Impact Of Commercial Drones

By Syndicated Investigative Reporter Michael Webster
Laguna Journal

$31 TO $46 BILLION. That’s what McKinsey & Company estimates the annual impact of commercial drones will be by 2026. In fact, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), commonly referred to as drones, will have a dramatic impact on the accuracy and speed of completion for construction projects.

While construction firms have watched the growing drone trend, many are slow to adopt because of a few key factors. For starters, they want to see that clear economic benefits outweigh the costs – and growing pains – of launching a drone program. Additionally, strict FAA regulations and the lack of ability to easily share drone data have also been cited as limiting factors.

 In the last few years, however, drone programs have become much easier to adopt:  Commercial drones are less expensive than they were just a few years ago, with most drone prices ranging from $1,000 to $5,000.

The FAA released Small UAS Rule (Part 107) in August 2016 which allows anyone who passes the remote pilot certification exam to legally fly drones for commercial purposes.  A growing number of integrations between drone solutions and construction technology platforms is making it easy to seamlessly and immediately transfer drone data between the jobsite and the office. These factors combined set up drone technology for increasing project efficiencies and profits, and expansive growth in the construction industry.

Drones in Construction: How Do They Enhance Operations? Aerial data for construction sites is not new, but prior to drone technology, it was difficult and expensive to obtain because it was usually gathered by helicopters. Today, drones give the construction industry a safe, cost-effective view from the sky. In addition to capturing photos and videos, drones offer many functions to make the overall project run more efficiently, including:  Tracking and communicating progress, Managing materials and assets, Carrying out surveillance, Improving owner visibility,  Performing inspections, Providing valuable information for improved design changes,

Increasing construction safety with the images and data collected by drone platforms like Site Scan – made by 3DR, a drone technology company that counts Autodesk as an investor – users can create 3D models, maps (orthomosaics) and elevation models, as well as gather volumetric measurements, to name a few of the expanding tasks they can perform.

All of this allows for better planning, site monitoring, daily reporting, safety and overall project development. The high-quality data collected by a drone is integrated into the entire data collection process – not just another isolated data stream to be examined separately. This provides users the opportunity to view a construction site in real time as the project progresses.

 DRONES GIVE THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY A SAFE, COST-EFFECTIVE VIEW FROM THE SKY.

When managing resources such as materials and labor, and keep projects on schedule. Josh Cheney, industry manager of construction technology at Autodesk, explains: “The drone is scheduled to do a jobsite flyover to collect aerial footage – often on a weekly basis. The drone flies its course and takes photos of what’s happening on the construction site. The result is an orthomosaic file that can be used for a variety of different workloads.” With this data flowing into a construction management platform like Autodesk BIM 360, users can layer files – enabling a comparison between what is actually taking place (the drone imagery) with what was intended to take place (the construction documents).

“This is incredibly helpful for anyone who manages the job,” notes Cheney. “They can see what the architect, the project owner and the construction company intended to do versus what’s actually being done. This can be used in a number of ways – from project process to safety and from material deliveries to payment schedules.” Additionally, with enterprise drone platforms like Site Scan, people have the ability to view a project from anywhere – the office or on the go – without having to physically step foot on a site. This allows different parties to collaborate and expedites the decision-making process.

WITH ENTERPRISE DRONE PLATFORMS LIKE SITE SCAN, PEOPLE HAVE THE ABILITY TO VIEW A PROJECT FROM ANYWHERE – THE OFFICE OR ON THE GO.

The Drone’s Expanding Capabilities in the Construction Lifecycle Drone technology is on the brink of a huge industry expansion over the coming years. In fact, the construction industry is estimated to be the fastest-growing market segment for commercial drones from now until 2026. However, some industry professionals fear that integrating new technologies, such as drones, will disrupt existing workflows. Companies recognize the value of these tools but often cannot justify the time it will take their people to learn how to integrate them into an existing process and still keep projects running smoothly. Site Scan helps alleviate that fear by not only providing extensive onboarding and dedicated support, but also by giving users the ability to seamlessly take 3DR drone data and integrate it into BIM 360 at any stage of the construction process.

THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY IS ESTIMATED TO BE THE FASTEST-GROWING MARKET SEGMENT FOR COMMERCIAL DRONES FROM NOW UNTIL 2026.

Expertly Streamline Constructability Reviews During Preconstruction Collecting accurate data during the preconstruction phase is paramount to the success of any project, and cutting-edge technology enables drones to be equipped with cameras, geolocation sensors, infrared sensors and more to capture precise details of the environmental and physical site. The additional project data that drones provide increases the overall successful outcomes of estimates, constructability and winning construction bids – and gives you a competitive advantage in an industry that’s known for very tight margins. Drone data can be incredibly valuable during the planning stage, particularly to help a customer visualize the process. Andy Leek, VDC Director at PARIC, a design/build construction firm in St. Louis, said that during the planning of a senior living project in Wisconsin, PARIC used drone data to not only pinpoint constructability challenges, but also to open the lines of communication between the clients and the design team.

“As builders, we see a project one way, but clients look at it differently,” explains Leek. “Drone images allow us to show and tell, and clients are able to see what we are describing much easier.” Drone data platforms like Site Scan make it easy to pull CAD or PDF design files from Autodesk BIM 360 and overlay them onto orthomosaics collected by the drone. Orthomosaics are used to measure true distance and are an accurate representation of the Earth’s surface, so when design files are overlaid on them, users can compare design to reality to measure progress and spot mistakes before they become too costly to fix.

Additionally, when a design file changes in BIM 360, the overlay will automatically update in Site Scan – ensuring that you are always making key decisions with the most up-todate plans. “There are tools out there, like Google Earth, that provide mapping information,” explains Leek. “But we wanted to get a more accurate picture of how a site looks now. A drone provides us with real-time, measurable information.”

For example, during the design of a project, a company can overlay data captured by drones onto site and architectural plans, and simulate real-world scenarios to catch any discrepancies, such as crane positioning and movement – an issue that would be costly if they were not identified until later. — ANDY LEEK, VDC Director at PARIC, a design/build construction firm in St. Louis.

Efficiently Improve Site Monitoring & Daily Reporting As technology has advanced, importing large visual and data files captured by drones is as simple as a click of a button. Now the entire team can easily view and share orthomosaics, point clouds, digital elevation models and more into a BIM 360 account so it is easily accessible in tools like Revit, BIM 360 Glue and Field. Data collected by drones is distributed immediately, making it accessible instantly by staff back at the office, and onsite by contractors and subs via their mobile devices. This near real-time data is critical in an environment that is constantly changing and can make the difference in whether or not a project stays on time and on budget.

Another way drone data can aid in collaboration efforts is by showing job progress. “If a contractor is obligated to provide progress photos to the project owner, from a financial standpoint drones provide instant ROI,” says Cheney. “This used to be an expensive process and logistical nightmare to hire a helicopter. Now drones can be operated autonomously, and you can do it on your own schedule.” Leek shares one particular project where PARIC flew a drone across the project on a weekly basis to create a simple video. “This video didn’t take much extra time at all, but it gave the people financing the project comfort in being able to see the progress and know we were on schedule.

Michael Webster's Syndicated Investigative Reports are read worldwide, in 100 or more U.S. outlets and in at least 136 countries and territories. He publishes articles in association with global news agencies and media information services with more than 350 news affiliates in 136 countries. Many of Mr. Webster's articles are printed in six working languages: English, French, Arabic, Chinese, Russian and Spanish. With ten more languages planed in the near future.

 Mr. Webster publishes on-line newspapers at www.lagunajournal.com ,www.elpasojournal.com, www.prospectorjournal.com, www.indiangamingjournal.com , and  www.smallbusinessjournal.com
and does investigative reports for print, electronic and on-line News Agencies.