Unmanned systems and drones are new technologies employed by many construction firms today. Drones have made site management, topographic mapping, volumetrics, progress reports, and safety compliance checkups much faster, safer, and cheaper than ever before, and construction firms are capitalizing on the new opportunity.
How are Drones Being Used by Construction Firms?
Topographic Mapping
When planning large and complex construction projects, accurate topographic maps of the job site is essential. With high powered cameras and sensors, and photogrammetry software, drones can create orthomosaics and digital surface models (DSMs) in minutes, helping with cut and fill excavation, and saving construction firms time and money while providing more accurate data than manual alternatives.
Site Management & Equipment Tracking
Construction site managers often need to keep track of all rented and owned equipment
on job sites. On large sites, this can be an extremely tedious and laborious exercise. Drones make site and equipment management much faster and easier, helping site managers track the status of their project and their equipment, replacing long spreadsheets, and avoiding expensive accidental extension charges.
Volumetrics & Stockpile Management
On large job sites construction firms can be bringing in raw materials daily, and a continuous job for site managers is stockpile management: understanding how much of each raw material is on the job site, and how much to order. For large projects, this can be thousands of tons of raw materials, which bring stockpile measurement challenges to construction firms. With high powered cameras and volumetrics software, drones can quickly and accurately measure stockpiles of materials, helping site managers understand how much of each material they have, and helping them make more informed decisions.
Safety Compliance Checkup
On large job sites, conditions often change, and can change unexpectedly. Drones can survey a job site to obtain data on a changing landscape and inform site managers of this change before the workers are faced with it. Additionally, safety on construction sites not only pertains to the workers, but the
public as well. Drones can be used to monitor the perimeter of job sites, notifying site managers of a perimeter breach where public could enter a site and potentially hurt themselves.
Check out this article to learn more about insurance options: Drone Insurance: Are You Really Covered?
Jobsite Estimations
When construction projects or aspects of a projects go to bid, contractors send out their bid teams to the site to evaluate the project and come up with the most accurate estimate they can for the requested work. Drones can help bid teams evaluate large projects by providing them with accurate data, helping them win deals.
Security & Surveillance
According to the National Equipment Register, over $300 million worth of construction equipment is stolen from job sites every year, and less than 25% of it gets recovered. Drones can provide unmatched aerial intelligence, for a fraction of the cost, helping site managers surveil job sites and protect their equipment.
Improved Documentation with Subcontractors
High-resolution images, videos, and orthomosaic maps can be easily captured with drones and provided to management, stakeholders, compliance teams, insurance firms, and clients, showing real time progress and providing job status updates. Manual site walkthroughs and evaluations are time consuming, dangerous, and expensive. With drones, the same data can be captured in minutes for a fraction of the price, providing stakeholders with regular updates, and helping keep jobs on budget.
Why are Drones Useful on Construction Sites?
- Safety – Drones keep construction workers off equipment and out of dangerous situations.
- OSHA Compliance – Drones can help project managers remain OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) compliant.
- Reduced Risks – As small, unmanned vehicles, drones can fly very close to assets and infrastructure.
- Save Time – Large quantities of data with increased accuracy can be captured in minutes.
- Improved Process – Drones help document progress, and create transparency on job sites, helping projects stay on track.
- Reduced Costs – Drones help to reduce operational costs on construction sites by replacing human effort and increasing accessibility.
What To Know Before Using Drones
- FAA Rules & Regulations – Without a special waiver, current FAA regulations only allow drones to be flown during daylight hours, no higher than 400 feet and no faster than 100 miles per hour. Additionally, the aircraft must remain in the visual line of sight of the remote operator.
- Costs of Setting Up a Drone Program – Flying a drone for commercial use requires training. While the benefits far outweigh the costs, it’s important for oil and gas firms to understand their goals and create a plan before purchasing hardware.
- Risk of Lawsuits – Similar to any other collision, if a drone crashes, any harmed individuals may be able to bring upon a lawsuit. This further emphasizes the importance of training, and understanding the rules and regulations, so oil and gas firms can fly safely and compliantly.
How Can Adorama Business Solutions Help?
- Top Vendors – Adorama Business Solutions has strong relationships with top manufacturers like DJI, Autel, FLIR, Flyability, senseFly, Yuneec, Draganfly and many more.
- Training – Adorama offers numerous UAS training programs, from its in-house, ground-up drone training for Public Safety, to COA Development, SOP Development, photogrammetry, crime scene mapping, night and thermal operations and more.
- Software & Payloads – Adorama carries many software solutions, and our experts can discuss the right software, hardware, camera and sensor pairings for the job.
- Subject Matter Experts – Adorama Business Solutions employs and partners with dozens of drone industry experts, with vast arrays of experience. We help companies get started flying their missions—efficiently and compliantly.
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