Regardless of construction project’s type, safety is always the number one priority. A construction site is full of dangers and there is a plethora of measures that should be taken in order for the workers to be fully protected. Thanks to the advent of digital technologies, the prevention of serious on-site injuries has become much easier. The use of drones during the building process is one example of that direction.
Drones are progressively becoming more popular in different professional sectors and construction is, of course, no exception. Drones provide users with an excellent overview of everything that takes place on site. Most importantly, they allow the building team to acquire information from every corner of the working field even in spaces where there is no accessibility.
These are many essential services that drones can offer in construction. Strangely enough, there are still people who underestimate the possibilities that drones could open for the building process and the safety on site. Here are five powerful ways drones could enhance safety on site.
Monitoring a construction project is always one of the biggest pains for construction management. This is where drones can be extremely valuable. First and foremost, they have the ability to observe the whole site and report back to the office much faster and more efficiently than the on-site personnel. Drones can fly over the whole site, even in corners where there is no access from the ground, in a small amount of time and without putting any workers in danger. Drones can also be equipped with radar, thermal cameras and laser-based sensors which can substantially improve the surveillance of the site and detect any abnormal activity. Video footage can be used to create a 3D picture of the site that could subsequently be compared to the computerized architectural design. Contractors can constantly monitor the development of the project and correct any mistakes on time.
Aerial photography is a much more powerful way of monitoring the building site than relying only on the site staff. Drones or UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) can detect risky situations, problematic materials and hazardous structures which could eventually put construction workers in danger. Being able to detect such troubling situations without engaging people in danger is vital. The use of drones during the inspection process can be cheaper and faster than the current inspection methods, which allows for more frequent inspections and by extension a safer construction site. Thanks to remote inspections, there is no need for using workers to inspect awkward or unapproachable locations of the construction site. The picture and video footage collected by the inspection process can be used for the precise identification of the building process and for the creation of future safety guides.
Drones can be a substantial ally during the maintenance process, combining two powerful advantages mentioned above. On one hand, they provide ability to reach in locations and places where it is extremely dangerous for construction workers to go. For instance, the maintenance of skyscrapers or tall building structures, in general, can now be done with the help of UAVs. This applies both to reactive and unplanned maintenance inspections and it eradicates the risk of injury for workers due to falling.
On the other hand, the use of drones can accelerate the maintenance inspection process. With the risk of worker injury gone, the necessary tasks can be completed faster and in a more automated manner. This could eventually lead to an improved maintenance cycle and to a building structure which would be safer both for its residents and the people who work around it.
Another essential aspect of the construction process where drones can truly help is the completion of repetitive and/or risky building tasks. More analytically, drones can be used for the following tasks on the field:
All these tasks take time and a lot of effort to be completed, while some of them can also be quite dangerous for those in charge of them. The use of drones can simplify them to a significant extent and protect the on-site personnel by unpredicted risk.
Drones can be a powerful tool in the hands of the team which is responsible for the safety of the site when the construction work stops. At night, construction sites can be extremely vulnerable to theft of expensive equipment and materials.
It is extremely important to monitor the entire location effectively. But it is no secret that in every working site there are some parts where the security level is lower. This is where drones can help significantly as they can provide the security team with information in regard to any unusual moves in realvtime.
Drones can take safety on site to a whole new level. The ability to monitor and maintain the construction site from distance is a big step forward to a safer and more efficient building process.
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