Looking at the economic, social, and environmental case for drone inspections

Written by David Holmes

Drones have enabled a step change in the way that buildings and assets are inspected. Owners of buildings and property portfolios can harness drone services to improve safety, information flows and asset understanding whilst also improving their overall operational efficiency.

Previous studies of drones and their use for inspections has identified several key economic, social and environmental benefits.

(1) Economic benefits

The up-front cost of using drones to survey buildings varies based on the size and complexity of a building and the outputs desired, but undoubtedly it is much cheaper compared to traditional ground-based approaches.  In a 2021 project undertaken by Yorkshire Housing, they estimated that using drones created a 10-fold return on investment substituting extensive roof repairs and replacements with well-informed targeted maintenance. By allowing buildings to be inspected more quickly, cheaply and therefore more frequently drones support preventive maintenance regimes.

There are also savings on lost-time accidents.  According to RICs, the total (global) cost of workplace injury in the construction sector (which includes housing) in 2018/19 was estimated at £1.2 billion, including around 500,000 lost working days annually. Using drones to carry out inspections completely eliminates the risk of working from height accidents during the inspection.

(2) Social benefits

The social cost of injury and loss of life are significant, having lasting lifestyle and livelihood impacts on the victims and their friends and families.  According to the UK HSE in 2020, 59% of the costs of fatalities and injuries are borne by individuals, rather than employers or the governments.

Drone inspections also offer reduced disruption to residents compared to traditional methods.  Drone inspections can be carried out in as little as 30 minutes for a simple building. With a polite advanced notice, residents are typically very amenable to drone inspections instead of disruptive and lengthy scaffolding installations.  Scaffolding also creates safety and security risks for the public, both during the day and especially at night.

(3) Environmental benefits

PWC in their 2022 report Skies Without Limits have attempted to estimate the CO2e (equivalent) savings against “traditional” approaches for multiple use cases including asset inspections and surveys.  In the main CO2e savings can be achieved from reduced vehicle usage due to the efficiency of drone-related solutions resulting from fewer trips to site.

Other environmental advantages include improved process efficiency and asset life cycle –

• A reduction in large vehicles transporting plant for access such as mobile access platforms or scaffolding.
• By enabling better PPM (planned preventative maintenance) systems, more specific and targeted repairs can be carried out.  This reduces the need for heavy plant and machinery to be moved on-site.
• PPM’s has the benefit of extending assets’ useful life, which reduces the resources and energy needed to replace assets ahead of their expected lifetime.

On sloping roofs, scaffolding and edge protection is required to prevent falls during a traditional inspection. This can potentially damage the façade, guttering, and roof itself.  Ongoing zero-contact drone inspections ensure that these higher-risk physical interactions are minimised.  Again protecting the fabric of the building for a longer lifespan.

Overcoming the barriers

It feels like we might be at a tipping point in terms of the public perception of drones, yet barriers exist to their more universal adoption.  Yes, there are challenges for commercial operators in terms of regulation and keeping up-to-date with equipment.  But perhaps the biggest barrier is the lack of acceptance and skepticism within the wider commercial and built sector.  Certainly, drones are just part of the tool-kit and cannot replace inspections fully.  But nonetheless all the evidence points to drones as being more valuable than the sector perhaps wants to acknowledge.

The use of drones allows for a safer, faster and cheaper building inspection which can deliver a range of benefits compared to the business-as-usual approach.  Are you ready to disrupt?

Email: info@inviewassets for a more detailed discussion of these concepts and to request a free pilot survey.

Sources

Catapult (2021) The case for drone inspections in the UK

PWC (2022) Skies Without Limits

Bim Plus (2022) Yorkshire Housing’s drone inspection trial: the story so far