As drones aka sUAS (Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems) increase in mainstream usage, people realize the safety and economic benefits that the drone inspections provide. Reducing the safety risks and reducing the time it takes to inspect a job site, drone-based inspections can save huge amounts of money for companies and individuals.
Drone-based aerial inspections can be used for general asset inspections, job site overview, structure inspection, checking the integrity of external access such as scaffold systems and more.

Finding job site drone inspectors

Since access equipment and job sites in general require inspections periodically, most contractors and general contractors do not see the need to purchase expensive drones and take time train their staff on how to operate them. Furthermore, a successful inspection requires more than just a kid with a drone. It requires experienced people who are inspection experts for the specific structure or equipment. For these reasons, the majority of companies prefer to hire the services of drone inspection providers.

Although with so many people claiming to offer drone services, it can be a challenge deciding on who is best suited to perform your successful inspection. The choice of an inspection team is critical in ensuring accurate reliable results. Therefore, it is important to pay attention to the aspects of an inspection team before hiring.

Why shoot for a good inspection?

A bad inspection gives inaccurate data. Analyzing such data produces misleading results that have potential to increase risks, accidents, and losses.
If unsuccessful, a repeat inspection becomes likely and will increase costs.
A poor inspection increases the probability of an accident and safety risks for the employees and people on the job site. This is especially so if the aim was to analyze the site or equipment and improve safety.
When inspecting a building, structure or equipment for construction purposes, inaccurate reports such as poor images and videos may make analysis impossible.

What to look for in drone inspection team

To help you make a good decision, here are the several things to know before choosing a drone inspection team.

A. Be sure you are hiring an inspection team

There are several types of companies providing many different drone services. Some are only for aerial photography which is fairly simple. They may not have the skills or experience to carry out detailed inspections requiring expertise and a different approach. That’s why it is critical to engage an actual inspection service team and not an aerial photography company. A drone inspections team will have an understanding of the details involved and have the experience to carry out the inspection according to your requirements. Most often, an inspection team has the expertise and ability to fly drones close to the equipment and structures while obtaining high-quality images and video that other professionals can use to obtain useful details. This enables the contractor to get critical information and make better engineering decisions. The inspection team carries out these tasks using a team of at least two people. This includes a pilot to command the drone as it hovers over the jobsite. The other person is usually an experienced engineer who looks at the live video feeds to capture the relevant images.

B. Competent & Licensed pilots

In addition to possessing the mandatory qualifications and licenses such as the CAA and FAA, the drone pilots must be competent and highly qualified to undertake inspections safely. In case of a complex installation or harsh environment, they need to analyze it and determine all the internal and external risks, especially on a job site. The team’s needs to have experience working in difficult weather conditions such as high winds or working near dangerous installations such as power lines and scaffolding.

C. The team should have professional inspection drones

While a consumer grade drone is good for simple tasks like aerial photography, they are limited when it comes to performing inspections. The company needs to use a professional grade drone as a minimum.
Another safety consideration is the mechanical condition of the drones and other equipment used for the inspection. It is important to hire a team who performs maintenance and upgrades of their inspection drones. This prevents the breakdown at the job site. When equipment does fail on site, the provider should have a replacement on hand to continue the inspection.

D. Be sure that the provider has the equipment and skills to provide usable results

Depending on the type of drone inspection, ensures that the team is capable of delivering. If you need high-quality images of specific areas, the team needs to have experience and capacity to carry out similar tasks.
The team should have the proper drones and sensors such as high-quality cameras to deliver according to your requirements. It is easier to analyze still images than video. But it is also good if the team can provide both.

E. Company must provide the inspection report in required format

An inspection report provides relevant information that a customer is looking for. In most cases, it forms a basis or a guide for further actions such as maintenance or marketing.
During inspections, the drones collect large amounts of data from the sites. This includes hundreds of raw images. The provider must present them in a format that the client can use easily and analyze. Normally, a drone inspection software is used during the process. The results should make it simple to identify the defects and their locations. This will ease repair or maintenance work. It is important to see the type of reports provided to see if they fit in with your requirements.

F. Adequate resources, experience, and manpower

The drone inspection team must have experience performing like tasks. To confirm this, sak for testimonials from previous clients, and if possible ask for references.
Checking with the references is a good way of getting an honest opinion of the team’s services and ability to deliver usable results. Research the drone inspection projects they have completed and determine how they delivered. Compare similar projects from different teams and see who has the highest customer satisfaction.

G. Check the company’s aviation certifications

The FAA can provide their certifications. This will include their safety records and issues, if any, whether the company trains, and how they perform their inspections. This will help to understand their approach and whether to trust them with your job site, based on their experience, procedures, and safety records.

Finally

Before you hire a drone inspection team for your job site or structure, there are several things you need to verify with the company. The team you choose must have the ability and expertise to safely and effectively carry out the project without compromising on usable results.