Blattner teams up with Built to improve safety in solar construction

US renewable energy construction firm Blattner, a Quanta Services, Inc. company, and San Francisco-based Built Robotics have announced a three-year agreement, wherein Blattner will deploy dozens of Built’s AI-powered robots on solar projects across the United States.

The robots will assist Blattner’s crews with pile driving, surveying, material handling, drilling and trenching. The initiative aims to enhance worker safety, improve operational efficiency and meet the nation’s growing demand for clean power and energy dominance, according to a media release.

This partnership builds on a track record of successful collaboration between the two American companies, leveraging Blattner’s experience in renewable energy construction and Built’s automation technology.

“Safety is a priority for us,” said Brandon Bruski, Vice President – Solar at Blattner. “Our work with Built allows us to remove the risks of pile driving to team members on-site while also maintaining and even improving quality, accelerating project schedules and delivering certainty to our clients.”

“Blattner is the leader in their field and earning their trust means a lot,” said Noah Ready-Campbell, CEO of Built Robotics. “Our robots have already deployed on five Blattner projects, and on each of them we’ve both learned from the subject matter experts in the field and delivered a quality work product that’s ready for the next crew. It’s an honor to have this partnership and take things to the next level.”

Built’s robots are managed by trained operators working at a safe distance from the equipment. By taking workers out of harm’s way, the technology significantly reduces the potential for injuries and improves the capacity for safe operations.

In addition, all of Built’s robots utilize an 8-Layer Safety System, which includes AI-powered personnel detection, geofence barriers and other safety mechanisms, the media release said.