It might seem daunting, time consuming & prohibitive for smaller practices, to implement BIM. Not with Driving Vision!
_This article is part of a blog series, on drones, exploring what they are, and what they can do for the construction industry.
Drones can play a fundamental role in site safety. Navigating a drone around your construction site is easy and safe, to discover early and worrying signs of hazards and safety risks. They can warn site managers to take early corrective actions by scanning assets and structures under construction and detecting faults such as leaks or cracks.
Drones can be seen everywhere but what are their uses in the construction industry?
You can fly drones inside a building to survey a specific room, or outside to scan hazardous sites. The possibilities are endless as drones can be used in various applications.
Drones are trendy in the construction industry, thanks to their ability to collect data. They offer great benefits in surveyance, site monitoring, site safety and security, and project management.
Drone technology can be used throughout the whole life cycle of a project.
They can scope the project by collecting rich media like photos, videos, and imagery that can be inserted into the BIM Execution Plan ( BEP)
They track the construction progress in real-time to optimize the efficiency and usage of construction, by collecting real-time data.
The construction industry uses commercial drones, and their usage is growing fast.
Drones are very beneficial, to survey terrains in the field by tracking and recording machinery.
Two different models are used depending on why and what you want to do with them.
Fixed-wing drones are used for mapping and scanning long distances. Their design is like airplane designs, allowing them to fly over a specific place at high altitudes along a pre-set path. They help streamline pre-construction processes like mapping terrains and surveilling large hazardous areas.
The downside is that they can only fly forward and are less maneuverable in narrow areas or on terrains with many obstacles.
Rotating blades drones are used to inspect and survey short distances.
Their design allows them to fly without moving forward and stay still over a specific area, which makes them more manageable than fixed-wing drones.
They are efficient in birdlike inspections, structural scans, aerial photos, and short-distance supervision
The downside is that they may be unstable, complex, and less efficient than other drones.
Drones are supplied with many features to help capture data on construction sites. For instance, cameras get high-resolution pictures and videos; GPS systems monitor longitude, latitude, and elevation points; infrared, heat, and cold sensors can monitor temperature and take thermal images.
These features streamline the project management life cycle processes and increase efficiency and productivity.
Drone software captures the information and sends it to computers via the internet and data can be analyzed, interpreted, and organized.
Drone capabilities directly impact the construction life cycle allowing the industry to improve processes, accuracy, communication, visualization, efficiency, confidence, and certainty in project management.
The impact of drones in the construction industry is developing, they are already revolutionizing the sector and changing the way construction projects are managed. If the technology can pass aviation laws and zoning hurdles, it is safe to say that the commercial drone is here to stay.
The complexity of projects and the requirements for buildings' sustainability are the main reasons for the exponential use of drones in the construction industry. Below we explore how these devices are transforming the industry.
The main qualities of drones are their ability to fly, record data in real-time, improve efficiency, cut costs, and streamline workflows.
Here are some examples of how to use drones in construction.
Depending on the type of drone you are using you can capture topographic data with a drone 5 times faster than with land-based methods, and you need less manpower.
Before designing complex, large-scale construction projects, drones can expose potentially, costly, design errors; complete feasibility studies; and aid with design.
With drones, you can not only produce accurate maps but also update them during the start of the construction. The two types of drones can cover different areas. A fixed-wing can cover 900 acres, in one-hour its maximum flying time. A multi-rotor can do 200 acres in 40 minutes its maximum flying time.
The teams will also be able to use software to create 3D models from the data collected and streamline and speed up the planning and analysis processes you may use in your projects.
Thanks to the drone’s high-resolution imagery, you may keep the project on schedule and budget, ensure the accuracy and quality of the design, and overcome challenges during pre-construction.
Drones can track equipment to know where they are located on the construction site and redeploy them.
You may use them to record measurement errors and systems malfunction to proactively plan maintenance, preventing expensive, accidental renting charges, for equipment not in use,
They can drive and guide machines using artificial intelligence to avoid costly damages and diagnose and solve recurring issues by providing visuals to understand the problem.
Companies using drones claim they have improved their communication between all stakeholders by 65%. This was achieved by capturing data in real-time, sending photos and videos on the internet, and providing progress reports.
Drones increase visualization which improves client satisfaction by providing aerial views of the project’s advancements, clients do not have to visit sites and are saving costs.
You reinforce in your clients' minds, that their spending is properly and efficiently used.
You are improving internal collaboration with your clients, connecting software during handover giving them simultaneous access to data, helping to follow up on projects, and catching errors early during the design phase.
You are creating a useful document trail for audit and facility management.
With drones, you ensure your assets are secured safely and able to spot unauthorized individuals on a construction site instantaneously.
Many companies have experienced theft on their sites, which costs money. Gulfshore insurance says between $300 million and $ 1billion of equipment is stolen every year from construction sites and it is increasing year after year. Less than 25% has been recovered.
Securing your equipment with drones is extremely easy and important, it will mitigate the risk of theft and save you a ton of money. You will be able to monitor people who are on-site and prevent unauthorized individuals from stealing your equipment.
Construction sites are notoriously dangerous with an elevated risk of injury or even death.
Using drones for inspection and safety checks can save thousands for the construction industry, especially in phase audits and works certification costs. DroneDeploy claims that their customers saw a 55% improvement in their construction sites' safety. They can achieve that performance by making hard measurements in hazardous areas with drones.
Monitoring falls may prevent accidents. Falls are the major cause of fatalities.
Use drone video cameras to monitor your sites to eliminate safety worries, ensure workers are secured when measuring difficult areas, prevent unstable structures, and tighten your equipment.
In renovation projects, drones capture data on the construction conditions to reduce costs by eliminating measurement issues and unnecessary costly reworks. Marketing documents are created, scaffolding is eliminated, structure stability is checked, and data is analyzed to improve sustainability. You can also detect heat leaks, cold spots, and any electrical issues with thermal sensors; plan preventative maintenance; and reduce your workforce.
Drones are not considered toys anymore; they are a mature technology for the construction industry. They are helpful to:
Driving Vision can help you to decide if you need to invest in technology. Our technology diagnostic looks at the best way to incorporate modern technology into your workflows and how to move your organization to cloud computing so you can open new possibilities for your daily planning tasks and make sure your data never leaves the optimally secured data center.
The technology appraisal report will help you explore the investment required to improve your projects’ productivity and collaboration and the ROI you can expect.
A Driving Vision expert will conduct interviews online, issue a report, and discuss our findings with you. Together we decide the best way to implement the solutions at your pace and according to your budget.
Implementing BIM can be daunting, but Driving Vision is here to help you at the pace you are comfortable with. Get started by getting in touch now
Of practices using BIM made positive ROI
Of practices using BIM improved health and safety
Of practices using BIM decreased errors and omission
Of practices using BIM enhanced their practice image
Of practices using BIM claimed less litigations
Of practices using BIM reduced rework
It might seem daunting, time consuming & prohibitive for smaller practices, to implement BIM. Not with Driving Vision!
