5 WAYS DRONES ARE CHANGING THE WAY CONSTRUCTION IS DONE
The construction industry is adapting the fastest to commercial drone technology.
Drones are changing the way construction companies do business, helping them coordinate teams more efficiently, track progress more regularly, and complete projects faster with less waste.
Here are five ways drones are being used in construction operations right now.
1. Pre-Planning Stages
The drone collects visual data to help construction companies get a solid visual understanding of the entire site before they begin building. Depending on how big the land is, aerial videos and photos could show possible swamp or flood zones, elevation changes, old architecture, or other factors that can help determine if this is the best place to dig, build, or stockpile materials. Also as a bonus, it gives designers a view of the surrounding areas to see which colors to use as an aesthetic viewpoint.
2. Safety
Drones are replacing aerial videography and photography because the only other way of getting aerial views is from a helicopter. Drones not only make it easier but they make it safer and so much cheaper.
Safety isn’t just about keeping workers safe, it’s also about finding access points where civilians can enter the work area and not get hurt, this data can help them stay on top of changing weather conditions that may impact safety.
3. Constant Communication
Depending on the project’s daily, bi-weekly, or monthly reports can be now sent to clients and architects. This helps them stay reassured that everything is going the way it is supposed to; especially with larger projects that usually have more stakeholders in multiple locations. Before drones, clients would have to fly and/or drive to the site to see in person how things are going; or hire a helicopter and camera crew to get those aerial shots, very expensive, which isn’t cost-effective when it comes to how fast the construction project is coming along. Here at Drone over the top, we create orthomosaic maps using our drone data to provide clients with detailed, real-time reports on how things are progressing on-site.
4. Efficiency
Drones are like the goalie on the soccer field, they can see things from a broader perspective. Drone mapping creates data that can be regularly sent to the architect or project manager who can use them to quickly adapt in case of change; which happens all the time! We all know that monitoring constantly is a very crucial part of avoiding delays that can potentially cause a project to go over budget. NEVER A GOOD IDEA
5. On-Site Accountability and Productivity
Aerial photos and videos not only keep track of your site but your ground team. Constant aerial photos are like maps that can be used to see where equipment is if it is left in the wrong area, where their crew is to manage productivity, and more. This can save the project manager time by either walking around on foot or golf cart and there is photo proof of progression but providing permanent records of the project. If something happens to go wrong down the line, you can look back to review earlier data and see where things got off the path.