For many industries, automation tools have become essential, helping companies streamline their operations and improve efficiency. Many of these companies are relying on drones and ground robots to spearhead this automation, making their data smarter and less labor intensive. In this blog, we’ll take a close look at some of the key benefits of automation and why you should start automating your processes with drones and robots to reduce costs, improve efficiency and increase worker safety. Let’s jump in.
Increase Day-to-Day Efficiency
More often than not when a company automates a process they do it out of a need for increased efficiency. Usually the tasks that are automated first, are ones that are repetitive, time consuming, and prone to human error.
In the case of reality capture, drones and ground robots can dramatically improve the imagery capture process. Instead of manually taking photos of a jobsite a drone can be flown autonomously, capturing images from the air throughout the course of the flight.
Drones and ground robots can be used to do more than just capture imagery too. Many companies will rely on robots and drones to take highly accurate measurements of a site, tracking things such as elevation data, temperature, and even harmful gasses like methane. All of this can be done autonomously, completely removing the human element from the equation to become faster, cheaper, and far less labor intensive.
Improved Quality of Work
Whether you’re working on a construction project or are monitoring a solar farm, the element for human error is always a looming threat to product quality and profitability. When a measurement is taken poorly, or a survey isn’t thorough enough, you run the risk of having to rework a project. This doubling back can be expensive, and that’s not to take into account the cost of remedying a problem that is missed after a project is finished.
Automation solutions can help solve the human error element by bringing a higher level of precision to mundane and repetitive tasks that require high accuracy. For instance, during a construction project, drone surveys can be performed to ensure that the final project directly matches the original BIM (Building Information Modeling) designs. Likewise, a residential solar panel company can create more accurate roof measurements by flying a drone, resulting in higher quality installations and less chance for rework.
By automating, you can better ensure that every step of your process has a reduced chance for human error, giving you a higher quality final product.
Boost Cost Savings and Worker Safety
Time and time again, companies that automate realize significant cost savings and increased worker safety—this is true too for reality capture. Both drones and ground robots can cover a larger area of work, perform that work on a repeatable basis, and can do that work far faster than human labor would require.
For example, rather than relying on workers on swing stages to inspect the facade of a building, a company can fly drones to perform the inspection instead. Not only does this save the cost of hiring a capture team, but it also keeps those workers on the ground and out of harm's way. On top of that, the process of capturing happens far faster with a drone than with a team of workers with cameras. In this instance the drone can perform a three-week job in as little as an afternoon.
Improve your Workflows
As companies automate their workflows become more integrated and efficient. Instead of sifting through piles of imagery or reviewing pages of manual readings, all of your data can be digitized into a single platform. Whether you fly drones for aerial inspections or use ground robots to survey oil and gas pipelines, all of the data you gather is collected digitally.
With all of this information in a singular location, your teams don’t need to spend hours searching for the right data as it is all easy to grasp and right at your fingertips. Plenty of automation and reality capture software allows for remote access too, so your teams can seamlessly collaborate regardless of wherever they are, viewing flights and surveys as they are performed.
Increase Customer and Worker Satisfaction
When a product is made cheaper, faster, and better, it only serves to satisfy your customers. Your teams also stand to benefit from automation software as their time and labor can be spared from routine tasks and instead be used for more engaging and safer work.
Companies who automate through drones and ground robots are often able to find an edge against competitors who are still going about business the traditional way. And as this technology proliferates across industries, the need to automate only becomes greater. By automating early, you can stay ahead of the curve, and be a frontier innovator in your industry.
About the Author
Content Marketing Manager - DroneDeploy
Conner Jones currently manages content marketing at DroneDeploy. Conner helps tell the DroneDeploy story across a wide array of social and web channels, showcasing the power of drones and reality capture in a diverse range of industries.