TECHNOLOGY IN CONSTRUCTION - Drone Technology.

Created: 2021-11-04 11:02:08

Drone technology, also known as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), is used for different reasons in the construction industry. As a tool that improves communication, safety, and marketing, the use of drones in construction can offer many advantages; capturing real-time images from the field.
Drone technology can be used in construction in so many different ways. drones can be applied in construction in the following ways:

 

• Building Surveys

Most building surveys require visibility of the building’s roof to identify its condition and assess any defects.
In most instances getting access to a roof can be tricky and often involves the erection of a scaffold, use of a cherry picker or ladders. Which are both time consuming and costly.
Using a small drone to perform the survey can save time, money and reduce health and safety risks involved with surveying a roof and accessing tricky or hard to reach areas.

• Construction Site Inspections 

Carrying out site inspections on a busy construction site can dangerous and complicated at times.The ability for a drone to carry out a visual inspection of high-risk areas can save time and reduce H&S risks. Drone footage can be recorded from the safety of the site cabin and then sent to project stakeholders in HD quickly and effectively. 

• Health and Safety Inductions

Site inductions can often be a tedious and again a time-consuming exercise. Often involving a premeditated talk in the site cabin or a pre-recorded induction videos. Using a drone to fly over a site can show new site operatives H&S risks in real-time. Enabling site managers to demonstrate moving vehicles, moving cranes, or active excavation areas etc. Each induction would be site specific outlining the risk that are relevant to that site and in return reduce the risk of accident or injury on each site.

• Maintenance Inspections

Carrying out planned or reactive maintenance inspections of high-up structures such as bridges, towers, roofs and scaffolding, can often involve costly access arrangements, and site personnel working at height.
Drones can provide a quicker and easier way of carrying out the inspections, feeding back HD real-time footage to the engineer or surveyor from the ground at all times reducing cost but most importantly risk.

• Project Progress Reports

Construction progress reports are often prepared monthly to record site progress against the project programme. These reports include the surveyor or CA taking multiple photographs of various parts of the site.
A regular drone flight can be a speedy way to record and visualize project progress. Through a series of aerial shots and HD video project stake holders can gain a better insight into the progress that has been made without actually being on-site and have regular daily or weekly updates.

• Promotional Photography

Impressive photography is becoming more and more important in the way construction organizations promote their business, especially as the use of social media is becoming more important as a work tool.

• Live feed/ virtual walk around

When carrying out high risk work on-site it may be necessary for certain professionals to gain real-time updates on what is happening.
Utilizing First Person View (FPV) technology, a drone camera can stream HD footage to the project team or project stakeholders in real-time. This experience could also be enhanced by the use of VR glasses.

• Site logistics

Construction sites are ever evolving and the movements on-site do not always stick to the programme. Drones can provide a real-time update of what is going on around the site. Carrying out a speedy flight around the site can give a good overview of potential issues to be aware of. For instance, moving vehicles, machinery or cranes etc. again reducing risk and allowing key decision makers to make up to the minute, informed decisions on ever changing developing sites.

• Point cloud/ laser scanning

Often for a surveyor it can be hard to gain access to a suitable location to laser scan high up areas of a building, meaning the point cloud is returned missing vital information.
Laser scanning from drones has become a recognized method of capturing the exact detail of topography, buildings and cityscapes and can provide the missing piece of information.

• Thermal Imaging recording

Similar to laser scanning, drones can be used to take aerial thermal imaging recordings which can be used to assess potential cold spots in buildings or even heat spots in areas holding electrical components.
This can give engineers and surveyors essential information when trying to identify and rectify building defects.

 

Compiled & Prepared By:

Alex Kairebi.