Facility Management: The Critical Role of Drones in 2024 & Beyond

Drones have transcended their initial military use and are increasingly becoming integral tools in various commercial sectors.

As we head into 2024 and beyond, the use of drones for facility management is poised to become highly critical. This transition is driven by technological advancements, regulatory shifts, and the growing need for efficiency and safety in facility management.

Enhanced Efficiency, Risk Reduction and Cost Reduction

Drones significantly reduce the time and manpower required for facility inspections. Traditional methods are typically labour intensive and require significant pre-work to ensure all safety protocols are met. For example the work will likely occur at heights which require inductions, approvals and additional safety equipment.

When using drones many of those limitations are removed or reduced enabling the total lifecycle time and cost for an inspection to be drastically reduced.

How are missions actually executed?

There are several ways the drone can be controlled to perform an inspection,

1. Manual mode
2. Semi-Automated mode
3. Fully-Automated mode

In manual mode the Remote Pilot is controlling the drone directly via the Remote Controller. This is typically best for spot inspections where you have specific areas you want to focus on. Here the Remote Pilot would capture a video or individual photos of the area of concern. There could also be a Payload Operator (if the drone supports a second controller) that controls the camera independently of the Remote Pilot. 

In semi-automated mode the Remote Pilot uploads a pre-defined flight path to the drone. This is typically generated in dedicated Flight Planning software. This allows the drone to systematically capture entire faces or roofs of the building. Skill is required by the Remote Pilot in setting up the plan to ensure the programming does not cause a collision with the building. Once uploaded the Remote Pilot then monitors the flight as the drone performs the operations.

In fully-automated mode the drone itself “senses” boundaries of the building as it is flying to systemically map the entire structure without any pre-programming. This method can only be performed with specific types of drones that have this capability. This allows non-expert Remote Pilots to perform inspections quickly and safely and efficiently lower barriers to scaling operations.

What does this data look like and how can it be reported?

Various methods exist to process the capture data and produce a final deliverable.

The simplest approach is to simply add individual photos to reports noting any defects. Dedicated software tools exist to handle the management of many photos and to streamline the reporting process. One benefit of using drones is that all photos are geotagged so they can be traced back to the specific time and location where they were photographed.

A more sophisticated approach is to perform photogrammetry on the capture images to build 3D models of the building. To achieve this overlap between images is required which is most reliably done using semi-automated or fully-automated capture techniques. Once a 3D model is produced software can be used to annotate the model and derive reports for publication.

In both of these approaches additional advanced AI processing capabilities can be applied to automatically flag potential defects for further investigation. This capability is helping reduce reporting times and will eventually be performed on the drone itself for instantaneous reporting.

What are the regulatory requirements?

As buildings and structures tend to be located where people are or in cities where air traffic may be present, drones can be seen by regulators to be a risk to people on the ground and in the air. To effectively mitigate these risks regulators have typically imposed strong limitations on drones for Facility Management activity in certain locations. However, this is starting to change.

For example, as drones operate close to building structures (5-10m) where aircraft should not be operating, regulators have started considering airspace around buildings to be “atypical” or “shielded”. This effectively eliminates the risk of collision with other aircraft as a significant problem. For areas where this may still be a concern, Unmanned Traffic Management (UTM) systems are coming online to provide real-time flight authorisation and drone tracking. This technology will allow air traffic controllers to keep drones and aircraft separated at all times.

In terms of risk to people on the ground the development of certified drone parachute systems provide a reliable means of minimising the risk to people on the ground. These certified parachute systems can self deploy in the event of a system failure to ensure the public is not put at risk. Additionally, another method being approved by regulators is tethering the drone so it physically cannot impact people on the ground. This can impose some operational limitations but will enable the ground risk to be mitigated.

Emerging Trend: Wash Drones in Facility Management

We have previously discussed the primary application in facilities management to be for inspections. The work to physically clean or fix the identified issue would still need to be performed by a human.

For cleaning activities this is now starting to change with the introduction of wash drones. Wash drones are equipped with water jets tethered to the ground which provides water, detergent and even power to the drone for continuous operations. This allows highly efficient cleaning activities without putting people at risk. We expect wash drones to become more sophisticated over time including live AI analysis to automatically detect areas which require cleaning to conserve water and chemical usage.

Image source: rippingitoutdoors.com

Conclusion

The rise of drones in facility management is not just a trend but a necessary evolution in how we approach maintenance, safety, and efficiency. As technology continues to advance and regulatory bodies adapt, we can expect drones to become an indispensable part of facility management. 

For example we expect the entire workflow from request to defect detection to rectification will be improved significantly over time as more automation is introduced between systems including the regulator. Thus, the benefits in terms of cost-effectiveness, safety and repeatability will make drones an attractive and viable solution for modern facility management challenges - 2024 and beyond. 

Have any questions or interested to see how FlyFreely can help with your facility management drone operations - Reach out to our team for more information.