When the first drone was created, most people thought of it as more of a toy. However, creative individuals had other applications for drones in mind. Today, drones are not only used widely in the military both for reconnaissance and other missions, but also in many other fields as well.
Thanks to improved technology, drones have evolved, as they are now fitted with the best chips, cameras and motors among other aspects. Drones have become the center of interest for many fields, especially with the ability to help make certain aspects of a job easier.
The construction industry has not been left behind. Below are the benefits of drones for the constructions industry.
Project Evaluation
Before excavating, surveyors usually carry out an inspection of the site to determine if the location is feasible. Drones for construction projects can be used to conduct aerial surveys and evaluation of a site. This can be very useful in the urban areas where space is tight. With tools like Google Maps, one can calculate dimensions, height restrictions and access points. This will save the project sponsors time and money.
Monitor Movement of Materials
When Amazon announced that it would be using drones to deliver goods, many people were wondering how they would achieve this. Drones have since improved in technology from the first day they were developed.
Today, drones are able to carry items of different sizes therefore making them suitable for use in construction sites. Constructions sites typically use a variety of cranes in order to move materials from one level to another. The cranes are cumbersome to assemble, costly to implement, and also difficult to transport. With drones, materials can be moved easily from one level to another therefore allow the project to be completed easier.
Roof Inspection
The roof is an essential part of the building. On the roof, you will find many buildings with a helipad, while others will have air conditioning fans and ventilation.
Access to the roof is usually via a doorway which is connected by the stairway that goes all the way down to the ground floor. Inspecting the roof can be quite a demanding job with limited accessibility, therefore many important parts may go unchecked.
With drones, roof inspection has never been easier as it can be done with the personnel at the ground floor therefore reducing any risk.
Reduced Energy Costs
At night, construction projects are usually lit up in order to provide security and allow security personnel to know where intruders are. Lighting up a construction site will utilize a lot of energy which increases energy bills. This will ultimately increase costs of the project.
When you invest in a drone, especially those with 4K HD cameras with infrared capability, you will get to monitor the project at night. You can simply have the drones fly around the project site, therefore capturing both video and photos of the area. This will offer you 24 hour surveillance of your project as well as save your business on energy costs, since you will be utilizing less light.
Building Surveillance
Construction projects may take months and even years to complete, especially if the building to be constructed is large. From the excavation of the foundation, to the rise of the walls and floors, fitting of the roof, and exterior and interior decorations, the progress needs to be recorded.
While project managers arrive at the site in order to view the progress, the work can be tiresome when it comes to inspecting the whole building. Consider the construction of a building like the Burj Al Arab or the Burj Khalifa in Dubai. Monitoring the building requires a lot of supervisors who have to be paid. Furthermore, mistakes will be made as there are details that will missed which can become a huge set back in the future.
With drones for construction projects fitted with sensitive cameras, project managers can monitor the progress of the construction with ease.
Contractor Surveillance
Construction projects are usually large in scale and involve a lot of workers who have different responsibilities. Even though you have management to report on when workers arrive and when they leave work, it is quite difficult to monitor their presence during the day.
Imagine the construction of a huge skyscraper or a huge mall like those found in Dubai with thousands of workers on the job. Having supervisors and contractors is simply not enough. They are human and they will not be able to keep up with all workers especially if the project goes on during the night.
Using drones in the construction industry, project sponsors and managers can be able to survey the workers at the construction site with ease. One will be able to know the number of workers they have, how they are going about their duties and how they exit the project site.
Final Thoughts
Thanks to improved technology, drones have become extremely useful machines within the construction industry. In a construction site, drones have several applications, such as conducting aerial surveys of a project, especially if it’s located in an urban area. Other uses of drones include night surveillance, surveillance of contractors as well as monitoring the progress of the project.
Using a drone will not only save money, especially when it comes to energy costs, but it will also save time in moving materials from one level or location to another.
The article above is from Construction World, and is entitled “How Drones Are Benefiting the Construction Industry.”
