Drones are hovering somewhere between flights of fancy and valuable aerial assets, but their use may be on the verge of taking off. Tim Clark reports
They heralded the beginning of a new era for construction. A decade or so ago, drones were introduced to the world with the promise of revolutionising everything from last-minute deliveries to helping emergency services.
However, almost 10 years on, the idea of pizzas delivered to your door is about as realistic as many other science fiction promises from the beginning of the 21st century. Have the flying apparatus delivered for the construction sector?
Drones, thousands of them
Drone use has certainly accelerated in recent years.
In the US, in 2022, the drone market was valued at just under $1.5bn, with the oil and gas industries valued at $633m, utilities at $484m, and mining at $115m. Construction wasn’t specifically mentioned but forms part of all three leading drone industries.
A PwC report predicted that over 76,233 drones could be in use across all UK industries by the end of the decade. Within this, 4,816 would be within the construction and manufacturing industries.
Quite how PwC came to such an accurate figure for drone use by 2030 is a mystery; drones can however capture real-time data on a building’s performance, analysing external temperature, humidity, energy consumption and so on. The PwC report noted that drone use could save up to £1.6bn by 2030 across all sectors.
When it comes to aerial views, drones have certainly helped revolutionise how aerial mapping can be achieved. A report published in November 2023 by US construction rental firm Big Rentz, found that drone usage rose by 239% in the previous year.
The report noted that rapid mapping of large areas over long distances is particularly useful for infrastructure projects; this has gained traction in the UK as well.
According to City Tech Collaborative, an organisation founded to help accelerate and uncover solutions for issues in the urban sector, the day that a drone will be able to deliver the pizza (and conversely inspect buildings remotely and independently of human control) is arriving.
The firm trialled a drone flight whereby a drone flew to a communications tower to capture and process imagery to create a digital twin. The drone followed a pre-programmed path and was deployed from a drone “nest” to the tower, half a mile from its starting position
“On a larger scale, this drone demonstration highlights the relationship cities are seeing between its physical assets, the services they provide or support, and evolving applications of data to strengthen our understanding and decision making,” said Kate Calabra, partnership development manager at City Tech.
“Cities are gradually – but at an increasingly faster pace – becoming a collection of connected infrastructure; a physical world informed by the digital.”
AI is expected to be incorporated into drone use to help monitor both equipment depreciation and organise moving of equipment on site more efficiently. Drones may also help alleviate the workforce crunch that has been warned about in the construction sector for decades.
The sky’s the limit?
A new government that seems intent on building the country into growth, but with an acute demographic shortage of construction workers means something has to give. If Labour are genuinely looking to unlock up to 1.5m homes in the lifetime of this parliament, then it may need to adopt innovative ideas to reach it.
In Dubai, drones have been used to monitor housing projects to ensure that works comply with plans, timelines and standards. The drone use also extended beyond simply monitoring sites, but also detecting damage which wasn’t visible to the naked eye such as insulation faults or water leaks.
A monthly or yearly drone survey with a heat-sensitive camera can be considered an aerial health check of any residential or commercial building. Closer to home, offshore wind firm Ørsted is trialling the use of 58kg drones to transport cargo to wind turbines.
Obstacles remain, however, to the widespread adoption of the devices in the construction sector.
Speaking to UAV News, Robert McCoy founder of US firm Volition-Air, cited a number of issues that still impact drones in construction. These include the start-up costs, demonstrating a return on investment, and a lack of resources are hampering adoption by some firms.
“Often the technology around UAVs is filling a gap that the company does not have great metrics on,” McCoy said. “These gaps are the most valuable to address although the company may struggle to quantify the existing problem. Collaboration and awareness across the organisation are critical to make sure you bring everyone along on the digital journey.”
The benefits are becoming increasingly apparent. In July 2022, the Balfour Beatty and Vinci joint venture working on HS2’s civils works estimated that it had saved £50,000 a year by carrying out faster and cheaper site surveys using drones.
Thames Water incorporated drone use into the works for the £4bn Tideway Tunnel project to save on costs and increase site safety.
It is thought that the integration of drone use into BIM, digital twins, and the Internet of Things may spur another wave of drone adoption within main contractors and sub-contractors in the coming years.
According to the International Bar Association (IBA) drones have become invaluable in pre-construction planning. In a briefing paper on drone use the IBA stated that employers may be able to use aerial images and data captured by drones to map out the site (or sites) for a potential project before even taking the step of allocating land.
The report noted that: “[T]raditionally, this has been used by state or state-owned employers, which have access to a wider range of options for situating their projects.
“In due course, it may be that such data is included as part of the package of survey information provided in a tender process, thereby mitigating the cost and time spent with competing teams of tenderers visiting the proposed site to collect data and identify key areas of concern.”
Site safety
Another major aspect of the evolution of drones is the impact on site safety. According to the Health & Safety Executive (HSE), the UK construction industry is still dogged by simple accidents. Slips, trips and falls were counted to be the second biggest factor for injuries and fatalities on construction sites.
Drones are seen as a vital way to limit risk, especially when considering working from height. Over half of construction fatalities are caused by falls from height. A study by the Journal of Safety Research found that integrating the deep learning technique with UAVs proved in theory and practice to be very powerful in monitoring workers’ safety on construction sites.
As it happens, human nature was a big factor on potentially how and why accidents occurred. The experiment involved using drones to watch and monitor construction workers and trained an AI or deep learning model to detect when workers violated working at height rules such as the Personal Fall Arrest System (PFAS) system, which is designed to stop them falling from height.
The algorithm was trained to detect use of the safety harness and lifeline as well as the safety helmet. It was successful in detecting 90% of failures.
The authors of the study noted that: “This technology will enable the safety officer to directly respond to any potential violations, eventually saving lives. This development aims to solve the problem of the unavailability of an adequate number of safety inspectors at a particular construction site.”
The last frontier when it comes to drone use is regulation. The research conducted by the ACM Journal on Responsible Computing also revealed that alongside the opportunities, laws governing commercial drone deployment in the UK remain conflicting, chaotic, and sometimes, contradictory.
In the UK the government may do well to take a holistic look at the laws surrounding drone use. and whether they hold back innovation across a number of industries.
In future, something will need to change to give drones their true lift off.
Key applications of drones in construction
Topographic mapping and land surveys
- Traditional topographic mapping is time-consuming and expensive. Drones, however, can quickly and accurately map large areas, providing high-resolution images that can be converted into 3D models. This capability allows construction teams to visualise the terrain, identify potential challenges, and make informed decisions before breaking ground
Site monitoring and progress tracking drones
- This offers a bird’s-eye view of construction sites, enabling project managers to monitor progress in real-time. This aerial perspective helps in identifying issues early, ensuring that projects stay on schedule and within budget. Regular drone flights can document the construction process, providing a visual record that can be shared with stakeholders
Safety inspections
- Safety is a paramount concern in construction. Drones can access hard-to-reach areas, such as tall structures or confined spaces, to conduct inspections without putting workers at risk. They can identify hazards, monitor compliance with safety regulations, and ensure that safety protocols are being followed
Equipment tracking
- Keeping track of equipment on large construction sites can be challenging. Drones can quickly locate machinery and materials, reducing the time spent searching for them and minimising delays. This capability also helps in preventing theft and ensuring that equipment is used efficiently
Environmental monitoring
- Drones equipped with sensors can monitor environmental conditions, such as air quality and temperature, on construction sites. This data can be used to ensure compliance with environmental regulations and to create safer working conditions for employees
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