The Rise of Drones in Construction | Construction Management by Krishna Chiddarwar
In this video I've explained, how construction industry specifically is embracing this revolution of drone technology. I will give a brief overview of benefits and real-world application of drones in construction. And then how implementing drone technology can prove a good return on investment for your company or projects. In the end, I want to share few roadblocks that a company might face while implementing drones on their site.
First Benefit: Ability to obtain precise visual data of a site faster and cheaper than with any other techniques or manned aircraft. However, that’s only one of the many benefits.
Second Benefit: Drones can help a project team to receive Remote access to current status of the site, by having somebody on site flying the drone, you can see the progress of projects directly on our computer, to evaluate it and discuss it with site managers as if you were on site. This will save you a lot travel time and huge transportation cost. [drone construction hyperlapse]
Third Benefit: Drone can help us improve the projects safety by large extent. Being able to monitor and inspect hard-to-reach places or areas in the middle of machinery without entering them obviously reduces workers exposure to accidents. [drones with camera]
But the greatest improvements in safety can be found in inspections and maintenance work. Instead of climbing electric poles, or working along busy highways, workers can fly a drone and inspect images without putting themselves at risk.
Drone data is so versatile, it can be used throughout the entire construction lifecycle.
Bidding & Preplanning: Even before the launch of any construction projects, an aerial survey of the site is required to get a good understanding of the environment in which the project will take place.
With drone images and 3D models, you can overlay projects, like a building or a highway onto their environment to get a clear sense of how a project might look. You can assess how the new project will impact the area from both a practical and an aesthetic viewpoint.
Application in Construction Phase: First Application: Like for earthworks, with the use of drone, you can scan the area or a pile of excavated earthwork and create a 3d model. Then, with a software like AutoCAD, you can get precise volume measurements by running a cut/fill analysis. This is exactly what we did on one of our previous projects, so we could pay the subcontractor precisely with less error. Second Application: Being able to compare As-built vs As-design. One of the most striking advantages of accurate site visualization is the ability to overlay a CAD design on a drone captured photo. This allows you to compare what was actually built with you had planned and make sure that they fit together. [drone scan, drone use]
Return on Investment However, Even if all the drone applications sound amazing and innovative, how do you know that introducing a new tool and workflow on your construction site is getting you return on investment. For starters, drones helps you cut your surveying cost. The process of mapping a construction site used to be long and expensive. Today, a drone can survey an area in minutes at a very low cost.[drone construction surveying] With drone data, you get precise, earthwork measurements, with cut & fill analysis done in hours. So, instead of relying on subcontractors measurements, you rely on impartial data for correct estimates and payments. With drones, you have the ability to set time for it’s takeoff and you can even pre-set a path in it. This way, it can operate autonomously and send you regular progress photos on your device without any labor. In the end, even with all the cost cutting and time saving there are few roadblocks to tackle. Like, availability of trained people who can fly the drones as per your need and if you have experts who can process the collected data to generate a meaningful output. Also, Different countries have different regulations on the flight of drones and restrictions around urban areas and certain airspaces.
