Page 40 - Green Builder Sept-Oct 2019 Issue

Eye in the sky. A drone’s preconstruction
surveying and mapping abilities quickly help
building planners learn a site’s topography.
COURTESY OF EQUIPMENT TRADER

CAN DRONES SERVE

SUSTAINABILITY?

By improving site surveillance, worker safety and resource management, this flying
robot technology could make construction greener and more efficient than ever.

BY ETHAN SMITH management, reporting, monitoring, inspection, safety, security and
RONES, ONCE A HOBBY FOR a few enthusiasts, are now even marketing.
prominently featured across a number of professional Drones are revolutionizing construction at a breakneck pace. Here
fields. Today, delivery and cargo drones transport goods are eight ways drones are changing construction:
across increasing distances, military drones spy on enemy 1. PRECONSTRUCTION SURVEYING AND MAPPING: Drones
D combatants, and ag-drones engage in precision farming. have the ability to survey and map large geographic areas, quickly
More than any other industry, however, drones are being put to helping building planners get a sense of a site’s topography. With
use on construction worksites, with their use surging by 239 per- high-resolution drone imaging, construction teams can develop 3D
cent from 2017 to 2018, according to drone software manufacturer models to help them identify constructability challenges ahead of
DroneDeploy. Infrastructure work now makes up 35.5 percent of time, make accurate estimates, and sufficiently prepare for the job.
professional drone use, far ahead of the next two biggest drone-using Drone mapping and modeling can also be conducted throughout
industries, agriculture (25.5 percent) and transportation (10.2 percent). a project and the data can be used by architects, engineers, and oth-
Typically operated by project managers, technology managers and ers in conjunction with leading construction software programs,
superintendents, construction drones have many functions, as they including AutoCAD, Bluebeam, Civil 3D, BIM 360, Procore and others.
can be used in every phase of the project lifecycle. Equipped with 2. ON-SITE MEASUREMENTS: On a smaller scale, drones can addi-
GPS technology, as well as cameras and sensors that can capture tionally be used to make various measurements on a worksite, includ-
images, video, thermal readings and infrared data, drones can help ing measuring stockpiles of materials, such as piles of fill dirt, sand or
improve project conceptualization, planning, measurement, building, gravel. Increasingly, builders are using drones in coordination with

38 GREEN BUILDER September/October 2019 www.greenbuildermedia.com

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