Rope Access To Drone Manager

Get to know Drone Inspections WA (DIWA) managing director Lee Freer. Lee started his working life in the fish factories of Grimsby in the United Kingdom, paying his way through college, where he earned a City and Guilds in basic engineering processes and an NVQ Lvl 2 in carpentry and joinery. Lee later secured an apprenticeship with NEL Joinery where he served his time, eventually becoming the proprietor of two successful carpentry and joinery businesses both in the UK and Holland. He then moved on to a new life and fresh start in Australia, working his way through from a laborer to basic, intermediate then advanced scaffolder. Lee is also qualified for basic rigging, work platforms, forklift and as a HG driver. Natural progression drove Lee into the field of NDT (Non Destructive Ultrasonic Testing), fitting of pipelines, using IRATA rope access techniques, completing level 1, 2 and finally level 3. Altogether 9 years in total of rope access experience in the oil, gas and alumina industries.

He then moved onto planning, supervision and height safety documentation on the ALCOA sites, where Lee saw a need for a safer, more cost effective system to inspect, photograph and report in the ever changing world of heavy industry. This brings him to his present position of managing a company with a great innovative business partner and long time friend Mike Appleyard. With drive and determination, Drone Inspections WA (DIWA) was born. Lee said "We are now one of Australia's fastest growing drone inspection surveying and photography organisations of which i'm extremely proud to say i'm a part of.