Construction is one of the world's biggest industries, worth about $8.5 trillion a year. However, it is far from the most efficient. In 2016, McKinsey & Company reported that large construction projects of all types take longer than scheduled by 20 percent on average and frequently cost almost twice the budgeted amount.
Effectiveness isn't getting any better, either. Construction productivity is surprisingly lower than it was even in the 1990s. Inefficiencies and sub-optimal production processes erode profit margins for projects big and small.
The construction industry accounts for 25 to 40 percent of America's solid-waste stream. Purchasing and scheduling challenges lead to 15 percent of materials ordered by construction sites ultimately ending up in landfills. In comparison, disposable straws only account for one percent of landfill waste.
In 2018, new technology has begun disrupting standards of operations and making construction more efficient and sustainable. Industry leaders are implementing new technology such as aerial drones in construction to reduce costs while improving site efficiency, maximizing the profit potential while decreasing the impact and waste from each project.
Drone Technology in Construction
Drones, or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), are a rising trend among many industries. Today, the impact of drone technology on the digital transformation of the construction industry is undeniable. What started as a recreational toy or novelty camera has quickly become a competitive advantage for those willing to deploy it to their benefit.
Drones can do much more than produce high definition images. Scanning with drones can yield many kinds of useful data. These tools can use add-on equipment such as infrared, geo-locating and thermal sensors to assist in mapping construction sites and modeling construction projects. The footage captured can be converted into 3D models with real-world conditions incorporated, allowing for better iteration, higher feasibility and more accurate bids during the pre-construction phase.
Some of the significant advantages of incorporating UAV technology include:
Reduced process and analysis times
Less risk and consequently lower costs
More precise digital data to allow for more accurate readings
Easy accessibility via cloud-based integration
More seamless jobsite progress monitoring
Specifically, drones have impacted the construction industry by:
Enabling better construction site monitoring
Calculating stockpile volume and material types for inventory
Calculating length, width and elevation for roads and structures
Annotating images and maps for easier communication
Calculating overburden to plan for an efficient removal
Drones are taking an essential place in the construction process and are only increasing in popularity and functionality. Creative site managers are continually finding new applications for drone technology on construction sites.
Why Drones Are Being Incorporated so Quickly
Before the use of drone technology in construction, there was a disconnect between viewing a rendering of a job site versus seeing it in reality. Drone technology has revolutionized the way stakeholders view a site and visualize a completed project and allows for much more careful analysis of progress during construction.
1. Drones Make Your Company More Competitive
Drones have gained traction so quickly because of the competitiveness of the construction industry. Companies using UAV technology have a competitive advantage over other companies that are less innovative and sticking to traditional ways of surveying and analyzing job sites. Incorporating drone technology in your projects can be an enticing sales tool that may make the difference between a lead and a customer.
2. Drones Provide Additional Data
They also can add value to the customer during handover. Providing the client with visual data on the as-built condition of the building allows them to better manage and maintain the property after you've finished your work. Having this kind of information on file also reduces the chance of litigation and can be used as a defensive tool.
3. Drones Help You Monitor Progress
UAVs help you and the project owner visualize the completed job and see how the work is going every step of the way. Construction can be a time-consuming endeavor, and it's not always easy to communicate to a client where exactly your time and their money go. Drones negate that uncertainty by allowing careful observation throughout the entire process.
4. Drones Are Cost-Saving
Drones are also a huge cost-saver across many different expense types. As an owner of a construction business, you're able to monitor a job site live and take note of suspicious activity such as theft or wasted time. You're also able to invoice more accurately by performing more quality inspections of work completed.
5. Drones Protect Your Crew
Your team can use the surveillance to check locations for assets and materials, rather than moving about the construction site, unsure if equipment and resources are where they are supposed to be. You can also use the drone to check dangerous areas remotely without risking harming the crew.
6. Drones Condense Data
While the drones themselves have been increasing in quality, so has the software that drives them. Advanced fleet management technologies reduce the work it takes to operate a single drone by enabling several fleets to work together throughout a job site and return all relevant information gathered back to the construction team. Software improvements allow for businesses to scale their company's operations more quickly while being able to manage more drones at once and make use of them in more locations.
Overall, UAVs minimize the amount of needless work and increase efficiency due to more careful monitoring of the construction process. Mistakes will be caught much earlier and can be corrected before they escalate into a more troublesome problem. With all these advantages, it's obvious why UAV technology has been implemented so quickly.
Some Drawbacks of Current Drone Technology
While drones provide various advantages for your construction company, they aren't without some drawbacks to consider.
In the United States, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has implemented a mandatory registration of all UAVs before flight to receive a certification that allows operation of unmanned aerial vehicles in construction legally. Failure to comply can result in penalties of from $27,500 to $250,000 and imprisonment. Specific restrictions may also be in place depending on the state you reside.
Other countries have similar policies in place, and new ones are being developed. If you consider implementing land surveying technology at your construction site, be sure to investigate what restrictions you have in your area.
Although drones are unmanned aircraft, they still require a human to operate, and reckless or amateur control of these aerial vehicles in construction can cause collisions resulting in personal injury and property damage that leaves you liable. An often-overlooked additional cost of UAVs is better insurance to help cover these risks and minimize loss caused by accidents. Ensuring drones are being piloted safety is important to avoid bringing harm to your crew and cost you extra money.
Where Drone Technology Is Going in the Construction Industry
Regulation
As drones become more popular, the question of how to regulate and manage their use will be a topic of debate.
In October of 2017, the U.S. Department of Transportation and the FAA introduced a plan to better regulate and utilize this new technology. The program intends to get the federal government, local authorities, tribal governments and private companies all working together on drone rules. This collaboration should make it easier for companies to test drones, go beyond the view of operators and fly over people's heads.
Thermal Imaging
Thermal imaging is a priority in drone development. This advance allows the drone's camera to detect infrared radiation in the electromagnetic spectrum, allowing precise mapping of numerous structures, landscapes and equipment.
Thermal imaging can help examine pipelines, solar panels, power grids and roofs for leaks, overheating, failure and proper insulation. Thermal UAVs also can help in dire situations if you have a worker trapped in heavy smoke or fog who needs assistance. These types of drones can spot living beings through almost any non-physical visibility barrier.
More automation is sure to come as well. Artificial intelligence is growing smarter and being implemented on more devices. But what does AI mean for drones? Drone mapping is going to become more seamless, allowing your drone to spot trends in the behavior to tell it to do, and eventually be able to utilize its abilities without manually scheduling flights.
Streaming
Recording and streaming drone footage to the internet will also become more common and will allow for more transparency within the operations going on throughout any job, which will increase the customer's trust and prevent roadblocks you may have experienced by correcting your strategy in the future.
We will likely see even more innovative drone applications in the construction industry in the future.
What to Consider When Purchasing a Drone for Your Construction Site
When comparing construction drone technology companies and deciding which model to invest in, you should consider a few different elements:
1. Camera Quality
The higher the resolution of the camera used by a drone, the better the quality of the image you are going to get. High definition images are necessary for some features and software to work correctly, so to get the best utility out of a UAV, you'll need a good camera.
2. Portability
How easy it is to take your drone from place to place varies in importance depending on its application. If the drone is going to be in one location for extended amounts of time, then portability may not be the most significant factor in your purchasing decision. However, if you think you'll be continuously cycling your drones through different construction sites, you'll want to be sure that the drone isn't too heavy, and you might even want to be able to reduce its size by folding it into a compact form.
3. Durability
Can the drone stay pristine in typical construction site environments that tend to have a lot of dirt and dust being tossed about? If your drone can't stand up to the elements and inevitable wear and tear, it is not worth the investment no matter how advanced the technology is inside.
4. Stability
Stability deals with wind speed resistance and how well your UAV can stay centered while being operated in rough conditions with a lot of air movement or rain. Consider what kind of hazards you face on your typical job sites and make a drone selection based on what appears to be best equipped to deal with those hazards and still produce a high-quality image no matter what the weather entails.
5. Ease of Use
Find out whether the drone comes ready-to-fly out of the box. If you must buy a modular camera, how easy will it be to install? You'll also want to know if the drone includes any chargers or what other add-ons you might need. These are all questions that you must ask yourself regarding the ease of using your drone. There are certainly some drones that make the installation and operation easier than others.
Keeping these five aspects in mind when shopping for reputable drone companies and devices will help you make a favorable decision on the best drones for construction sites.
Drones. You’ve heard about them and seen them everywhere. Whether flying around a room or capturing unique aerial footage, drones offer vast possibilities and applications — even in the world of construction.
In the past few years, drones have become one of the most compelling construction trends. The industry has experienced a 239% growth in drone use year over year, higher than any other commercial sector. Their aerial vantage point and data collecting abilities make them a viable tool, offering benefits that range from on-site safety to remote monitoring.
In particular, the benefits of drone technology have revolutionized the entire project lifecycle. Drone photos, videos, and imagery are manipulated to scope out projects, track building progress, and provide real-time updates.
As the industry grows and construction projects become more complex, drones in construction will continue to skyrocket. Read on to learn more about how these futuristic devices are transforming the industry.
How Are Drones Used in Construction?
With their real-time data recording and unique aerial advantage, drones can improve efficiency, cut costs, and streamline workflow. Here are some of the ways drones are used in construction.
1. Topographic Mapping and Land Surveys
Consulting topographic maps is essential when planning complex, large-scale construction projects. They can reveal costly blunders in designs ill-suited for a terrain. Although topographic maps are helpful, they are expensive and take a lot of time to produce. Because of this, maps are not always updated during the start of a job.
Due to their ability to map vast quantities of land, drones can exponentially cut down on the time to visualize a site’s topography. This would ensure not only that the project stays on schedule and according to budget, but also ensure accuracy before a project is initiated. Sending this information can help determine feasibility and assist with design.
Furthermore, the high-resolution images produced by drones can be manipulated into 3D models, allowing one to pinpoint challenges during pre-construction and spot mistakes in the scope, saving time and money in the long run.
2. Equipment Tracking and Automating
It’s a problem every project manager has faced — a slip in memory of where equipment is located at each job site. There are usually a ton of lengthy spreadsheets involved that can quickly turn into an Excel nightmare (unless you have rental management technology).
With a drone, that same manager can do a fly over and quickly assess if the equipment is where it needs to be. They can also quickly recognize if a piece of equipment is still on-site that should be terminated, preventing expensive accidental extension charges.
Another issue that frequently arises is when equipment malfunctions. The recording functionality of drones could be used to remotely access what issues are taking place and provide visual representations that aid in communicating the issues. The recorded data could easily be sent to repair technicians at equipment rental companies for quicker and more accurate diagnostics even before they make it to the work site.
In the future, drones will be able to direct and guide autonomous vehicles, which is sure to revolutionize the industry on a new scale.
3. Remote Monitoring and Progress Reports
Another valuable feature of drones in construction is the visibility it can give to clients. Drones can produce impressive aerial views and give clients a grasp of the project’s progression, especially when the clients are not able to be physically present on a site. This helps them feel assured that their spend is being utilized efficiently.
In addition to client communications, drones can improve internal collaboration in your team. During a flyover, a drone can send information to your software. Design teams, engineers, construction managers, workers, and owners can access the data at the same, follow the project, and catch any mistakes that may have occurred. Drones can also create a valuable trail of documents in case of situations that require them.
4. Security Surveillance
If you’ve ever had a piece of equipment stolen from a site, you’re aware of how devastating it can be. Having a boom lift or excavator stolen can leave you out tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars. According to Capterra, over $300 million worth of construction is stolen from job sites every year, with less than 25% of it recovered. Equipment security is thus a very important component of managing a job.
A drone operator can conduct a flyover and quickly see if a piece of equipment is in a secure enough location. The surveillance camera could also be utilized to see if there are unauthorized individuals on the site. This will prevent damage or theft long before it occurs.
5. Personnel Safety
Worker safety is one of the top priorities of many construction companies. In particular, falls account for 39% of worker fatalities. When taking manual measurements, workers often have to climb to unsteady heights and navigate around hazardous conditions. Drones can replace workers in these situations and mitigate the risk construction workers face on the field.
Construction managers can also use drone video cameras to monitor the job site for safety concerns, making sure workers are properly balanced and that no structures and equipment are loose or unstable that could injure workers.
6. Structure Inspection and Photography
Replacing heavy machinery and bulky scaffolding, drones can provide a crucial inspection. They can be flown around structures to check stability and fine details, and take high-resolution imagery for analysis. Thermal sensors can detect heat leaks, cold spots, and any electrical issues. This level of quality assurance helps with client relationships in the long run.
Drones can also be used for planned maintenance of larger-scale structures like bridges, towers, roofs, and scaffolding. A task that would take an entire team of surveyors to do would only take a few hours with a drone operator.
Types of Construction Drones
While there are many types of drones, commercial drones are the standard used in construction. Some models are fixed-wing while other models have rotating blades. The main differences between them are their design and usage.
With their airplane-like design, fixed-wing drones can glide on a set path and reach higher altitudes, making them efficient for mapping topography and surveying greater distances. However, fixed drones are only able to fly forward. For closer aerial inspections and photography, rotary drones are the better option since they are easy to control and their rotor design allows them to hover and remain stable.
Key Features
Equipped with cameras, GPS units, thermal sensors, and infrared sensors, drones can capture key data on the building site. The information they collect can be sent to a computer via drone software, allowing users to analyze, interpret, and that data. These features allow construction projects to be more efficient, building projects to be better managed, and inspections to be more thorough.
by: Liam Stannard
October 9, 2018