A Bird’s Eye View: Efficiencies of Drone Use on Large-Scale Construction Sites

Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS), commonly referred to as drones, have become a popular tool used by engineering, environmental, and construction companies for site monitoring.  UAS provide real-time data before, during, and after construction, helping projects to succeed on-time and as efficiently as possible.  Wetlands Studies and Solutions has had success with the use of UAS for erosion and sediment control inspections on large scale sites, saving both time and money for our clients. In some cases, a two-hour UAS flight was equivalent to walking fourteen miles on a site due to size and access limitations. Software can be used to program UAS to capture repeated flight paths, showing the change in sites over time. As our drone program has expanded, we will cover some of the lessons learned and gained efficiencies from our project experience.