Construction projects have a notorious reputation for being over-time and over-budget. One of the main contributors: rework.
But technology solutions, including drone data, can help construction firms mitigate rework by identifying issues more quickly. This level of speed and transparency promotes efficiency and proper documentation while providing a comprehensive view of your site and minimizing the time needed to correct mistakes.
DroneDeploy’s software conducts aerial inspections and documents problem areas, providing a defensible, visual historical record. Whether you’re just looking into drone technology or have an existing program, we’ll detail how to optimize your drone operations with our solution.
A Streamlined Workflow: Overlay As-Planned to As-Built
With a host of competing priorities, it’s unsurprising that some construction tasks fall through the cracks. DroneDeploy optimizes these workflows and priorities for construction companies.
One construction-specific tool helpful for those in the industry is DroneDeploy’s Project Design Plan (CAD) Overlays. Workers can import, overlay, and view design plans directly over their flight maps with this tool. And with a side-by-side record of progress, costly mistakes are caught early, avoiding rework altogether.
VDC Managers use this feature to compare CAD drawings to a project’s latest drone map, allowing the user to monitor grading vs. elevation, conduct route plans, and pinpoint safety concerns from the get-go. DroneDeploy customers often fly routinely throughout a project’s life cycle, so VDCs and other stakeholders are looped in on comparing as-planned to as-built designs.
Brasfield & Gorrie, for example, used project design plan overlays with CAD drawings to verify work done on a handicap ramp. Just 12 hours before the concrete pour, using DroneDeploy, B&G discovered that their as-designed plans were different than as-built, saving over $10,000 in rework costs.
DroneDeploy’s PlanGrid integration further supports Brasfield & Gorrie team members when reviewing data or processing requests for information. Workers can annotate maps, add teammates, and share projects with customers or owners in-app. This integration saves the team countless hours locating information and performing rework tasks, bringing context to every job site.
Streamlined Workflows Empower Collaboration
After DroneDeploy processes flight imagery, workers can annotate and tag problems directly on their maps. Location Marker identifies the latitude and longitude, while elevation controls provide data on selected areas of interest. Features to measure distance, surface area, volume, and more are also available.
Commenting is always possible to detail problem areas, write notes, and share progress. With @mention, users can tag specific individuals and assign them to project tasks, enhancing overall visibility—the result: the alignment of all stakeholders on site advancements, no matter the stage.
Stakeholders can also receive compelling visual progress reports that contain all of the media for a project’s specific flight date. Just by generating a report, users granted access will see all photos, panos, videos, and maps for a project. With email, PDF, and in-app sharing options available, everyone involved is apt to stay informed – reducing miscommunications, mistakes, and the rework associated with these errors.
360 Walkthrough and BIM: A Comprehensive View of Your Job Site
Construction sites change daily, and issues missed can delay projects and balloon budgets. DroneDeploy’s 360 Walkthrough is built on technology honed from years of processing drone imagery.
Our blazing-fast software processes images in minutes, not days. Users capture near real-time data more frequently, so field teams, trades, owners, and other stakeholders stay better aligned. Change orders are inevitable on any project, but with data delivered faster, teams can identify issues, act quickly, and avoid late rework or change orders that aggravate cost overruns and delays, influencing team morale and productivity.
Additionally, DroneDeploy integrates with BIM solutions to make collaboration more seamless. This is crucial since plans are interdependent: for example, changes to the floorplan can impact the electrical plan. One source of truth quickly identifies and addresses these interrelated issues.
A fully-integrated data capture solution keeps teams appraised when issues related to one aspect impact other areas. And because DroneDeploy integrates with leading construction solutions like BlueBeam, Procore, and Autodesk, users can incorporate site reality back into planning to generate new design documentation for changes needed. The result is that employees spend less time searching for the right files to consult, share, and annotate.
Earlier Resolutions Prevent Later Rework
Rework presents a growing threat to construction operations today, both in time and cost. Researchers from the International Journal of Sustainable Construction Engineering & Technology estimated an average of 7.1% of total work hours are dedicated to rework fixes. While this drains time, profitability, and productivity, it can also hinder an organization’s credibility.
Rather than experience these issues firsthand, DroneDeploy allows construction companies to identify problems from the start. Why spend extra time and money on rework costs and additional labor when you don’t have to? DroneDeploy leaves no excuse for these issues to remain unresolved.
If you’re interested in drone software for your construction operations, we encourage you to read some of our customer success stories, or download our free eBook on managing rework.
