Technology is shaking almost every facet of our personal and professional lives. Whether you are a tech enthusiast, a tired engineer, or a corporate cog who loves the status quo, you can barely live without technology today. Every business wants the best accounting software, automation, computerization, and artificial intelligence are now the order of the day.
Then there is drone technology. Initially, drones were used for aerial photography. But today, drones are finding wide applications in the construction industry. They are changing the way project managers manage products. They are making things easy across different sectors in the construction industry.
Here is a quick round-up of how this technology is revolutionizing the building and construction industry around the world.”
1. Faster Site Surveillance and Inspection
Drones are revolutionizing the building and construction industry. As a project manager, you need to make sure everything is going well. You need to oversee all the construction activities including surveying. But you might not have the time for doing all that and still deliver on your core project goals. Some construction sites occupy vast spaces. Others are situated in far-flung areas. Sometimes, you have to inspect terrains that are hard to access by humans.
You need a better solution to help you maintain a close vigil of the site all the way from surveying to setting up to actual construction. Thanks to drone technology, it will be pretty simple to inspect every construction stage and issue reports that would help make work more efficient.
Again there is the vicious issue of theft that also gives project managers sleepless nights the world over. There are always expensive machinery, plants, and tools that can be plundered by outsiders or in the case of an inside job. Drone technology helps in keeping surveillance of the construction site including all activities within and outside the site.
2. Efficient Project Management
For increased productivity during the execution of your projects, you need to be highly efficient. There are some ways a diligent manager can use to achieve the utmost efficiency. But one of the best solutions you can embrace is adopting the use of drones.
From project marketing, surveying, board meetings, workforce management, and communication, drones are useful everywhere.
Moreover, drones come useful when it comes to handling multiple sites. Instead of a manager visiting every single site, he will just deploy a drone that relays a compressive view of the construction site in question.
Additionally, some construction projects have a performance and attendance management software system which manages the performance of teams and individuals for ensuring the achievement of the overall project goals. As such, a drone would be linked with the performance management system to analyze the data transmitted and generate progress reports in real-time.
3. Improved safety practices
The construction industry is mostly categorized as one of the most dangerous working environments to operate in. There are heights to scale and the risk of slipping and falling off.
There are rough and unpredictable terrains to navigate. There are heavy machinery and plants to operate. Then there are sharp working tools.
In other words, construction workers are also exposed to health threats due to hazardous tasks and risky maneuvers. More often than not, these actions result in injuries and other worst-case scenarios.
According to a report by the Bureau of Labor Statistics report, out of the 6,882,000 employed in the construction industry had injuries. The figure accounted for about 4% of the total US workforce. At the same time, the same Bureau reported about 937 deaths which accounted for about 21 % of worker deaths.
From minor injuries to a lifelong physical impairment to death, an accident on a construction site is the last thing a construction manager expects to hear. Consequently, construction managers have been forced to embrace the use of drones to mitigate the risks and keep the workforce safe and productive on the ground.
Drones tend to undertake tasks that are normally performed in high-risk areas like great heights and inspecting risky terrains. Currently, drones are also coming in as the best surveying tools. As a result, they make it easier to survey areas that are hard to be accessed by humans.
4. Improved communication
Just like in any other business engagement, communication in construction sites is of paramount importance. It is the backbone to smooth operations. Given that construction is such a fragmented, dynamic, and disparate sector, it renders the role of the project manager extremely demanding and problematic.
Nevertheless, addressing communication in the industry seems to bear fruits thanks to drones. Drones can be integrated with contact management software that helps convey employee info from the construction site directly to the board of directors meeting.
They will receive a real-time clear view of the ongoing works which are relayed back to the management and supervision team for further action. Unlike satellite images, drone images are clear and are relayed faster.
5. Makes it easier to monitor project progress
There is something funny with most construction projects. While you might think everything is going just fine only to realize that your project is several months late when you smell the deadline.
That is where you start to cross your fingers hoping everything will go fine. You don’t know, for instance, how you didn’t notice the project was eight months late. All along you thought your project was much on time.
The reality is that determining whether or not a project is at risk of failing to meet the completion deadline is not an easy thing. Of course, projects don’t delay in a single day. It is a long process that takes time. Eventually, it then accumulates into a delayed project.
The good thing is, unlike humans, drones can scan a job site real fast and produce accurate aerial views that give your team and clients a grasp of the project’s progression. You then determine the right action to take, whether to cancel an insignificant task, to employ the correct talent, or tackle issues of resource imbalances. Drones can also be integrated with construction accounting software & accounting software. That way, it becomes easy to handle finances and perform better fiscal projections.
Summing it up
As the construction industry grows, construction projects are becoming increasingly complex. To achieve your project goals, you need to increase the efficiency with which you are going to execute different tasks. You also want to gain an edge over your competitors and fetch a higher ROI. To stay on top, you need to embrace emerging technology. And, that is where drone technology comes in handy in the construction industry.
