What is a Drone Inspection?

 A drone inspection is an in-depth piece-by-piece view of your assets from the air. Using drones, allows you to view every detail of your assets from angles that are inaccessible with traditional inspection methods. With a drone being a small, nimble piece of equipment there is no angle that cannot be used to capture your equipment. The use of drones as an inspection method is on the increase as the speed and quality of which they can inspect is improving workflow and changing the face of the construction and maintenance industry.

The Benefits of Drones for Inspections

Drones have a lot of benefits to help you improve your routine inspections. Inspections play a crucial role in both your reactive and proactive maintenance plans, so keeping their costs controlled and schedules regular is essential. Ensuring inspections happen safely is equally important, as protecting your team and assets. There are a number of benefits of using drones in your inspection process. Here are just a few of them.

• Safety: No longer do you need to send your team on ropes, platforms or scaffolding. A drone pilot operates from the ground and can freely fly drones up to 400 feet high. If you need to fly higher, you must first obtain permission from the relevant authorities.
• Speed: A drone pilot can launch quickly, capture all the necessary photos, and deliver them to you within 24 hours. Not only that, it’s also possible to connect a virtual reality headset so that your team can view the flight and ask us to capture closer looks as and when required during the flight.
• Cost: Traditional inspection methods require some kind of access to the top of your assets. This may mean the expensive hire of a cherry picker, scaffolding or other platform access. On top of this, these may require extra permissions such as road closures which can all come at a cost from local authorities. A drone pilot works from the ground and does not need any expensive equipment hire.

This is just a small number of the benefits. If you and your team are still hiring scaffolding, cherry pickers or even sending your team up on ropes for access, then you need to consider drones to help improve your workflow and reduce your maintenance costs. As an example of the benefits of using drones, we completed the following job. We completed a large number of roof inspections. The client would traditionally budget year 1 for inspection, and year 2 for repairs. However, we completed 70 roof inspections using drones for less than the cost of traditionally inspecting just 1 roof using scaffolding. This meant the client could not only inspect all of their assets, but they could also complete all the repairs in year 1.

Difference Between a Drone Survey and a Drone Inspection

Here at Drone Site Surveys, we are commonly asked to perform both a drone survey and a drone inspection. However, some people believe they are the same product. They are not and there is a vast difference for you to understand when choosing what you need for your asset inspection.

• Drone Inspection: This is a flight that will provide an in-depth set of photographs & video (if required) of your assets. All photos we provide are in full HD and 4K where possible. All footage is provided for you and your team to analyse and come to your own conclusions about the condition or any repairs that may be needed.
• Drone Survey: While we will provide the images and video as set out in a drone inspection, a survey also involves a report from our building surveyors. They include our findings in a written report to be shared with potential repair companies or for you to hold for your records.
• Drone Survey with RICS Report: A report from an RICS surveyor can also be provided along with our footage. a RICS accredited report allows you to have a written document to help show failings in your assets. This can then be shared with insurance companies landlords or any other agent that may be paying for the repairs if you are making a claim.

When employing a drone company to complete an inspection or a survey it’s important to know the difference. If you are not sure, then please give us a call. One of our team can talk you through all the options available to you.

Other Surveys Available

As well as a drone inspection and a survey, you can also have a number of other surveys performed on your assets.

• Thermal Surveys: If you have a building that may have issues or you wish to assess energy performance then you may wish to have a thermal inspection. We are qualified thermographers and can help you identify parts of your buildings that are losing too much heat. We can also spot parts of your roof that may have failed allowing heat to escape. Combine this with a RICS accredited survey and you can get a deep understanding of any issues that your building may have.
• Construction Site Survey & Monitoring:  Using UAVs or drones, you can capture site data weekly, fortnightly, or monthly. Advanced photogrammetry software then processes this footage, creating a detailed record of work completed over time. This helps your construction project stay on track, ensuring installations happen correctly and within planned timeframes. Additionally, the software allows you to take precise measurements accurate to within 1cm, confirming that all installations align perfectly with your original plans.
• Stockpile Measuring: With our specialist drones, we can scan your site and stockpiles. Photogrammetry software processes this data alongside ground control points, allowing you to measure stockpiles accurately and quickly. You’ll achieve precise results much faster than traditional measurement methods, saving significant time on-site.