Drone Construction Inspection - Drones In The Construction Industry
Recent studies have highlighted the explosive growth experienced by drone operators in the construction industry. In fact, there has been a 239%growth in the use of drones annually, throughout this sector, more so than any other sector in the UK.
Drone percentages are then closely followed by the mining and agricultural industries but as can be seen from these three sectors drones have gained major uptake in areas which require practical applications. But what is it about drones in general that have caused them to become so popular in construction?
What Is Drone Construction?
Firstly, lets break down the drone construction concept to better understand their uses. Essentially drone construction is the use of a drone within a construction site to support the project, reduce risk in the project by providing timely, accurate data to enable informed decision making.
Using a drone on a work site will allows you to view things from different perspectives, easily being able to gain a bird’s eye view and survey the whole area from a safe and remote vantage point.
Drones will follow a flight path to inspect, survey, or map a building efficiently and easier than any surveyor would be able to achieve.
Do Construction Companies Use Drones?
Drones have become increasingly popular and are now seen as more than just a cool toy. Many industries are now introducing drones into their businesses and the construction industry is no exception to this trend.
Within a construction site, project managers are commonly recognised as introducing drones into the workplace and overseeing their operation to plan future work better. As drone pilots have to go through a rigorous process of testing in order to be licensed to carry out this work they usually work with a drone inspection specialist like us here at Drone Works, if anything more than pretty pictures is required.
Drones are being recognised each day for their innovative ways in helping cut time and money spent right down.
Why Are Drones Used In Construction?
There are several reasons as to why drones are becoming increasingly popular across construction sites and that is for their ability to provide high quality data through topographic mapping and land surveying.
Whilst it is vital that the drones provide us with accurate data, it is also imperative to do so in a safe manner. From equipment tracking to remote monitoring, the data produced can allow any onsite managers to make better decisions. If a dangerous obstacle has arisen during the course of construction, then pre-emptive measures can be taken before an accident occurs. This alone would greatly increase the general safety of any work site.
On top of this, many commercial quality drones provide very accurate information, with it being rare for any false or misleading information to be produced.
More comprehensively broken down, the advantages of drone construction inspections include:
Time and Cost Saving
One factor which catches the eye of the construction industry is the ability to reduce project expenditure as they cut down several overheads.
For many building projects, it is necessary to carry out an adequate survey before beginning work. These surveys can take days and often require operations to slow down or even halt outright.
Naturally, operations being paused translates to money being lost, workmen standing around, and deadlines being delayed.
By using a drone to carry out your surveying, data can be collected quickly, allowing surveyors and engineers to focus on what they do best, rather than spending days collecting data.
Data derived from drone surveys is also useful for quantifying earth works, stockpile volumes, materials management plan (MMP), as built surveys and much more.
Protecting Workers Safety
Surveying a building, specifically a roof, in the traditional method will result in a surveyor climbing to a substantial height to collect the data they require. This act alone increases the chances of the surveyor sustaining significant injuries, or even a fatality in the worst-case scenario.
Using a drone to complete the survey on a construction project will dramatically reduce the risk of any accidents occurring and prevent anyone climbing to any great heights when it is not required.
The worst that could happen through a drone inspection is a loss of equipment rather than life.
Reaching Areas Which Are Unreachable or Unsafe to Go
Many large buildings will have areas which may prove difficult to reach and record data from. Some of these areas can even be dangerous or unsafe to walk across or in the vicinity of.
If you are collecting data or measurements from above, you will need the complete measurements which include the whole building. This means that you are unable to miss out any part of the building.
You may also need to inspect a site prior to gaining access and starting your work. Without knowing the condition and potential hazards there may be within this site, you will be unaware of the potential dangers which can cause anyone to have a serious accident.
Drones are small enough, as well as capable of reaching those awkward angles or areas which most surveyors would feel uncomfortable exploring by themselves. After all, why put yourself in danger when your drone can collect the data for you?
Where Are Drones Used In Construction?
If you have an area which is involved with the construction industry, a drone can be an excellent investment in the continued functioning of your business. There can be so many ways in which a drone can be used within the construction industry which means there are even more places where they can be used.
Buildings
A drone can be used to help complete surveys on any building projects you are currently working on.
By introducing a drone to complete your surveys, you can check the current condition and detect any issues or defects prior to your work starting.
Without a drone, most buildings would require the use of scaffolding or a cherry picker to be used. This costs more money, is slower and provides substantially greater risks to onsite personnel.
Construction Sites
If you have been on a working construction site, you will understand how busy and hectic they can be when in full operation. This can make it extremely dangerous for anybody walking around to carry out an inspection.
Enter an inspection drone! By providing an aerial alternative there will be no reason for anyone to be walking around a busy construction site to record data.
Instead, you have the ability to stay out of harms way whilst the drone completes the flight path and collects all data whilst avoiding disruption.
Virtual Walk Arounds
Sometimes your clients or project managers will want to complete a walk around the site to check on the current progress of the project. Without going to the effort and inconvenience of pausing all machinery and work, any walk arounds can be considered as dangerous and a risk of an accident occurring.
However, by using a drone around your construction site, you are capable of completing a virtual walk around from the safety of a building and this will provide you with high quality date which you may not have been able to receive had you have completed your walk.
Promoting Your Company
Promoting your company can be a great way to attract a larger audience and bring more clientele in which will of course generate more money.
In order for you to produce quality promotional adverts, high quality content is a must. It is highly unlikely that anyone will choose to use a company which uses poor quality imagery which is blurry or pixelated.
Not only can a drone capture high quality imagery and video footage, but it can also produce a different angle of content such as a bird's-eye view of your site or projects. Many high end brands make use of drone footage to expand their digital presence.
How Are Drones Impacting The Construction Industry?
Since drones were first introduced to the construction industry, the demand for them has continuously grew and expanded. There is nonsurprise due to how useful they can be for your construction company. It has been estimated that drones will help the construction industry save up to £3.5bnby 2030! This is going to create a substantially positive impact towards construction as this saved capital can be reinvested towards further improvements to help the workers and develop current technology, machinery, and operations.
Over the next few years, we are going to continue to see improvements and developments which is going to benefit all of us as drones become more and more popular. There is going to be more drones being used by more companies looking to partner with specialist, qualified companies for drone construction inspections.
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