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Construction Companies using Drones

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Technology is often used to make things simpler and easier for you and no one can particularly set its limits. So you can go to any limits by not harming the nature or any living entity and use technology to its fullest to achieve goals. As far as the construction segment is concerned, the use of technology in many advanced countries has not been accomplished to its complete potential. They may use the best of raw materials and the best of designs and the infrastructure needed to complete those designs but much can still be done in the sphere of technology.

Construction companies can now make use of drones to monitor their work and make their lives simpler. One can only imagine how a mighty construction house that has its hands into vast projects is able to keep everything under control. Well, they know no magic but rely heavily on technology. They ensure that they use drones to get latest updates of their project and where it is heading. They can manage to have a bird’s view on the entire project and get all the details that they need to show the progress of the work to their clients.

Man management becomes simpler:-

When it comes to better man management, you can do it only when you know things that are happening on the ground. Getting updates from the heads of different departments may at times can’t give you a clear picture of the real ground situation. You have to monitor the situation on your own and then analyze to take better decisions. This is normally known as taking informed decisions. A drone can help you take informed decisions with accuracy. You only have to send the drone on the site and it will get all the pictures for you. It helps you to do a quick survey of the entire site which also invariably saves a lot of your time. You do not have to go in person to the jobsite and still get to know the ground situation.

Saves money on employing human resource:-

Buying a drone is anytime less expensive than employing a person with skills. You have to pay the guy good salary for his work and this will be a recurring expense. On the contrary, you buy a drone and get the work done at half the cost. The maintenance of the machine will again be less expensive than paying salary to the employee on each and every month. It will also provide you with more accurate data than what you can get from an individual.

Sharing the progress report with your clients:-

Your clients must be as busy as you are and it may not be possible for them to make their presence felt at the jobsite again and again. In such a situation, you can make use of drones to give them the real time pictures of the areas that are in progress and the areas where you have already completed your work. This will not only save yours as well as your clients’ time but will also win their confidence on you.

Using drones to monitor your work

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If you are a person who generally has a big business and finds it extremely difficult to focus on the progress of work then it is time for you to bring in new technologies that will enable you to check the progress of your work without even having to visit the place. You can monitor the progress of the work remotely from a distance place and can still give instructions to your sub-ordinates on how you want to the work to continue and this is perhaps the most viable solution that you can have in the present scenario. Industries such as construction needs regular monitoring to be done and if one fails to check the development of work then the result can turn out to be disastrous. A construction business owner can never allow any of his projects to turn into a disaster or else his entire reputation that he has developed over the years will get ruined in no time. The owner of the construction business needs to be very careful about it.

As we are heading towards future we are bringing in technology that can help us to easy our work and allow us to continue generating profits by putting less effort. Hence to monitor the development of a project all your need to do is install drones at the site which will take live pictures and will send it to you. So you can buy few drones for business use and leave them to fly at various construction sites. It will not just give you the glimpse of the projects but will also give you a clearer picture of how the workers are working on the site. If there is any sort of complacency at the site that will also be known to you. You do not need someone to report the reasons towards the delay in the completion of the project. You can very well find that on your own.

Use drones with high resolution cameras:-

If you decide to buy drones you first have to understand the various types of drones available in the market for commercial purpose. Remember, you can’t buy all types of drones as some are prohibited by law. Hence you need to be sure which one you can buy and which you can’t. This is very simple to know. You can do the research on the internet and explore on the different kinds of drones that you can buy for commercial use. Thereafter, you should buy drones that have high resolution cameras. It makes no sense to buy drones with no good cameras. Cameras with low resolution will not give you a clear picture of what is happening on the site. It may turn out to be a waste of money.

Monitor the work while you are on vacation:-

You do not have to cancel your vacation just because you are the only person responsible to check the progress of work. The drones will do the monitoring part and will send you the data. All you need in an internet connection in the place you go for vacation. Check out the growth of work from there without hampering your personal commitments.

 

Construction and drones, how they work together on a jobsite

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Modern technology is the need of the day. The industry and our businesses will not flourish if we do not accept technology as a part of our daily lives and the incorporation of it in our businesses will take it to the next level. The growth of the business is to a larger extent dependent on how open we are in adopting technology in our lives and simultaneously in our business. For people who are owners of big construction companies, they might find it extremely difficult to go to every jobsite that is running parallel in different places of the state. It is virtually impossible for him to make a trip to each of its jobsite if they are located in different cities and states. So what can he/she do to get an updated report?

Well, he/she has 2 options. They can either rely on the reports that are sent to them by their men/women or can put in a camera to check in the status of the work in a timely manner. Now again it is not possible to put cameras all over the site and the cameras will all be stationed at one place. They will not be moving which will not portray the correct picture. This means that installing cameras at different locations on the jobsite will not do any good to them as long as they have something that can move throughout the location and can give live updates to him. Here comes the importance of drones. These flying machines can be used to get live pictures of the work happening on the jobsite. The camera of the drones will be always rolling allowing the business owner to see all the progress that is happening on the site and then compare it with the report he/she has received. It is just that the drones are used to provide ground report which can be then compared with the report he/she has on his table.

Allows you have better control on the project while you are holidaying/vacation:-

It is a fact known to every person in the construction industry that owners of big construction houses do not get to spend quality time with their family. It is always business for them and at the end of the day they are so tired that they have nothing left for the family. Now suppose that you have a long planned holiday/vacation and this time you have decided to finally take your family for a vacation. However, you also have an important project going on whose progress you can’t miss to check. You can make use of drones to catch live pictures and correspond with your employees on the ground. In this way you can spend time with your family holidaying in Hawaii and also keep a close watch on the progress of the project.

Using drones can prevent delays in the project:-

By getting regular live pictures, you will be able to identify mistakes happening on the jobsite. You can jump in straight and point it out to the respective supervisor and ask him to correct that rectified. Had this skipped your attention, it could have taken the project on a ride and have caused delays in its completion.

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The Most Revolutionary New Construction Technologies

By

Jason Hurdis, Sr. Market Professional, Caterpillar Inc.  (Guest Post)

Tim Crane, General Manager Safety Services, Caterpillar Inc.  (Guest Post)

 

The construction industry has transformed drastically over the past 20 years. Smartphone apps have enabled real-time information exchange; armloads of files and blueprints are being replaced by a few taps on a tablet. Technology is changing almost every aspect of the industry, and companies that refuse to adapt and implement it risk being outdone by tech-savvy competitors.

One of the biggest fears construction company owners face when considering implementing new technologies is understanding what they do and how to use them effectively. Below are snapshots of some of the newest and most innovative construction technologies available to the industry:

 

  1. UAV Technology

 

Unmanned aerial vehicles or UAVs are a hot technology in several industries today because of all the different business use cases they can provide. In the construction industry, companies are sending camera-equipped UAVs into the air to take dozens — if not hundreds or thousands — of images. The pictures, which are linked to GPS data, can be stitched together with special software, transforming them into a 2-D or 3-D site model. The model can be used to:

 

  • Assess progress on a project — daily, weekly or at some other regular interval
  • Locate specific areas where work is falling behind schedule
  • Measure stockpile volume
  • Determine the amount of overburden that needs to be removed from an area
  • Monitor width and slope of haul roads
  • Analyze quarry faces and berms
  • Inspect hazardous areas
  • Confirm that employees are wearing protective gear and working safely
  • Get a high-level view of operator technique, load-zone placement, tire rotation and     other factors that affect efficiency
  • Show clients work in progress
  • Create images for marketing presentations and materials

 

These tasks and many others can be done quickly, accurately and economically with UAV systems — assuming you have access to the right technology, analytics and expertise. Caterpillar has a small team of UAV experts whose sole focus is determining how the technology can be used to improve site safety, efficiency and profitability.

 

Companies that are considering taking advantage of UAV technology need to be aware of the laws governing the commercial use of UAVs because they are different depending on where you do business. The United States has the tightest federal regulations in regard to UAVs, with new laws slated for 2016. We think UAVs are going to take off in the construction and aggregates sectors over the next few months and years. As this technology evolves, you’ll be able to combine machine data from your telematics systems with geo-spatial data from UAVs, giving you the power to take site efficiency to all-new levels.

 

  1. GRADE with Assist

Grading technology helps make excavators, dozers and motor graders more efficient because it allows operators to get to grade faster with less effort. Caterpillar’s precision grading system, Cat® GRADE, part of Cat Connect technology, can help both new and experienced machine operators deliver dramatic improvements in grading efficiency over a wide range of applications. GRADE with Assist, which adds automated grading sequences, is featured on Cat Excavators, is the most advanced worksite technology available. Among the benefits grading technology can provide:

 

  • Keeping people off the ground and out of trenches
  • Reducing the cost of staking and grade checking
  • Cutting grading time by up to 45%
  • Conserving fuel and materials when you finish in fewer passes
  • Saving time and costs related to rework
  • Helping less experienced operators work like pros

 

Grading technology, like Cat GRADE, enhances jobsite safety, improves reliability and adds to the machine’s value, both on the job and at resale. Just to show some real-life examples, below are 10 things you can do faster and more efficiently with grading technology:

 

  1. Dig a basement
  2. Build a detention pond
  3. Put in a sewer line
  4. Dig foundation footings
  5. Cut a drainage ditch
  6. Prep a commercial site pad
  7. Build an access road
  8. Install underground utilities
  9. Slope an embankment
  10. Construct a retaining wall

 

  1. Workplace Safety Technology

 

Several new technologies have become available to safeguard worksites and better manage risk. One of the most common accidents in the construction industry is being struck by or trapped by equipment or vehicles. Blind spots and backing up accidents account for between 25 and 50 percent of the total. One in 10 construction workers are injured every year, so worksite safety is paramount. Here are some of the newest worksite safety technologies that can help prevent injuries:

 

  • Object Detection technologies
    • Complete object detection systems include back-up cameras and pulsed-radar object detection. Cameras give operators a view of what is typically their biggest blind spot, and radar identifies objects and people hidden from the operator’s view and sounds an alarm.

 

  • Fatigue Detection technologies
    • A camera installed in the cab that monitors pupil size, blinking and how long eyes stay shut determines fatigue detection. If the system senses the operator is falling asleep, an alarm sounds and the seat vibrates.

 

  • “Smart” wearables
    • Safety gear with Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), sensors and bio-monitors has all hit the market within the last several years. The most common are RFID systems that alert workers and equipment operators when they are both moving through a work zone.

As it becomes more evident that technological innovations will shape the future of the construction industry, it’s up to you to determine if your company is going to embrace these new construction technologies or be left behind. We here at Caterpillar encourage you to re-think the process of using, managing and owning heavy equipment by incorporating these new technologies to help make your equipment more productive and efficient, and your business more profitable.

By

Jason Hurdis, Sr. Market Professional, Caterpillar Inc.  (Guest Post)

Tim Crane, General Manager Safety Services, Caterpillar Inc.  (Guest Post)