Construction and property development are industries that can benefit from the technology of drone surveying. Drone surveying is emerging as an effective remedy for the issues faced during construction and property development. Currently, within Ghana drone surveying is under-utilised. Especially in the construction industry. The industry has yet to fully exploit the capabilities drones to assist its operations.
The benefits of drone use on construction sites include:
Gathering accurate and precise information on several aspects of the construction site and building progress.
Drone surveys can also aid in improved planning of job sites. On-foot site planning is time consuming and, in some cases, dangerous. Drones generally reduce risk for site personnel. Using drones in lieu of workers when preforming dangerous tasks such as site inspection and progress tasks will reduce the possibility of workplace accidents and injury.
Drones can capture topographic data that is accurate and more efficient than traditional surveys.
Drones can also be used for detailed project management. Real time information of the job site can be collected by drones use and this data can be collected quite often. This data can then be easily shared between workers and relevant departments. This digital data can be faster shared than traditional paper plans avoiding confusion and “data silos” which can often plague construction operations.
In summary here are jobs that drones can do when on a job site:
Site surveying & 3D Modelling – Data from site surveying can be made into accurate 3D Maps of the site. The data can be updated frequently with further drone surveying will create a comprehensive record of site progress.
Asset monitoring – Crews on the job sites can track the movement of valuable assets on the job site, especially if the job site is particularly large.
Inspections - Performing an inspection via drone allows contractors to gather information from their building sites without putting workers at potential risk by making them enter hazardous areas
Volumetric Calculations – Drones can measure the volume of stockpiles which will aid in inventory management.
Building information monitor (BIM) – Contractors can ensure their projects are on track by using drones to capture data to compare with their pre-visualised designs. LiDAR drones can be used to gather info about internal structures as well.