CONSTRUCTION

”Building And Construction Industry Is Crucial To Every Economy In The World. The Industrialization Of A Country Means Having Sufficient Housing Facilities And Necessary Infrastructure Such As Transportation Infrastructures, Energy, Telecommunication To Support Progress. Across The Construction Industry, Companies Use Drones In Slightly Different Ways, But In General They Have Already Improved Project Reporting Clarity, Project Timelines, And The Inspection Process To Deliver A Faster, More Efficient, Reliable Construction Operations Process. Even Though They Are A Relatively New Technology, Drones Have Already Had A Significant Impact On Changing The Construction Industry. Expectations Around Surveying And Project Timelines Have Been Significantly Raised, And More Accurate And Accessible Data Has Made Communication And Dispute Resolution Easier Between External Teams That Can Sometimes Be At Odds With Each Other’

Site analysis

The most obvious and wide ranging use of drone surveying for construction companies is surveying the construction site itself. This is typically the first step of any construction earthworks project, but with the increased speed and ease of using drone-based surveying, site analysis can be completed more regularly to ensure up-to-date data. This data can help ensure the progress of the project across multiple teams is actively monitored and can be relied on without having to waste valuable time and capital waiting on results from base and rover surveying methods. Anyone with experience in the construction industry knows that the surveying requirements from project to project and from day-to-day are constantly changing.

Planning and design

Drone surveying mixed with a fully-featured surveying software like Propeller enables teams across projects to use 3D site imaging to compare designs and as-built documents to work that has been completed. Going beyond simple comparisons, these tools can also be used to plan out major project elements and ensure that all plans for the project are in line with expectations before work begins. Using these 3D models, construction companies can give virtual walkthroughs of project plans, show progress, spot hazards before they can cause delays, and, as we will cover later, resolve contractor disputes. While the main use case of drone surveying will always be the site mapping and measuring, when a construction company has access to a software like Propeller the use cases of drone surveying expand to include elements like planning and design modeling.

Asset inventory

Drones’ surveying capabilities can also be used to keep track of smaller, more specific assets for construction companies. Drones can be used to complete inventory assessments while providing a larger level of detail and reducing time and cost requirements. This can significantly diminish the danger involved in completing inventories that require workers to approach difficult-to-reach spaces that drones can easily access. On larger earthworks or mining projects, drones can be used to quickly calculate accurate stockpile inventories that ensure enough building materials are available to get jobs done. For many companies, stockpiles represent a significant financial asset, the ability to know with a very high degree of accuracy how many resources you have available is very important for long term planning and assumptions. When measuring these stockpiles, they often go through daily changes that can be difficult to keep track of with traditional surveying methods.

Project reporting

Highly detailed and easily accessible project documentation has advantages for all stakeholders. As mentioned earlier, any significant construction job will involve collaboration between multiple external sub-contractors whose main focus is on their individual section of the project. Without proper communication between all of these teams, it’s very easy for all the moving pieces to not connect correctly. A software solution like Propeller provides easily accessible 3D models, visualization tools, and collaboration tools so that all elements of a project can be seen in conjunction with one another. This helps subcontractors understand the scope of the project and how each of their individual projects contributes to the overall job.