Overheard a project manager talking about drone mapping and it clicked for me

I was at a coffee shop near a job site in Austin last Tuesday and heard this PM from another company talking about using drones for site surveys instead of the old total stations. He said it cut his team's time from 4 hours to 45 minutes on a 10 acre lot. I always thought drones were just for photos or showing off, but hearing him lay out the numbers on labor savings and accuracy made me look into it. Now I'm testing a demo unit on our next project next week. Anyone else switched over and found it worth the upfront cost?

2 comments

2 Comments

torres.grant19d ago

4 hours to 45 minutes" sounds like the kind of math that makes owners real happy and field guys real nervous. Hope your demo unit doesn't decide to take a swim in a retention pond like my buddy's did last month.

julia54919d ago

Totally changed my mind too honestly. I used to think drones were just a gimmick for realtors or hobbyists messing around in parks. But I saw a survey crew on a job I was working and they spent a whole day walking a big field with a pole and a GPS unit. Talked to the guy running it and he showed me the numbers on his tablet. It was way more detailed than I expected and he said the software flags stuff you'd miss walking around. The time savings are real if the math works for your site.