Heliguy Wins Place on £8m YPO Drone Framework Contract

• DJI Gold Partner Heliguy awarded a major contract with YPO, in conjunction with the Home Office, as part of an £8million national framework agreement;

• The framework is to supply drones and services to public sector organisations, primarily to blue light clients and the emergency services;

• Heliguy will provide drones, offer associated services, and carry out repairs and maintenance;

• YPO contract comes on the back of Heliguy winning a place on a major £2.6m Network Rail framework agreement.

DJI Gold Partner Heliguy has been awarded a major contract with YPO, as part of an £8million national framework agreement to supply drones and services to public sector organisations, primarily to blue light clients and the emergency services.

Heliguy, the UK’s largest UAS (Unmanned Aerial System) expert, has won a place on three parts of the four-lot contract – being selected to provide industry-leading police drones; offer associated services, such as drone hire, lease options, and bespoke package bundles; and carry out drone repairs, maintenance and servicing.

Award-winning Heliguy – which delivers unrivalled one-stop-shop enterprise drone support – came through a rigorous and thorough tendering process to secure the deal, beating a range of high-calibre candidates in the process.

The contract, which runs until 2024 and can be renewed after three-and-a-half years, has been drawn up by YPO - in conjunction with the Home Office - to embrace drone technology and to bridge a gap in public procurement.

Drones have become a vital tool for public sector organisations, helping to improve safety, collect fast and accurate data, and provide vital situational awareness.

Heliguy Delighted To Win A Place On YPO Framework

Securing a place on the YPO framework – and being appointed onto three of the four lots – is a major coup for Heliguy.

Ruairi Hardman, Heliguy’s Business Development Manager, said it is testament to the company’s established reputation in the drone industry, its expert team and assured enterprise UAS programme.

The YPO framework aligns perfectly with Heliguy’s focus on enterprise clients. We support the drone programmes of more than 40 of the UK’s emergency services – including Greater Manchester Police – as well as industry powerhouses such as Balfour Beatty, National Grid, Skanska, Network Rail, and Sellafield Sites.

The contract is also inline with Heliguy’s rental service, based around enterprise drone hire, instant access to the latest equipment, and the ability to scale fleets.

Mr Hardman said: “We are extremely proud to have been awarded a national framework agreement with YPO, in conjunction with the Home Office, to provide drones, associated services, and repairs and maintenance.

“This contract award is testament to our ability to supply and support drone programmes at this level and the whole team at Heliguy looks forward to working with YPO. We are delighted that more and more public-sector organisations will be embracing drones and we look forward to helping them utilise this technology.”

Heliguy is one of DJI’s largest and trusted European enterprise channel partners and is recognised by the Chinese drone manufacturer as a Gold Partner, certifying that we can provide expert knowledge and services to interested enterprise customers.

Under the terms of the framework, YPO’s clients will leverage Heliguy’s full eco-system of solutions and comprehensive suite of drones, including leading DJI technology.

Heliguy is based in the North East of England, and as well as offering drone supply and support, the company has an in-house repair centre and research and development consultancy, and an expert training team, which delivers PfCO (Permission for Commercial Operations) courses around the UK and closed courses to the emergency services and other enterprise clients.

Heliguy delivering a closed course for the police.

The award of the YPO contract comes just months after Heliguy won a place on a £2.6m Network Rail framework for drone supply, maintenance and training.

Heliguy has also recently expanded into the USA, opening a fulfilment centre in Texas to offer consumer and enterprise drones to the American market.

YPO Framework In More Detail

YPO specialises in public sector procurement, supplying products and services to England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

The new national framework will support the emergency services and other public sector bodies in the purchase of drones and associated products and services.

Explaining the reasons behind the drone framework, a YPO spokesman said: “We were approached by the Home Office to discuss a gap in public procurement.

“Naturally we are very excited to be working with the Home Office and on a framework that incorporates drone technology, but we are also really pleased to be working closely with the police and fire and rescue teams.

“After much discussion and healthy deliberation, a lot structure was agreed, believed to be fit for purpose for all public-sector organisations, not just police and fire.

“The group involved in creating the framework has a wide knowledge base. This, coupled with different personal requirements, is what will make the framework a benefit to emergency services and the wider public sector.”

Drones In The Public Sector

Drones have become a vital tool for a range of public sector organisations, such as infrastructure and public safety.

When it comes to building maintenance, drones can easily reach structural heights in minutes; a job that would otherwise require scaffolding, which is time-consuming to erect and requires safety equipment checks.

Drones can also be integrated with high-resolution cameras, and/or powerful zoom sensors, which can capture vital images of structural damage to buildings and bridges.

This video capture and aerial footage minimises disruption and can assess the damage much quicker, which aids in effective and efficient processes. Drones also increase safety.

For instance, they can access areas of contamination, such as waterways and sewers, where health and safety protective wear would need to be worn.

The emergency services utilise drones for law enforcement, public safety, and search and rescue. Drones can cover large areas quicker than on-the-ground searches and this vital bird’s-eye view helps to provide key surveillance and situational awareness to shape tactics – aiding an efficient response and improving crew safety.

Drones can be integrated with thermal cameras, which help to pick up heat signatures to find missing or wanted people, as well as to help assess fires.

To find out how Heliguy can start, support, or scale your drone programme, contact us by phone or email.