Why it might be time to reconsider permitting the use of drones for development & construction in dense urban areas

 

Excerpt of a contributed article published in Construction Business Owner magazine on May 19, 2020.

COVID-19’s severe impact on some major metropolitan areas has been attributed to their density, infrastructure and inherent difficulty with “social distancing.” This same challenge with social distancing has led to either mandatory or pressured shutdowns of construction projects throughout many states and metropolitan areas. Meanwhile, and particularly during the shutdowns, building-safety mandates require that some people still physically be at the projects to ensure ongoing compliance—especially important where a half-complete project can result in its own safety problems. Simultaneously, to complete new real estate transactions, investigations of sites must still be performed for due diligence data.

Could commercial drones, i.e., small unmanned aircraft systems (sUAS), assist in these aspects to continue development and construction while mitigating health risks? Read the full article.