It’s a bird… it’s a plane… no, it’s a DJI Phantom 4! Drones are changing the construction industry in a whole new way providing better management, safety, and more!
Over the past few months, we have been using drones to capture amazing photos and videos of our job sites, providing our teams with quick, accurate data, and great visuals to show our clients.
Drones are being used in a variety of ways today such as sporting events, deliveries, wildlife organizations, by the military, and yes, the construction industry. More and more, construction companies are using drones on their job sites.
What is a Drone?
A drone is a small unmanned aircraft system that can be used for commercial purposes. The drone has a high-end camera with a stabilizer, so it’s able to fly up high and capture steady aerial photography, all by the use of a remote control. Pretty cool, eh? There are several ways drones are changing the construction industry.
Visual Inspection
Instead of using ladders, aerial lifts, or man baskets, we can use a drone to get first-hand visuals of the structure’s aesthetics, or check the structure integrity of the exterior facade while having zero safety risk to our workers leading to improvements in overall infrastructure.
Showing Clients Progress
When clients are unable to come to the job every week, drones can be extremely helpful in showing them the progress on the job and provide the client a visual aspect they wouldn’t have been able to see even if they were on the job site.
Surveying
Instead of using human resources and expensive surveying tools that end up producing complex data that needs a great deal of analysis, a drone can provide accurate data first, saving our clients time and money. For example, a quick drone fly-over can help generate an accurate quantity and volume of dirt and other fill material on a site. A drone eliminates the human error involved in this traditional process.
Better Management
A drone provides instant connectivity between clients, construction workers, managers, and the job site. Many superintendents consider a drone to be an invaluable tool. Clients with up-to-date site photos can express changes they want to see early in the process, rather than down the line when they are much more costly. Drones also increase efficiency due to their ability to collect real-time data.
Safety
A drone can be extremely helpful in a construction company’s safety program. Being able to have our eyes and ears in the sky allows us to carefully examine and better position a job site, and be able to spot safety hazards easier. Not only that, drones sent up to spot structural issues in high locations reduce the number of workers exposed to fall risk.
Drones provide big data, great visuals, safety opportunities, and better management, which all lead to efficiency, saving our clients time and money. JP Cullen currently has three licensed drone pilots at who visit our job sites to fly them.
Watch for #DestinationDrone on social media to see where our drone is flying!
