Drones for site progress, I was dead wrong about them

I spent 3 months arguing with our field super, Marcus, that drone flights every Friday were a waste of money on a 40-acre site in Austin. He kept saying I needed to see the grading from above to catch the drainage issue before it cost us. Last month I finally flew with him and watched a 15 minute flight show me where our fill material was getting pushed wrong in a corner I never walk. The orthomosaic map showed three low spots that explained why water was pooling after the rain on the 14th. I ate my words and now we fly twice a week, and it saved us about $6,000 in redo work on the slab prep. Has anyone else had a vendor or crew member convince them to try a tool they thought was hype? What made it click for you?

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king.robin20d ago

So what exactly made it click for you, seeing the water pooling from above or watching Marcus point out the low spots in real time? I ask because I've seen guys get sold on tech just because it looks cool, but that doesn't mean they actually change how they work. It sounds like the drone gave you proof you could act on, not just a pretty picture. Did you have to adjust your crew's schedule or workflows to make the twice a week flights work, or did it just slot right in? Curious if the real win was catching the drainage issue before it got buried, or if it's more about having a record to show the owner or the next crew.