Drone-based technology is transforming the practice of facility management. Traditional facility inspection methods can be dangerous and error-prone. After all, they’re relying on inspectors to walk grounds, climb ladders, and brave rooftops to collect data, leaving a lot of room for accidents and errors. With the power of drone-based technology, inspectors are now able to stay safe on the ground and use drones to collect the precise, actionable data they need.
The results are clear. When our partner, SITE Technologies, deployed a drone-based solution, they:
- Accelerated data collection by 20X
- Reduced the cost of facility inspection by 50%
- Significantly improved the precision, consistency, and completeness of facility data
Collecting data faster and cheaper than ever before
Traditional methods of inspecting facilities require inspectors to physically walk them, which, of course, takes time. According to SITE, they found that drones captured data 20x faster than humans. This enabled engineers to spend more time analyzing data, instead of traveling across different sites.
SITE also found that deploying drones cut their inspection costs by half, with fewer engineers needed on job sites, which also decreased the travel expenses they incurred.
More accurate, consistent data capturing
Clients with hundreds or thousands of facilities to manage are forced to use multiple inspectors. This can lead to inconsistent information, as each inspector has their own system for collecting and analyzing data—all of which is subject to human error. By using drones, facility managers are able to rely on a single vendor to inspect all properties. And they can even pre-program drones to run the same flight path at different points in time, enabling the collection of precisely correlated time-series data. Ultimately, this allows them to provide consistent reporting and benchmarking across the portfolio, over time.
Improving analysis and reporting
To maximize the benefits of drone technology, facility managers need in-depth analysis and easy-to-use reporting to inform them of where to invest their time and money. SITE Technologies developed a cloud-based platform to meet this need for actionable insight, giving stakeholders access to:
- Condition reports
- Predictive analytics
- Property benchmarking
- Budget analysis
This enabled the company to gain new levels of intelligence that significantly impact business operations and solutions.
“Because of our experience in helping facility managers and property owners find solutions for their assets, we understand what they're looking for and how they want to view information,” said Austin Rabine, CEO of SITE Technologies. “PrecisionHawk has been collaborative and flexible in helping us deliver exactly what our clients need.”
Partner with PrecisionHawk
PrecisionHawk offers a data collection platform of hardware, software, and flight services that are tailored to the unique requirements of each facility inspection regime.
“Facility managers now have an end-to-end solution for data capture and analysis,” said Suzanne El-Moursi, General Manager of AEC at PrecisionHawk. “With PrecisionHawk’s service platform automating the first mile of data collection and SITE Technologies integrating the last mile of data analysis, our clients get a turnkey solution that delivers all the necessary insight into their facilities.”
To learn how to add drone-based data collection to your projects, speak with an AEC solutions expert now.
SITE Technologies Case Study
Download the full case study to learn more about how SITE Technologies uses drones to strengthen their facility management services.
