Does anyone use a drone regularly for field work?

[Yikes]

Seeing this post from ICE made me wonder, does any one use a drone to inspect existing conditions in hard-to-reach places?
I'm not referring to code enforcement (checking for illegal stuff). I mean for things like roof inspection, facade maintenance inspection, checking upper story window caulking, etc.

I recently had a contractor use a drone on a multistory hillside house originally built in the 1930s. The house is craftsman style, with shingle siding. He flew under the eaves for the entire perimeter and the video was good enough to assemble a quantity takeoff for replacing rotted wood. Likewise, we were able to view the roof condition closely.

 

[NCRooster]

We have been kicking this idea around for a while in my office and will likely get a drone at some point. A structural engineer whom we work with often has a drone and it's a great resource on those projects.

 

[Sifu]

Last AHJ I worked for bought several. Had select inspectors take flight training, ethics, etc. They never left the closet they were put in.

 

[mtlogcabin]

We have used one on occasions. The GIS department has them and the pilots we just schedule with them. It has worked extremely well for what we need to see. The key was not watching the video put enlarging a frame to get the details. We could read the head of the bolts used for the steel framing that was on the top of a grain silo 125 feet tall.
Some things HR does not want us climbing up on.

 

[Yikes]

Last AHJ I worked for bought several. Had select inspectors take flight training, ethics, etc. They never left the closet they were put in.

Are there any written resources you can share on the Ethics portion of the training? I hadn’t really considered that before, other than “don’t spy and don’t be a creep”.

 

[steveray]

Are there any written resources you can share on the Ethics portion of the training? I hadn’t really considered that before, other than “don’t spy and don’t be a creep”.

Right to privacy/ illegal search....Bill of rights type stuff....no biggie

 

[Yikes]

Right to privacy/ illegal search....Bill of rights type stuff....no biggie

I assume that in context of building inspections during construction, there is already a right to enter the site and inspect construction items on the site. The privacy issues would deal more with extending drone viewing to adjacent properties, or in the case of a remodel, peeking on occupied areas of the facility.

 

[Sifu]

Are there any written resources you can share on the Ethics portion of the training? I hadn’t really considered that before, other than “don’t spy and don’t be a creep”.

No access to the documents unless I have them buried somewhere. The spy and creep thing was a big part of it, very tight limits on when you can fly, can't look at other properties, sensitive facilities, etc. I'll see if I might have something. I was not part of the "program" but did have the documents at one time just out of curiosity. In the end I think the AHJ concluded the juice wasn't worth the squeeze. I always thought they could be a valuable asset in tall vertical construction.

 

[steveray]

I assume that in context of building inspections during construction, there is already a right to enter the site and inspect construction items on the site. The privacy issues would deal more with extending drone viewing to adjacent properties, or in the case of a remodel, peeking on occupied areas of the facility.

Correct...if an inspection is authorized, you can look wherever you are authorized to look....

 

[Joe.B]

There's this one guy who shows up physically, but he sure seems like he's checked out mentally. Does that qualify as a "drone"?