TECHNICAL
54
From the top: Drone
technologies can
streamline construction
management tasks
The aerial perspective
of a drone is different
from a site perspective
because you see the
integration of parts.
It’s 7:30 and Marty Laporte is watching her drone, a DJI Phantom
4 Pro, on its first photo mission of the day over a construction
site soon to be a new kinesiology and wellness centre on the
campus of a central California community college.
By Jack Sweet
With her eyes focused intently above, Laporte holds
a tablet, sun shade, radio transmitter, and other gear
so she can instantly take manual control of the craft
if it runs into trouble on its pre-programmed route
over the sites.
Russ Chaney
In the spirit of the sharing of
unique experiences that shape
the plumbing industries in our
respective nations, the following
article looks at how drones
are helping to streamline
construction management
tasks by providing visuals and
data previously unavailable to
contractors. Written by IAPMO
contributing writer Jack Sweet,
it is the next in a regular series
of similar articles that will run in
this magazine.
“So, what’s up with the model airplanes?” I ask. Laporte
laughs and explains she first became aware of drone
technology as a geologist.
unmanned aerial system integrates the use of GPS
satellites using a remote controller on the ground that also
has a little computer in it. And so, it’s not something you
can just pick up and roll with, but it is extremely useful
technology to have in your toolkit if you need something to
look at areas that are hard to access or even hazardous to
access, if you need frequent views or images of that area.”
“I worked in environmental and hydrogeology for
many years, managing water resources, groundwater
management and remediation, wastewater management,
and environmental programmes in general,” Laporte
says. Today, she is the principal of ManageWater
Consulting, Inc., a water management and technology
consulting firm in Redwood City, California. She’s also
been a commercial RC pilot under the Federal Aviation
Administration’s Part 107 since November 2016. SOFTWARE IS KEY
Don’t think here of the large, fixed-wing military drones
you may have seen flying in combat zone videos. Drones,
in our context, are officially called unmanned aerial
vehicles (UAV) or small unmanned aerial systems (sUAS),
and they’re generally lightweight, highly manoeuvrable,
and lifted into the air by powerful electric motors driving
four rotors at the end of arms mounted to a central pod.
Lately, they have become de rigueur pieces of gear in
the construction management and building inspection
industries, as well as many others.
“Drones are very complicated pieces of equipment. It’s
a flying computer, really,” she continues. “The small Because of the rapid implementation of drone
technologies across many industries and the rise
February 2019 Volume 24 I Number 12
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