Overview
During our audit, we were given a demonstration of a drone flight mission at Union Point in Weymouth, as well as a walkthrough of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation Aeronautics Division’s drone inventory at a secure location at Logan Airport. Both the walkthrough and the demonstration illustrated the Aeronautics Division Drone Program and its potential use for the Commonwealth. The division operates missions throughout Massachusetts. After completed missions, drones are not always stored at the division’s secure location at Logan Airport. Rather, the division maintains several of its drones at the residences of Aeronautics Division Drone Program personnel.
It may be reasonable to maintain an asset at a drone pilot’s residence if that process is addressed in the Aeronautics Division’s policies and procedures, assists in the efficiency and effectiveness of work, and benefits the Commonwealth’s endeavors. We asked whether the division had a policy or procedures for the secure storage of drones off site and learned that it did not. The division also does not have
sign-in/sign-out procedures for its drones.
The Aeronautics Division has a draft of its “Interim (Internal) Policy for the Use of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS)” that is not signed and has not been updated since 2017. The policy does not address key risks associated with the Aeronautics Division Drone Program, namely organizational emergency response and monitoring of the drone inventory. Emergency response planning is critical to an organization like the Aeronautics Division and will become increasingly necessary as the program expands in size and scope.
The Aeronautics Division should establish a control environment related to its drone operations that includes policies and procedures for the secure storage of drones at Logan Airport and off site, precise accounting for its inventory with detailed sign-in/sign-out procedures, and ways to address emergencies.
The Office of the State Auditor believes that to ensure that the drone inventory is managed properly, and to address organizational emergency concerns, the Aeronautics Division should immediately develop and implement policies and procedures to address organizational emergency response and drone inventory tracking.
| Date published: | June 30, 2022 |
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