A report from Associated Builders and Contractors, a nationwide construction industry trade association, found that 36.1% of its contractor members are flying drones at their job sites but that regulatory hurdles and training challenges are limiting broader adoption.
Drones are most often used for site progress monitoring (80.8%), marketing and media (77.5%) and inspections and mapping (50%), according to the ABC report released last week.
Others reported using drones for aerial mapping or photogrammetry (37.5%), volumetric analysis (22.5%), land surveying (20.8%), safety monitoring (17.5%), environmental monitoring (12.5%), and security (7.5%).
High-resolution RGB cameras were the most common accessory used by 81.3% of the contractors surveyed, followed by RTK and PPK high-precision GPS/GNSS positioning systems used for surveying (21.9%).
Investment levels in drones vary widely, but 62% report investing between $1,000 and $10,000 for their drones. The overwhelming majority (82.6%) of contractors surveyed said they had purchased their drones from the Chinese manufacturer DJI.
The biggest challenges in adopting drone technology include regulatory and compliance issues (53.5%), training and staffing (43.4%), and limited use cases (37.4%). Other challenges cited were integration with existing workflows (16.2%) and high equipment costs (12.1%).
“In the ever-evolving construction technology landscape, drones are transforming how contractors monitor site progress, enhance branding efforts and conduct inspections with unprecedented efficiency,” said Matt Abeles, ABC vice president of construction technology and innovation.
“This ABC report details how ABC contractor members are embracing this innovation, yet regulatory hurdles and training challenges still limit broader adoption,” said Abeles. “ABC urges contractors to continue exploring the full potential of drone technology on their job sites and calls on lawmakers to streamline compliance so employers can leverage these tools to build safer, healthier and more efficient jobsites.”
The ABC said respondents to the survey represented a broad cross-section of the construction industry, including commercial, multifamily, utility, federal, military and heavy civil contractors. Associated Builders and Contractors is a national construction industry trade association established in 1950 with 67 chapters and 24,000 members.
