Construction

Site mapping will always be one of the first things a construction company will have to do at a prospective building site, and, in many ways, it’s the most important. Site mapping was originally a game of guesswork, but as technology advances, it’s grown to include a number of useful strategies: GPS mapping represented a quantum leap forward in the study of site mapping and site surveying, and recent advances in unmanned aerial vehicles (UAC) technology have only pushed this further. Whether they’re providing vital stockpiling measurements or producing elevation maps through orthomosaic mapping, drone mapping has proved an invaluable boon in the construction field. Being able to quickly get an aerial view whenever you need it – no fussing around with hiring helicopters or bussing in cranes – means that relevant data can be collected and analyzed quickly to correlate meaningful data points. Already, many construction companies are racing to hire out drone fleets for fast, accurate, and safe construction.

Aerial Photography & Videography

Ninety percent of success is showing up – and in the construction industry, “showing up” means that you have to first find the right place to show up. Finding the right site for a building can mean days or even weeks of searching prospective areas; in some cases, this means analyzing patterns of local traffic, gathering topographic data, and snapping photographs of the area in question. Drones are an invaluable factor in streamlining this once-arduous process, and the ability to take snapshots from the air greatly accelerates project management. Since aerial drones are smaller than helicopters, they’re not subject to the same stringent airspace regulations that restrict helicopter flights; lower flight paths means that aerial imaging can be more detailed than other options and include HD photos and HD video, both invaluable for aerial construction photography, videography, and site analysis.

Drones Surveillance & Inspection

Any good site manager knows the importance of conducting regular maintenance, health, and safety checks in addition to site inspections. Whether they’re for construction inspections, engineering inspections, or industrial inspections, keeping your project site well-maintained and your employees healthy and motivated guarantees good results. Additionally, thanks to their small size and maneuverability, drones can squeeze into tight places where other people or instruments can’t go. Equipped with a suite of video cameras and thermal sensors, drones can even patrol sites to monitor potential trespassers and reduce internal and external theft, allowing managers to keep security tight and efficient.

Common Challenges for The Construction Industry

Monitoring large sites

• Keeping tabs on large areas can be a difficult task: networks of security cameras may suffer wire faults that prevent them from properly transmitting. Some construction sites are so large that it’s impossible for one person to keep tabs on everyone. As a result, problems can go undetected and unreported, causing setbacks and delays.
• Drones can hover above the construction site; from above, a handful of drones can provide comprehensive aerial surveillance from a wide variety of angles, allowing project managers to quickly respond to accidents, emergencies, or requests for aid.

Best locations for roads/access

• A construction site might be located anywhere. Whether it’s in the middle of the city or deep in the backwoods, getting an accurate picture of the entrance and exit routes is imperative to maintaining the steady flow of resources and waste materials.
• In urban environments, dense traffic might make it difficult for construction machinery to safely access the construction site.
• In rural areas, it might be necessary to plot a new road entirely, one flat and sturdy enough to ensure that the heaviest machines can make the trip.
• Using topographic imaging and orthomosaic maps, drones can monitor nearby roads, constructing traffic maps in urban regions or three-dimensional topographies in rural areas, allowing managers to get up-to-the-minute information regarding accessibility.

 Keeping projects in scope and on budget

• “Over-time and over-budget:” every manager’s nightmare. This might be due to a variety of factors: workman’s compensation, evacuation from on-site accidents, or the importation of a new piece of equipment to replace broken machinery.
• Drones are cost-effective investments; one drone can perform a host of different tasks such as mapping, providing aerial surveillance, and surveying hazardous or unreachable areas.
• Drones can track the weather to provide fast and accurate weather reports for outdoor construction.
• With built-in cameras, drones can even perform inventory control, providing accurate stock reports without having to spend hours rummaging in warehouses.

 Use of Drones in Construction Industry

 Architecture and design

• Aerial photography allows for panoramic, 360-degree shots of potential construction sites in areas that can’t be easily accessed.
• During the construction process, drones can provide in-progress photographs of a construction site to help architects conceptualize the design process and provide real-time feedback.

Collecting data

• Drones are durable, maneuverable, and adaptable; this means that they can gather data from inaccessible or dangerous places – such as from the top of a skyscraper, or from the bottom of a foundation.

 Security

• Maintaining the health and safety of your on-site workers is important, but it’s just as vital to keep a secure workplace.
• Drones can help to monitor construction sites from a wide variety of angles and heights. Using drones, managers can perform regular “security sweeps,” monitor for off-hours trespassers using thermal imaging, and reduce theft with their constant presence.

 Improving visibility

• When you’re working on a deadline, efficiency and safety become very high priorities.
• By hiring drone operators, managers can view large sites all at once, without having to waste time performing physical walkabouts; the high-definition readability to pinpoint flaws in construction that might not otherwise have been readily detectable.

Instill confidence in clients

• We live in an age of constantly advancing technology.
• Knowing that your company is technically savvy enough to implement drone technology and utilize them at their maximum efficiency will improve a client’s confidence in your company, making you a more attractive option.

 Improving safety and reducing litigation

• By monitoring a wide area all at once, it’s easier for project managers to immediately detect any kind of safety risk and promptly take action.
• Drones mitigate any kind of potential litigation, saving time, money, and ensuring that your workers will remain happy and healthy, and your project delivered on time.