Note: This is a hypothetical case study created to showcase the potential applications of drone technology in infrastructure inspections and to demonstrate my writing expertise in the drone industry.
Inspecting bridges and overpasses is essential to ensuring public safety. However, inspections take time, pose hazards to workers, and can be quite costly. This case study explores how Skyline Construction leveraged drone technology to improve its inspection process, cutting down inspection time by 70% and reducing costs by 60% while collecting high-quality data and ensuring the safety of those involved.
Executive Summary
- Inspection time reduced by 70% – Reduced inspection time from 2 weeks to 4 days.
- Costs per inspection reduced from $25,000 to $10,000
- Enhanced safety of the workers.
- Increased data collection accuracy by using task-specific payloads.
Problem
Skyline Construction was tasked with a challenging endeavor: inspecting five aging overpasses within the shortest time possible.
- Inspecting five overpasses would take a long time, be labour strenuous, and cause potential road blockages and lane closures.
- This task would also cost a lot of money, as several workers would be needed to speed up the inspection process.
- Workers’ safety was often compromised due to their height and proximity to highways.
- Data collected using traditional methods didn’t always have the precision needed for early detection of issues in the overpasses.
Solution
Skyline Construction used a drone-based approach to address these challenges;
- Technology: Skyline COnstruction used a DJI M350 RTK drone and the P1 for high-quality imaging, H20T for thermal imaging, and Zenmuse L1 for LiDar imaging.
- Flight Planning: DroneDeploy was used for flight planning, ensuring proper overlaps and optimized flight paths for efficiency.
- Execution – Skyline Construction executed the drone project adhering to all regulations and safety protocols. This included getting the necessary approvals, flying when there is less traffic to avoid flying over people or vehicles and flying when the weather conditions allow (adequate sunlight, mild wind speeds, and no precipitation). The drone captured high-quality imagery to allow zooming in to check for issues and thermal imaging to quickly detect anomalies. LiDAr data was used to generate detailed point clouds, which can help improve the inspection process and generate digital twins for future use.
- Data analysis – The data collected was processed using DJI Terra, DJI’s Thermal Analysis Tool, and Pix4d.
Results
- By leveraging drone technology, Skyline Construction completed work that normally takes a few weeks to four days.
- Completing the inspection in fewer days minimized lane closures, improving public satisfaction with the project.
- Faster data collection and analysis enables real-time inspections, saving time and costs in the long run.
- Drones cover more ground in less time, minimizing the workforce and machinery needed to do the same tasks, saving time and money.
- Drones can cover even inaccessible areas, so workers do not have to climb to risky heights. Drones also eliminate the need for scaffolding, keeping workers and road users safe.
- Using task-specific payloads, Skyline Construction collected actionable insights, ensured targeted repairs, and ensured efficient resource allocation for the repairs.
Conclusion
At Skyline Construction, we believe in leveraging technology to solve real-world problems. Drone technology promises real-time, accurate data that can be incorporated into infrastructure inspection and maintenance while ensuring safety and adhering to industry standards.