Can we talk about drone mapping for site surveys? I was a total doubter until last month.

Our crew on the Phoenix job site was behind schedule, and the boss brought in a drone with mapping software. I thought it was just a toy and a waste of money. But after one flight, we had a full 3D map of the whole 5-acre lot in under two hours. The detail was crazy, showing grade changes we missed on the old plans. It saved us at least three days of manual surveying. Has anyone else made the switch from old school methods to this? I'm curious if the time saved is always this big.

3 comments

3 Comments

felix_thomas731mo ago

My friend's team in Flagstaff was mapping a 10-acre parcel for a solar farm layout. The drone scan picked up a buried concrete pad from an old ranch building that wasn't on any record. Saved them from a nasty surprise when they started digging post holes.

theawest3d ago

Drones caught a hidden septic tank on our last site survey.

sean_foster521mo ago

My buddy's crew was doing a big parking lot job in Tempe last year. They had a drone map the whole thing and it found a drainage dip the paper plans didn't show. It was only a six inch drop, but it would have wrecked the asphalt base. How many of those little things do we walk right past? That map showed them exactly where to add fill before paving.