Latest / Drone As The Future / Hallelujah for Drones w/ Monica Hernandez
Transcript
- Mark Masterton (00:00.546) Monica, welcome to the Drone is the Future podcast. Thank you for joining us. You are our first fellow podcaster as well. Monica Hernandez (00:03.298) Thank you. Thank you for having me. Monica Hernandez (00:10.051) It's amazing. It's good to be on the other side of the mic. Yeah. Mark Masterton (00:14.76) You say that now. We'll find out later. But you also do so many, many different things as well. This podcast, as it says in the title, is mainly about the future. If you'll kindly join me, head back in time to start with and talk about you growing up and what drew you to become an engineer. Monica Hernandez (00:34.558) but I almost closed my eyes when you were talking about it. You were talking about Right, no, no. Just to go back in time. know, engineering when I was growing up was, I don't think I even knew at the time that engineers existed or something. I wanted to be a policewoman because I thought it was pretty cool, the uniforms. And you know, how they are all the time, super. Mark Masterton (00:39.118) I'm falling asleep. Monica Hernandez (01:03.928) put together and then, I don't know, maybe they respect. My dad is from the Army, so I guess that played a role. However, I was always the kid that organized all the other kids. So, where are we gonna play today? I'm like, okay, we're gonna play tag. And tomorrow, we're gonna play this and soccer and softball. And I was always playing outside. It was that time, right? My kid doesn't know that. But I'm that old. And so it was pretty cool. And then getting into the school and all that, I realized I really like to solve problems. And then I started to look into what professions could make me have that skill developed and then learning. And so I discovered engineering and then I went all for it. Mark Masterton (02:01.826) Was it taking things apart, putting them back together again? Monica Hernandez (02:05.858) All that and it was hands-on things. I wasn't, I didn't have any Barbies. I had softballs and I had soccer balls. So it's, it was, I was very big on experimentation and how can I do this and what if now we play this different and how can I, so yeah, it's all of that. Mark Masterton (02:16.034) Nice, I'm a big fan. Mark Masterton (02:31.342) So you grew up a problem solver. And your role as an engineer is a specific kind of engineering rights, a metallurgical engineer. Now, I didn't quite know what one of those was until a few days ago, but would you kindly tell us exactly what a metallurgical engineer is for those out there listening who might not know what one is? Monica Hernandez (02:51.608) No problem. I don't think even fellow engineers are like, what? You're what? I know. So I'll tell you a funny story. When I came to Canada, you know how we have to do the equivalences for our studies that are abroad. Yes, I do know that. So I studied in metallurgical, and my diploma is metallurgical and materials engineering. So when I came into Quebec, Mark Masterton (02:56.123) It's first time I've seen the word. Monica Hernandez (03:18.54) There is the first person with that diploma that wants to do equivalences in the order of engineers in Quebec. So they had to write an exam just for me because nobody is before me. They had had all the others, right? Chemical engineers, civil engineers, mechanical engineers, electronic engineers. But neurological? What is that? So they had to create exams just for me. So I felt so special. Mark Masterton (03:46.542) Yeah. Monica Hernandez (03:48.184) And what it is, is nothing else but if you look around here, everything is made of materials. This mic, that glass, the table, my glasses, clothing, everything is a material. So what we do as material engineers is we look at the composition of that, how is that going to last in the time, and the metallurgical part is the metal. So materials are metallic. However, it's... It's not just contained to that, it's expanded to ceramics, composites, plastics, fabrics, fibers. So we studied all the materials, how they will be designed properly for that table to withstand the weight of the glass. For this mic to be holding like this, for these glasses not to break in the middle of our episode. And then how is that? lasting in time. So that's what we do. Mark Masterton (04:49.088) So you must look at the world in a very different way to the regular person. Yeah. Monica Hernandez (04:54.146) I go with my camera and everywhere there is degradation, corrosion, I take pictures. And my son is like, stop mom, please. Mark Masterton (05:01.55) You sound like my dad actually. He's a pest controller and we can't go anywhere without finding hidden bait box. So you moved to Canada in 2005. Correct. What inspired that move? Monica Hernandez (05:07.467) Yeah, right. Monica Hernandez (05:17.262) Prior to that, I went to an assignment for work in Dominican Republic. And I found myself working with a lot of people from all over. And I was like, I like that. I like to work with people that think different, then bring different ideas to the table. And then the government of Canada made a call in for meteorological engineers, actually. And so it was right on my alley and I applied. was working at the time as an engineer. But I applied to it and then I got the residency that way. I don't think that path of immigration exists anymore, but at the time it was called working preferred profession, something like that. And that's the path that I chose. But the inspiration was Dominican Republic when I got to see and work with people from all over Germany. and UK, US, Brazil. And we did all the engineering and the construction. It was a thermo-electrical plant. But working with so many different brains, it was like, oh my god, this is so cool. Yeah, I need to get out. Mark Masterton (06:30.222) Now you wear many different hats. You're an engineer, you're an entrepreneur, a podcast host and a mum. How do you manage to keep on top of all those things? Is it possible? Monica Hernandez (06:43.222) It is, but you know it's not that I can be perfect all the time at all of those rules. And I say that with a lot of, we don't get where we get without scars. And I'm here telling you that. Because at some point you try to be the best. The best mom, the best entrepreneur, the best partner, the best friend, the best daughter, the best sister, the best everything, and then you break down. And... So you have to understand everything is possible, but not at the same time and not always. And then here I am recording this with you. What am I not doing right now? So for every yes that I give, there is a no that I give. And lately, I think that what my journey is getting me into is hopefully most of those no's are not to myself. And then I can take care of me because if I'm not good, I'm not a mom, I'm not a postcard, I'm not an entrepreneur, I'm not here with you, giving you my fullest. Mark Masterton (07:46.562) Well, I appreciate you being here. Yeah! very busy woman. Want to move on and talk about drones? You have worked predominantly in the oil gas industry for a long time now and regarding safety and risks that come up in that industry, how have you seen drones make a difference? Monica Hernandez (08:05.966) I'll tell you a story. And I have, you know, 23 years of stories under my belt. I think I've said this to the production team when we did the pre-meeting. When I was in inspection, I started my career as inspector. So the one that crawled inside the equipment and went inside vessels. And then if the pipes were big enough, I was the one getting into it. So it was pretty cool. And at that time, there were no drawers, no nothing, right? And I remember one time doing an inspection of a stock. then so you know the flare. Mark Masterton (08:44.276) Sorry, what's a stack? Monica Hernandez (08:47.638) When you go through sites like a refinery, a chemical plant, and you see something that is lit up, and you see a little flame as a stack, that's the flare system normally. So the gases that are not used get released through that system, get burned, because we don't want to release them directly through atmosphere. So that piece of equipment requires to be inspected, obviously, because we need to make sure that it's properly maintained. And at that time, I was the one chosen to do the inspection, for some reason, I'm always the smallest or the one that fits into the 14-inch hole. you. You won the draw. So anyway, I was chosen. And then what we did at the time, please, please. This is like 20 years ago. So all the safety folks that are listening to this don't think that I'm crazy. It happened. many, many years ago. So they put me into the crane hook, and then obviously with my harness and all that, and then with the communication, I was driving the crane driver to get me into the stack to get the inspection completed. So I was like, to the right, a little bit to right, too much, too much, the right, then to the left, to the left, a little bit down, down, down, OK, up, up, up. So it was super long. super tedious and it's a safety hazard. Obviously, nobody can imagine that I did it. So how do we do it now is we don't put people into that. We don't hook them into any of the crane equipment anymore. We send the drone and then we get the results and then we can make the assessments so it's 100 or 1,000 times safer to your point of safety. But also for the equipment is if there is any problem that we detect, we can go back and it doesn't take a whole logistic arrangement. Mark Masterton (10:57.036) Yeah, I mean you talk about yourself and the driver having to communicate to get into the pipe, but imagine there was many other moving parts, people involved in that sort of procedure. Sounds very dangerous and very scary. I'm glad that you've lived to see the day. Did you have to do that on regular basis? Monica Hernandez (11:14.572) did it once. Yeah, but many, many other times I went to other equipment that, yeah. Mark Masterton (11:22.104) Hallelujah for drones. Once the drone has done a scan and gathered the information that it needs, what happens then with this data? Monica Hernandez (11:31.566) So we take the data and then we assess what are the points that can potentially harm. So think of it like when you go to the doctor and you're feeling palpitations and then you're like, my god, it's my heart. The doctor is not going to say, yeah, it's your heart. They need to some tests. So they send you for blood test. They may hook you up with some apparatus or something that measures you and then gives them readings. so they can assess properly and they will look at all of those results and then make an assessment. Same thing. So what material is that constructed? When was it constructed? How was it welded? What is the operational and the process conditions that you're going to use this or that you're using this equipment for? Are any changes that have happened? How that you recorded the changes? And then we take the drone readings. pictures and then we say, potentially you will have no problems for the next five, six, 10, 20, whatever many years. Or you know what, this area potentially is a problem and you better look at it in the next six months or next year or eight year, whatever it is. So it's like we give picture of what can happen on the way that is designed, operated and constructed. and how is it going to affect the maintenance. Mark Masterton (13:00.04) And this can be particularly useful on like big long stretches of pipe, right? Identifying little areas that are susceptible to corrosion. Rather than taking off the whole load of insulation, you can just take off the percentage that is affected by this. And that saves man hours and saves a lot of money. Monica Hernandez (13:21.838) That's one of the ways we use it. if you can think of it as like, it's the longest runs of pipeline where we don't have, for example, access. Because not all the pipelines are here close to the studio, right? Some of them are really far into. We've had clients in the middle of the forest. So it's not easy to access. Sometimes those are areas that are biodiversity protected. So you need extra permits. logistically, it's a lot of work that it's delayed, whether if we use drones and the results from them, it's much quicker, it's easier, it's just safer. And then logistically, it's a lot less of a hassle. Mark Masterton (14:10.87) Now it seems on paper, you know, it makes a lot of sense for drones to be a part of that industry. But what has the take up been like? Was it was there some roadblocks in the beginning? Was there some reluctancy to Monica Hernandez (14:22.594) There is always, I find, humans have a lot of natural resistance to change. And until someone has proven it, and then proven it again, it's like, So I think it is an industry that is still young and is still in. And it's not young because you guys haven't developed the technologies young because the applications are not yet proven. However, I think there is a lot of benefits on using things and technologies like that. Mark Masterton (14:51.704) Can you remember the first time the word drung was mentioned to you in your line of work? Monica Hernandez (14:57.742) Probably not more than eight years ago. Mark Masterton (15:03.892) So still very, very recent. Monica Hernandez (15:05.74) Very recent, very recent. Mark Masterton (15:08.194) How did the pandemic change the industry as a whole that you work in and drones, were they being taken up more rapidly after the pandemic? How did the pandemic shift things? Monica Hernandez (15:21.998) Particularly for our work, it was only that moment where everyone was kind of kicked off of the operation sites because they needed just to ensure only critical people stayed until we kind of normalized that normal at the time. And then we said, OK, we still need to maintain equipment. Certainly it was a slow time because we didn't know. what is going to be next. So that was kind of what we experienced. However, being able to deploy drones instead of people made it easier for get the push into those kinds of technologies. So we got much more inspection reports from drones in our desks than we have previous to the pandemic. Mark Masterton (16:16.078) Okay, so it sort of accelerated it as it did with many other industries as well, technology wise anyway. Drone as the future is made in partnership with Drone as a Service. Make your survey mapping or inspections safer, faster and more efficient with the help of our team. Elevate what's possible with droneasaservice.com. So one of the many facets that drones can help with in oil and gas is to identify areas of insulation that are in need of repair. Can you tell me a little bit more about how that works? Monica Hernandez (16:50.924) That's such a good point. Especially when the facilities are nearby the water or in the middle of the ocean, for example, if you have offshore facilities, one of the biggest struggles that we have is how to manage CUI, which stands for corrosion under insulation. Thank you. So it's the damage that happens when insulation traps water. And then that water interacts with the material and then creates damage. There are obvious signs of potential areas that can get ingress of water. Like normally if you design it and it's fairly new, when you look at that piece of pipe that is insulated, it's all shiny, it's super good, as you know it's... All the straps are all strapped together. There is no gaps. The coking is perfect. And it's like, oh my God, this is beautiful. That lasts for about three hours. People walk and then there is environmental aspects and there is repairs and then there is shutdowns and then there is even traffic through those areas, especially if it is a very, very tight site. So Mark Masterton (17:55.4) no. Monica Hernandez (18:15.582) One of the things that really helps is identify areas of that insulation damage that potentially will help me predict my CUI before it happens. Because when it gets certain types of insulation, when they trap water, are more difficult than others to release that water. And if you imagine that is like you're containing something and it gets water in, the water can go out. So it keeps the environment. producing the damage. And then that's how it's progressing. But if we identify areas, for example, my insulation is not shiny anymore, the straps are a little bit loose, the caulking is degradating because caulking with UV gets degradated, then I can identify areas where I can do repairs before I get areas of intrusion of water. before it happens. So it's again going back to being proactive and reactive. Mark Masterton (19:20.126) And is that using a combination of regular photography and thermal photography to pick out the areas where water is collected? Monica Hernandez (19:32.248) That's correct. That's correct. But just by doing a visual inspection and then collecting areas of, I know that this is a high traffic area. I want to see if the insulation is still in a good condition or not. Then we can go that and look at it. I know that we have installed this insulation five years ago. Cocking must be getting old right now. Is it getting off, is peeling, or is it still intact? And sometimes those areas are high above in a pipe rock. So the logistics to get there with a human eye are a lot, whether with the drone. It's an easy access to get us that information. Mark Masterton (20:15.316) And is there any particular use for LIDAR in your industry? Does it help identify areas that might store oil at all? Is LIDAR of any use in oil and gas? Monica Hernandez (20:29.836) Yeah, I will say in pipeline it will be definitely. Yeah. Mark Masterton (20:33.236) I just want to backtrack a little bit to what you were saying about adoption of new technology. There's always a bit of pushback and needs to be proven again and again and again. And one of the big things you talk about with your consultancy business and your leadership coaching is communicating and making sure people understand that, you know, this is useful. Use it. I just want to meander from that into your work as a coach and how communication is almost, if not more important than the technological advancements. Monica Hernandez (21:08.692) It is. is. I wouldn't say important, I say critical. Like you can have all the knowledge in the world, but if you can't transfer it, your growth in career will be stopped at some point or maybe not. It's not going to be the easiest path for you to grow on that area. And growth has so many different meanings. then people have different aspirations and then maybe not everyone wants to be a CEO. It's a lot of work. So, however, even with my child, communication plays a huge role. everything that I, and I always joke about it and say that he's my biggest experiment, right? Everything that I learn and I. apply to my team of work, I apply with my clients and I apply with my child and I apply with my family, I know that. So it's like, how is this working? And definitely, it makes yourself, you make yourself a favor learning how to communicate, how to engage with people and then you can only understand people, where they are coming from if you really listen to it. And listening is a big part of the communication piece. Mark Masterton (22:28.45) Just waiting for you to finish what you say there and make sure I'm listening properly. All the best interviews do. I wanted to move on to your work in STEM. I mean, the drone industry as a whole is male dominated as are many industries. And you're a big advocate for making sure that there's greater representation of women in these tech spaces and in particular STEM industries. Can you talk to me a little bit about your passion for that and where it began? Monica Hernandez (22:55.342) It began because I lived it and because industry wasn't kind to me. And that has to stop because it's 2026. Hello, guys. Like, it's like in my company, I everyone. I don't care if they're green, if they're blue, if they're Chinese, if they speak Portuguese. I don't care. Like, everyone gets paid what they should be, which is not the case in a lot of the previous experiences I had. as well as everyone is respected, right? I'm not gonna come here and do advancements to you to go to my hotel because I respect you and that's not cool. And we don't feel good when we get those advancements. So why I am doing that? Because I lived it and I have learned so many other women that have gone through the same thing. And it's just not fair. It's like we need to have spaces that are safe. And the more diversity that you bring to the table, the easier that you get problem solved, number one. The more efficient that you are, number two. And then people really want to be there working with you, which isn't that the objective? I would have hate if some of my guys were like, my God, that Monica bitch, I don't want to go to work. And I see that. And it's not good for the environment. It's not good for the individual. It's not good for the collective. So we can do much better. So that is where this came from, is my own experience. And because I want a better world for my kid, for your kids, for your child, for the grandchildren of everyone, you know? Mark Masterton (24:34.67) Absolutely, absolutely. And you're a big believer in taking the time to take care of oneself, self-care. Is there anything you can, a small nugget of advice you can give to people who might be going through these sort of challenges that you face? Monica Hernandez (24:48.95) I have a free leadership for women training, or not training, but like a workshop on my website. if anyone want to take it, it's two hours online. And they can just go there and then take it. It's based on my own experience. It's going to make you ask questions to yourself. But it all starts by asking those questions. It's like, if you're starting to ask a question, why am I waking up to go to this job that I hate? That's you have the answer within you. It's like search for the answer, not with your colleague, not with your spouse, not with your mom, within you. And then listen to that. To me, like so many things that I do journaling, and not every time you have the energy to do the same thing. Or I don't. I get bored. So I do, like I go to the forest. I talk to the trees. Learning what are your needs is so important and I don't think we ask ourselves that question enough. What is that gonna make me feel loved? And don't find anyone to fill that cup. Do it yourself. If you like flowers, go buy yourself flowers. Why are you waiting for your boyfriend to buy it? It's like, only guy doesn't even know that that's important for you. Don't do it, don't wait, just go and do it. If you... feel really good going and do cycling or just do it. Don't wait for your friend to come and so is that piece of knowledge that I don't think we are very huge on. How is my cup full? And nobody's going to fill it for you. Fill it. And then if they give you flowers, it's like extra. So it's bonus. Nice. But you're not waiting for anyone. And I think that's a huge piece on my discovery journey is I never, I didn't wait it for that to happen. And don't get me wrong, I wasn't like that all the time. Like this is how I discovered in the last like four or five years. It's about growth. It is. that's why the company is called Infinity Growth. Mark Masterton (27:01.102) Exactly, exactly. Moving back towards drones, at the moment you're saying that they're used to inspect stacks. Is there any other use of drones in the oil and gas industry? How could they make your job easier going forward? Monica Hernandez (27:19.758) think if we can, coming back to what you were saying on collaboration, if we can integrate that, for example, on the 24th of April, we celebrate Corrosion Awareness Day, which means Corrosion Touches Everyone is like a lot of money goes wasted in corrosion. It's like 3.5 trillion dollars is like a lot of money. So how can we not waste that money in something that we know how to prevent? Because we know that we have brilliant people, technologies that are helping us. So why are we not taking those decisions correctly? Anyway, we are going to present, and if this is beyond the time, we presented the latest technologies we are working on, which is like Digital Twin. technology that integrates a lot of that. So if we can integrate data directly from the drone into the live. model that we are building, then that will be super awesome because then we can have real data from the inspection right away. Mark Masterton (28:32.984) Can you just tell me what a digital twin is? I've done a little bit of reading on it, but I'm sure you have a much more in-depth answer for me. Monica Hernandez (28:40.782) So you know when you have, like I wish we have a technology for example and I think some of the functional doctors have that you go to the doctor and they are not looking at you as okay the cardiologist is your heart and then I don't know what other doctors are but different disciplines the functional doctor looks at everything and then they have predictions and they can say okay if you take five milligrams or I don't know sodium or whatever then you will this condition and then you will get more energy and then you will get better sleep so they look at like a whole thing Mark Masterton (29:14.862) Are you my doctor? You tell me exactly what she's been saying. Sorry. Back to your point. Monica Hernandez (29:21.166) I just had a call with her coming in. No kidding. But yeah, that's what it is, right? Like predicting. And this is what we are trying to say instead of being reactive, being proactive, because 75 % of the impact of a product as an industry into what is going to be the environmental impact can be decided at the design stage. how materials are interacting, how you're welding that, how are you supposed to erect those plants or facilities that you're building, how are you going to operate it. So if you take that in consideration, before it's built, we can model a lot of things. can say, instead of having an H2S content of this, let's say for whatever reason you're going to have this much. What is the effect in the material now? And you can do that at the design stage. Now with the plants that are already built, those are the cognitions right now, but they are going to continue deteriorate. One thing that I can tell you for sure is that you're going to get wrinkles. I don't know when, but you will. It's a fact. Those old things that surrounds us are going to age. So your vessels, your piping, your tanks, they're going to age. Mark Masterton (30:40.014) Thanks Monica Hernandez (30:50.764) So how are they going to age and how can we predict in a better position integrating all the tools that we know now, AI and all that, how can they age in a better way so we'd make the least impact into environment and people? So it's like a modeling of the conditions, so much like a functional doctor. Mark Masterton (31:14.222) these analogies that you make into a doctor makes it very easy to understand, particularly for me. So I appreciate that. Do you think drones are here to stay? Do think they're going to be used more and more? We've obviously seen that uptick since the pandemic, but going forward, do you think that they're going to become even more and more important? Monica Hernandez (31:31.8) I hope so, and I hope that we really go and harness the technology that is available to us. So we use the resources that we have, the human resources that we have in the best areas. And so I think it's a really nice technology to harness and make less of a waste of time and less impact on the health and safety and logistics and... Mark Masterton (32:00.066) Looking forward into the future, we'd love a world where more women are taking part in STEM industries. Is there a message you'd like to give to young girls who might be interested in a career in STEM or in drone flying, piloting? What would be your message to them? Monica Hernandez (32:19.96) Go for it. Go for it. Not only young girls, but anyone. Go for it. Sometimes people get very antsy about what is going to happen if it didn't work. But what if it works? Like here you have a Colombian girl that wished to do policewoman and 46 years later has a company in engineering in Canada where English is not her first language. I am employing people, I'm giving opportunities to families to be together. And all that didn't came from, I'm handing you this. No, it's work. So do it. And if you don't like what you're doing, just go back and do something different. It's like nobody's going to take away the fact that I can go back to Colombia and say, you know what, I'm done with this. Go back to Colombia and open a restaurant. So what? Nothing happens if I don't want to live here and I want to live in China. I go there if I don't like it, come back. Sometimes we think that decisions are life-changing and I'm not like that. I have done so many changes. I've lived in six cities in Canada, different provinces. It is really nice to get out and just experiment and see what do you feel and if it is for you, nice. If it is not, nothing happens. I'm not asking you to cut your arm or you do, you know, it was like, yeah, go there, experiment. If not, go back. Mark Masterton (33:55.182) I love that engineering mindset. Just turn the dial a little bit, see how it feels, and then if not, turn it back or do something else. I think it's a great way to look at life and a really inspiring way to wrap things up here, I think. Yeah, if you want to be inspired by guests like Monica in the future, keep listening. And thank you very much for taking the time to be on our podcast. I really appreciate it. Monica Hernandez (34:17.678) Thank you for bringing me. Love to the questions. I really like to be on the other side of the mic and you did a fantastic job. Thank you. Mark Masterton (34:26.53) very much. Hopefully maybe we can turn the tables another day and I'll be on yours. There you knows. Anyway if you want to see what flies ahead follow the podcast on all the places where you find your podcasts. Thank you very much. Drone as the future is made in partnership with Drone as a Service. Make your survey mapping or inspections safer faster and more efficient with the help of our team. Elevate what's possible with drone as a service dot com. Monica Hernandez (34:53.784) you Monica Hernandez (35:01.902) Thank you. Monica Hernandez (35:21.71) that the drone connects with my digital screen and I update the information that we have, gives recommendations to client and then they'll me a, that I can look at and say approved or not. Mark Masterton (35:29.87) for the guests this week. Mark Masterton (35:35.448) look to being helped. Mark Masterton (35:40.738) Nice. That sounds nice. Less work, you just get to do a pop-up. Boop approved. Thank you very much. Love that. Love that. So that's to help you with your work, assume? Yeah. Is there anything like food delivery or anything like that that you would like? Away from work when Monica's relaxing at home with the family. Monica Hernandez (36:03.042) Maybe. Monica Hernandez (36:08.888) love for the drones to take me travel. Mark Masterton (36:12.524) Yeah, I would love that, you know, like a taxi sort of thing. exactly. Monica Hernandez (36:17.326) Exactly, I feel to be on the beach today. Let's take the drone. Mark Masterton (36:23.948) that be nice? Just like a little three seater? Off you go. That would be nice. I agree. Mark Masterton (36:39.928) This has been the Drone as the Future podcast. Today's episode has been produced by Ryan Whitten, coordinated by Samantha Hollamay, filmed by John Rawlinson, and features original intro music by Josh Santos. Thank you very much for tuning in, and if you'd like to follow along our journey, fly over to that subscribe button wherever you're listening so you can be updated to hear what flies ahead.