Drones are revolutionizing commercial construction by providing more accurate surveys at a fraction of the cost. You don’t need to pay a whole team of surveyors or rent a helicopter to get accurate topographical surveys of your building site. Instead, you can use a drone for imaging, and make the planning phase of your project far more efficient.
Find out why 57% of firms use drones in their construction sites by looking at the top five ways drones improve commercial construction planning.
5 Ways Drones Improve Commercial Construction Planning
1. Site Inspections
Site inspections are at the heart of commercial construction planning. They allow you to understand the location and topography of the site. This is critical in deciding whether a site is a good fit for your project.
Site inspections also help identify what needs to be done to the site to get it ready for construction.
Traditionally, a team of land surveyors had to do physical site inspections. This is a lengthy, costly process involving paying multiple surveyors for several days of work, depending on how big the site is. In some cases, site inspections can take weeks.
However, using a drone means that the whole site can be inspected in a few hours, at far less cost. This also makes it far easier to update your topographic maps if necessary.
A drone flying over the area can record the natural features of the area, including the height and depth of hills and valleys. This can help show you what site prep needs to be done, such as excavation and trenching. By using drones, you can easily get highly accurate measurements of the topography of the area.
2. Topography Mapping For Architecture And Design Planning
When it comes to architecture and design planning, there is no one-size-fits-all approach. Each project requires a unique approach that considers the specific terrain you will be building on. That is why topographical maps are a crucial part of the planning phase.
However, due to high costs and labor demands, sometimes topographical maps are not done, or older versions are used. That is a large risk because it increases the likelihood of an unforeseen issue arising.
Using drones in commercial construction makes topography mapping easier and cheaper. They replace very costly helicopter image-capturing systems.
This means that you fully understand the site while designing and planning your project. Better planning ends up saving you time and money in the long run by preventing potential issues.
3. Create Better Estimates
Another significant advantage of drones for surveying is that they reduce the risk of human error. They are more accurate than even the best human surveyors and up to 10 times faster.
They can capture the topography of a site in great detail. Besides photos, drones can also gather volumetric data, making it easier to render the site in 3D and estimate what materials you need.
You can compare drone data to any models that already exist and can quickly pick up on any errors. A good example of the future of drones is identifying cut-and-fill sites more accurately than any other method.
By having a more accurate topography of the site, you can be more precise when deciding the quantity of materials needed for the project. And the more precise your quantity estimates are, the better your cost estimates will be.
Better estimates increase the chance of your project finishing on budget. Drones help make sure that you don’t order more or less than you need, both of which are costly mistakes.
4. Integration With Building Information Models
Building Information Modeling (BIM) is a methodology that makes the building process more efficient by using intelligent 3D models of projects. Using a 3D blueprint makes it easier to catch any flaws in the planning phase.
Drones make BIM far easier by simplifying the data-capturing process. It is simple to stitch together drone footage to create a 3D map and it is more accurate than traditional methods of surveying.
5. Improve Visibility Of Project Progress
We tend to think of planning as something that happens before construction starts. And certainly, you need a good plan before you start building. But planning is ongoing, as your contractor will constantly have to tweak the plan to keep things running smoothly. Issues will arise, and timelines will shift. This is where drones come in very useful.
Drones improve the visibility of project progress. The contractor can see the whole project easily, including bird’s-eye views that are only possible with drones.
Drones allow the contractor to make adjustments to keep things on schedule. This increased flexibility means that you are more likely to avoid delays by working strategically.
Conclusion
Drones are pushing major changes in commercial construction planning. They make surveying cheaper and more accurate and are a useful tool for progress monitoring and efficient communication. Because of this, more and more construction companies are making use of them.
If you’d like to take advantage of the latest technology for your next project, contact Chad Fisher Construction today.