The use of drones in construction has made changes in the process of building construction. In recent years, drones have improved the construction industry, from increased productivity to tracking, reduced risk, more efficient communication, and mitigating risk.
1. Monitoring Productivity to Increase Efficiency
Maps generated from drone data can be created frequently and sent to a project manager, who will use them to plan and monitor progress. It is a crucial part of the construction to avoid any potential setbacks, leading to bursting the project's budget.
Drones can be used to monitor construction movements.
Drone imaging can be viewed repeatedly to spot loopholes and delays of projects by showing the erection sequences, crane locations, and perimeter security. Also, by utilizing aerial data to generate maps, one can tell if the equipment or machinery has incorrect placement or is missing and can help identify places where the manager should further investigate.
With the assistance, it effectively saves the time of visiting personally to review different project areas. It can be quickly done by zooming in to see a particular location and identify remotely.
Another crucial benefit of using drone data is that it provides a permanent record of a project, which can be referred to at any time. In case of any issues, one can retrieve and review past data to understand the conditions that caused the problem to arise. Whereas, without drone data, a written report with a handful of images will be documented manually at the site, leading to a surface level of understanding to another due to lack of details, analysis, and not to forget the human error.
2. Virtual Reality Tracking
Construction projects are often complex and involve multiple stakeholders such as architects, designers, facilities management, investors and building owners, who might face difficulties understanding the construction project's real-time update. They often work from offices far away from the site, maybe even in another country. By using virtual walk-throughs, it serves as the next closest thing to be on site. On top of that, they can view pre-recorded footage regarding the project's progression.
Live tracking with advanced technology.
Alternatively, they can now carry out a live discussion concerning the real-time footages, facilitating a clearer and added depth of understanding of the building progression.
Furthermore, drones can carry out maintenance inspections remotely, capturing and recording large and multiple areas in a short period. This is a critical benefit for areas that might be unsafe for workers to enter or places that are more inaccessible, like roof spaces. After so, they can arrange for the repair to a maintenance engineer.
3. Improved Safety
Workers tend to be prone to accidents as they are often required to monitor and inspect inaccessible areas. Rather than climbing electric poles, studying facilities using tied ropes, or working along busy highways, workers can fly a drone and review via images and footage without exposing themselves to risks.
Construction workers are prone to injuries and accidents.
Apart from workers' safety, being safe on a construction site is also relevant to civilians and passers-by. It requires the securing of work area only to accessible personnel. Similarly, drone imagery is a possible solution to detect a breach in the perimeter of a site faster, limiting civilian entry, which brings potential accidents.
4. Improve Communication and Management
With the constant advancement in technology, drone technology can achieve instant connectivity and communication on the construction site. Drones are seen as a means of maintaining continuous contact with the sites. They feature mounted cameras to record footages for the review of sites and enable companies to keep tabs on workers while being a cost-effective tool for superintendents and investors.
Monitoring can be done through multiple users to facilitate an effective communication.
As communication is critical in all projects, it has resulted in a sharp increase in Efficiency due to the ability to discuss using real-time data from drones. The reduction of delays in collating data is resulting in a more significant impact day by day. The management of workflow in a day is remarkable and is undoubtedly causing a substantial impact on all aspects of construction processes.
5. Mitigate Risk
Contractors carry risks in every project. From being overcharged on one end, to being underpaid on the other, to faults, revision, missed due dates, and legal challenges, these all adds up as opportunities to lose money. As a solution, drone data can help mitigate risks by identifying issues before they arise, providing data as evidence in disputes and legal challenges.
Drone footages can be recorded as potential evidence in disputes.In situations where a project progresses with ongoing faulty construction, it is tough to trace back to the root of the problem, which would take up time. Hence, with evidence from the drone data, it enables one to retrieve wanted data at specific phases in the construction process. Subsequently, the stakeholders can pinpoint the mistakes and settle these disputes out of court with clear evidence.
