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How New Drone Regulations Impact the Construction Industry

Posted by Blake Mitchell on Aug 16, 2018

Drones are changing the way businesses operate, even beyond video and photography for marketing and entertainment purposes. There are so many more commercial applications, including in the construction industry, which has greatly benefitted from drone technology. Mapping drones, for example, are being used to survey large project sites in less time and for less money than a group of surveyors.

As with any new technology, regulatory groups are trying to keep up with drone capabilities and widespread use. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is no exception. The FAA recently changed a law about who can pilot small drones for commercial purposes, which will impact the construction industry.

One of the changes reduces the barrier to entry. Before the change, licensed pilots were the only ones allowed to operate a drone for commercial purposes. Now construction industry workers can receive minimal training to utilize drone technology.

As previously mentioned, mapping a construction site can require a lot of time, manpower and resources. A drone, on the other hand, can do the same task in a matter of minutes. The drones are preprogrammed and loaded with imaging technologies that can help produce detailed maps, giving project managers very comprehensive insights about their projects.

The new laws make way for more innovation in the construction industry. Drones may soon have the ability to transform the development pipeline. In the future, they will be able to create three-dimensional maps of job sites not only from above, but also from within structures that are not yet built. This will only lead to a faster adoption rate of this updating technology.

The use of drones on construction sites will only become more prevalent. The data they collect and the precision they offer will only serve to cut costs and time off projects. Remote video surveillance can also help construction teams manage site activities to help keep projects running on-time and on-budget. Trained operators watch properties in real time, to catch events as they happen. Using a combination of video analytics and human intelligence, these proactive solutions are typically 30-50% more cost-effective than traditional security guards.

Drones and live video monitoring are changing the construction industry for the better. Maybe one day, these technologies will be just as common as bulldozers and cranes.

If you have any questions about live video surveillance and construction site security systems. Contact us here.