Construction sites are often places of organized chaos, where everyone is getting their jobs done as safely as possible, but with a ruckus of noise and smoke happening all around. While in most developed countries, they are monitored incredibly well by the site managers and other underappreciated people, larger sites or those featuring exceedingly complex systems can become exponentially more challenging to monitor and ensure that everything is functioning smoothly. Perhaps one of the more interesting inventions to come into prominence over the past couple of decades is drone technology. While they are in the news for slightly less appealing reasons these days, the fact is that by utilizing this tech on job sites, construction companies can keep the environment safe for employees and remain updated with how work is progressing.
Drones Streamline Project Management Processes
Managing a construction project is no mean feat, and the larger and more moving parts it includes, the more complex the management will be. While drones won’t be a panacea that allows the project to avoid all of the usual pitfalls facing them, they can certainly be used in conjunction with other methods to ensure things are ticking along smoothly. The most obvious use will be at the beginning of the project, where options like these US-made drones that contain a raft of scanning technology can be put to work in scouring an area to get it prepared before the first groundbreaking steps are taken. After the initial work begins, they can be set to work in a plethora of other project management-related areas, such as:
- Improved planning and design: Even when you think everything has been planned down to the T, changes can occur, especially if the stakeholders involved with the project need to alter plans for whatever reason. Drones enable managers to see how things are moving in real-time and to course correct on the fly (easier said than done, of course, but made slightly easier when you have a bird’s eye view of things).
- Real-time visual monitoring: Drones provide up-to-date aerial views of the construction site, allowing project managers to track progress and identify potential delays.
- Effective progress tracking: Drones can offer something that no other method can, which is the view of how things are progressing. It allows those in charge to see if work is moving in the right direction and to more efficiently allocate resources to areas that might be lagging and in need of assistance.
- Early detection of potential issues: If things can go wrong, they probably will, and when it comes to construction, even the most optimistic person in the world can’t hold back the tide. However, having a view from above that can see things from an overall point of view makes it easier to spot potential problems before they spiral into something more serious.
- Inventory and asset management: Construction involves using lots of materials to build whatever needs building. But moving everything around to the locations they’re required can be tricky. Using a drone, managers can instantly update teams on where specific items and materials are located and direct heavy machine operators to bring them to where they’re needed.
- Site security: As these sites are typically chock full of very expensive materials, tools, and equipment, security can become an issue. When paired with an experienced operator and combined with other security measures, site managers can rest easily knowing everything is safe, or at the very least, can inform the police of any suspicious activity.
Enhanced Site Inspections Using Drone Imagery
Drones can access hard-to-reach or dangerous areas, such as roofs and high structures, for inspections, making the general site inspection a whole lot more manageable than it used to be. With this technology, it’s now possible to inspect all areas of a site and make sure that work is proceeding as it ought to be. Not only this, but because they can cover enormous distances and gain an elevated view of the total area, it’s possible to capture data more effectively than any person or even a team of people could ever hope to achieve. And when you use the various sensors attached to the imaging equipment, it is possible to detect things like heat loss, water leaks, and electrical problems that may not be visible to the naked eye.
Real-Time Data Collection For Real-Time Decisions
Managing a large project like a building site involves an almost never-ending stream of incoming data and making decisions based on them. You have read the term “real-time” a lot throughout this post, but for a good reason. The immediate data that flows in from using a drone enables those in charge to make rapid decisions to correct course, improve safety, and possibly even alter the project if it looks as though an alternate way of doing things might improve efficiency. Moreover, when you integrate the data with GIS, you can gain an almost unprecedented level of detail to inform all future choices. The best part is that this kind of service used to cost an unfathomable amount, and even when you factor in the point that most construction projects operate on thin margins, the savings can make a real difference while offering a tremendous amount of fine detail.
Drones Improve Safety By Reducing Risks
It doesn’t matter whether you’re hiring freelance contractors or have them on your books; the safety of those working at these sites is imperative. You want to keep them safe for both apparent reasons, like the fact that they’re actual human beings and deserve to work in a secure environment, but also for purely business reasons, like compliance and not being able to afford too many days off from injury since it will set back work (yes, it’s cold, but it’s also reality). Drones can scour the site and update managers on any potential threats that might cause an issue with safety. This could be anything ranging from unsafe working practices (like spotting unsafe vehicle manoeuvering procedures) to possible structural instabilities.
It’s not hyperbole to state that drones have utterly revolutionized almost all facets of life, from the good to the bad to the ugly. Fortunately, construction projects are firmly located within the good category, and as you have read, drones can provide an immeasurable (perhaps not to a project manager) number of advantages to managers at a fraction of the cost of the more traditional techniques.
