired eight drones for the purpose and would manually create the behavioural maps of containment zones so they would then know which areas in the city needed more patrolling. Covid taught me how to be agile”
But we saw Covid become impotent too and businesses get back in full steam. Most startups pivot away from their main concept and then grow in that direction. However, with Volar Alta, it was the reverse. “We pivoted from our original idea and went back to it in 2021.” Getting customers
Probably the most important challenge that every startup faces is to find a customer to use their product. For a startup to offer a solution to a giant MNC can be rather challenging, even audacious you may say. But Niharika had worked out the benefits to her customers and had the numbers at the back of her palm. “An inspection of a large chimney at a cement factory will take 17.5 days. We can do it in just 36 minutes. Moreover, by using our end-to-end solution, the clients could save 86% of the money they spend on inspection.” Yes, ACC (the cement company) was ready to eat from that palm that held these numbers.
Niharika was lucky. “Since I had some experience working with the Big 4 companies like PwC & KPMG, I tapped into my professional network to bag our first customer.” In two years, Niharika has enough customers to be able to fund her operations. ACC, Adani, Deepak Fertilizers and more. “I’ve always believed that I should let my work do the talking. Whatever customers I have so far have been through my network or customer referrals. But now I see the need to use digital marketing tools to enable a wider reach.”
The proof of the pudding….
Niharika has helped her customers not only with inspections but also provided them with insights that have improved efficiency.
“Our solution addresses critical pain points by not just combining state-of-the-art technology, but power that with industry-specific expertise. Our AI-driven insights and drone-based inspections work because they provide unprecedented accuracy, safety, and efficiency. By replacing manual inspections with drones, we eliminate human error and reduce risks, while our AI algorithms analyse vast amounts of data to give situational awareness in time to prevent equipment failures. This proactive approach reduces downtime and operational costs,” says Niharika. “Our extensive industry research and on-ground inspections have shown that businesses can achieve significant Return on investment (ROI) by adopting our platform, making us confident in its effectiveness. We have delivered 100% risk elimination, 96% equipment downtime and >86% cost reduction to our customers.”
Money matters
In the three years that Volar Alta pivoted back to its original idea, it has been seeing really good growth. “We have been seeing 100% YoY growth. Our profits are now in double digits (though she does not wish to disclose the numbers just yet) Our company is bootstrapped, investing our savings to deploy the technology and develop industry expertise.
As our projects gained traction, we secured grant funding of over ₹1 crore from The British High Commission, Alstom, Accenture & IIM Bangalore - who recognised the disruptive potential of our technology. This funding allowed us to scale development, expand our team, and provide Pan-India services. Additionally, we also received a government innovation grant of about ₹15 lakh which further validated our solution and provided additional resources for research and development (R&D) through Forge Forward & IIM Bangalore.
Currently, Volar Alta has 12 drone pilots and eight tech people. They outsource the drone manufacturing to a company in Bengaluru.
“An inspection drone has different parameters compared to the ones we hired for security. It must have capabilities for imaging (to get pictures), thermal (to keep track of heat) and ultrasonic (to capture the thickness of metallic structures). The cost of such a drone ranges from about ₹60 lakh to ₹1 crore. Sending a drone into a confined space requires three people.”
Market strategy
“Our go-to-market strategy is centred on targeting key players in the heavy and process industries, starting with sectors where the need for safe and efficient inspections is most urgent, like oil and gas, chemicals, and manufacturing. We’re leveraging industry events such as the Smart Manufacturing Research Conclave by Nasscom CoE – IoT & AI, direct sales, and partnerships with industry associations to create awareness,” says Niharika. “We also offer pilot programmes, allowing potential clients to experience the value of our solution first-hand. By demonstrating significant cost savings and operational improvements through these pilots, we aim to build a strong customer base that will advocate for our technology’s adoption industry-wide.” Veni, vidi and soon about to vici.
Competition
Our primary competitors include established inspection companies and a few emerging tech startups offering drone services. While these companies focus on providing either basic drone inspections or traditional inspection services, Volar Alta differentiates itself through our proprietary comprehensive platform that integrates AI-driven insights with drone technology.
Unlike competitors, we offer detailed data visualisation tailored specifically for heavy industries. To compete with big brands, we emphasise our deep industry knowledge, faster implementation, and cost-effective solutions. Our modular platform also offers flexibility and scalability, allowing us to adapt to clients’ evolving needs more effectively than larger, less agile competitors. Market value
The global industrial inspection market is valued at $ 35bn and growing, driven by increasing safety regulations and the need for operational efficiency.
“Our initial target markets are India and the Southeast Asian markets, where stringent safety standards and a focus on reducing downtime create a strong demand for our solution. We plan to penetrate these markets through strategic partnerships, targeted marketing campaigns, and participation in industry trade shows. Our focus is on industries like oil and gas, chemicals, and manufacturing, where the need for our technology is greatest. As we establish a foothold, we’ll expand to other regions and industries,” says Niharika.
Future
Niharika envisions a future where Volar Alta becomes a global leader in AI-driven industrial inspections. “We plan to continuously enhance our platform, integrating new technologies like advanced machine learning to provide even more precise and actionable insights. We also aim to expand our service offerings to cover a broader range of industries and inspection needs. Additionally, we’re exploring strategic partnerships with major industry players to co-develop solutions and accelerate adoption,” she says.
Veni, vidi and about to vici? Source: Hindustan Times, Sep 14, 2024
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