DFI Magazine May/June 2020 - 81

ARTICLE

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FUTURE
TRENDS

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CIA

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FEATURE

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Drone inspection flight plan for John A. Blatnik Bridge

Drones to Improve Workflows
Drones are often discussed as a future
technology, but the market for them has
matured to the point where they are a
viable option for today's civil engineering
projects. Data collected with drones can be
processed into a 3D model of an entire
project site or its elements. This geometrically and geospatially accurate model is
giving owners, project managers and
engineers an unprecedented ability to
visualize, and therefore, manage projects,
as well as to improve project workflows.
The civil engineering applications of
drones in the last few years have ranged
from bridge inspection to asset management, site mapping, construction site management and emergency responses. For
instance, this technology can be used to
map and model construction sites with deep
foundations to verify and quantify designs.

Drone Project Benefits
As the author demonstrates using two
case studies, a digital twin of a construction site can be annotated and tagged

AUTHORS

with information for storage and later
retrieval and can be shared locally or on
cloud-based platforms. The drone data
can also be exported and used in a wide
variety of CAD and Geographic Information System platforms.
When considering the use of an
unmanned aircraft system (UAS) for a deep
foundation or other project, drones provide three main benefits while establishing
project goals.
Safety - Drones can reduce job site
safety risks in two ways. The first is by
removing personnel from harm's way.
Surveyors and other project staff will
traditionally walk a site to collect survey
and other site information. These efforts
can be replaced with the use of a drone,
eliminating much of the need for personnel
to be on the job site itself, which improves
safety. The other way safety can be
improved is that a digital model of a job site
can be created on a daily or weekly basis
that can be quickly analyzed for safety
hazards. This analysis could be done

remotely by safety officers to identify job
site hazards, which can then be corrected
before injuries happen.
Improved Deliverables - Perhaps the
most important reason to incorporate
drones into project workflows it the ability
to improve project deliverables. Drones
have the ability to quickly collect large
amounts of high-quality data that can be
processed into 2D orthomosaics, 3D point
clouds and 3D models. These visuals give
engineers and project managers the
information they need to make better
decisions on design or project management.
Cost Savings - By eliminating or
reducing the need for personnel to visit the
site to collect data, cost savings are realized
from automated drones. More importantly,
cost savings can be realized in the ability of
engineers and project managers to make
better decisions and avoid costly errors. For
instance, a project manager can use the 3D
site models to measure distances to help
choose what equipment fits on a site as well
as what equipment is best suited for the site

Barritt Lovelace, P.E., Collins Engineers

DEEP FOUNDATIONS * MAY/JUNE 2020 * 81

DFI Magazine May/June 2020

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