Construction is one industry that’s really taken drones and run with them. Drone use in construction is up year-on-year, and that seems to continue. There are two simple reasons why drones are so popular in construction – they can save developers time and money. Builders love drones because they can provide an aerial view of either sites or potential sites with simple and affordable ease. A recent study suggests that over 25% of construction professionals plan to use drones in their operations by 2020. In just a few years, these drones have almost transformed the construction industry and now play a significant role in the planning, surveying, and data capturing process. They are growing in popularity so rapidly that some have even abandoned the classic ‘bird's-eye view’ expression with ‘drones eye view’. Drones greatly reduce the labour and time involved in producing accurate surveys. Drones eliminate much of the human error involved in the process and have the ability to capture necessary data in much less time than traditional methods would take.
Drones are overriding the construction industry because of its multifarious benefits. First is it helps in mapping a construction site. Mapping a construction site has traditionally been a long, labour-intense process that requires a lot of time, skill and money. For large projects, companies often have to hire a plane to fly over the site and take photos. Programming a drone to weave in and out of any area within a construction site, capturing all the footage and information you need, saves a lot of effort and money. Including using advanced UAV technology to send this information straight to project mapping software or a computer.
It also helps in construction site inspections. As inspecting a busy construction site can be dangerous, drones can carry out a visual inspection of high-risk areas which reduces health and safety risks because site managers can watch the footage from the safety of their site offices.
It also facilitates building survey. Accessing a roof can often be difficult be an individual or team of builders. Scaffolding and ladders are usually used and this makes the process unnecessarily challenging and dangerous. Making use of a drone to perform the survey is a lot safer, which reduces the stress about safety risks and saves time and money for equipment.
Now with drones, you can get up-to-date images as often as you like. That means you can get a real feel for how the build is progressing. Drones allow builders the chance to develop better plans, track progress and monitor any issues with the construction by providing an unrivalled wide-view of a site at a fraction of the cost. Drone use in the construction industry has seen massive growth in recent years, and this looks set to continue. With technology improving for drones every year, they look set to help construction even more over the next decade.