More drones being used to make safety inspections

Whenever we hear about drones in the media, more often than not they are cast in a negative light.  We commonly hear about drones flying too close to airplanes or being used to spy on people, and that’s before the injuries to unsuspecting children.

However, despite the disdain for drones and the potential danger to others, there is a growing market for drones in the construction industry. This post will briefly explain why.

A growing number of contractors are using drones to make safety inspections on construction sites.  Essentially, a camera mounted on a drone can give a contractor or inspector relevant views by flying over sections of a construction site and send images to workers on the ground of scaffolding, stabilizing joints, and other areas of buildings that are under construction.

With drones performing these inspections, workers may have to spend less time above the ground in perilous conditions, or navigating other dangerous structures. This is an important innovation given that falls are the number one cause of death in the construction industry,

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) expects there to be more than 500,000 drones across the U.S making such inspections by 2020. It is not surprising that more companies are seeking exemptions to use unmanned aircraft in their inspection protocols.

Even with the growing popularity of drones, contractors still have a non-delegable duty to ensure the safety of workers on a construction site by making sure the site is free from defects that could injure them.

The preceding is for informational purposes only. It is not intended to be legal advice.