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Are Building Regulations a call for Drones? | Hammer Missions

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Overview


In this brief article, we will be looking at the current building regulations and how the use of drone technology can help the increasing need for change in the industry.


Technology is often a response to important needs in the market and sometimes that need is fuelled by regulations and laws that are set by the government. Some examples of previous advancements in technology from which we have benefitted include GPS and the ever-growing space program, both of which were funded by either the government and/or governmental pressures.


So, what governmental regulations are a forcing function for adopting drone technology?



Building Regulations


Unfortunately, we have all witnessed catastrophic events in the past that have some bearing on the subject of building regulations. Below are just two examples of recent events:


1. Miami Building Collapse


Miami Building Collapse  | Florida, US
Miami Building Collapse | Florida, US

Champlain Towers South, a 12-story beachfront condominium in the Miami suburb of Surfside, Florida, United States, partially collapsed, causing the death of 98 people.


Further investigation found that the structure had been inadequately built and had suffered 40 years' worth of neglect causing it to eventually give way.



2. London Grenfell Disaster


Grenfell Disaster | London, UK
Grenfell Disaster | London, UK

A high-rise fire broke out in the 24-story Grenfell Tower block of flats in North Kensington, West London, at 00:54 BST and burned for 60 hours. 72 people died, two later in hospital, with more than 70 injured and 223 escaping. It was the deadliest structural fire in the United Kingdom since 1988.


After a lengthy investigation, it was found that inadequate cladding had been used on the outside of the building causing the fire to spread rapidly.



So What New Regulations Have Come On To The Scene?


In light of these, and many other, events, new safety regulations have been started to be written up. Some of these regulations are as follows:



These regulations will start to enforce stricter safety measures for building regulations.



What Does This Mean For The Building Owners?


In simple terms, building owners can now expect the appropriate documentation of the completion of their project.


This should give them the peace-of-mind that the construction has taken place in a safe timely manner and that they should have a guideline as to how the construction was completed and what regulations were followed.



What Does This Mean For The Contractors?


Safety risks now need to be considered right through the process, from design to development. Everything needs to be documented and version controlled with regular inspections and best practices put into place.


With these regulations in place, the working environment should be a safer more controlled place with the end goal being a development that has followed the correct building regulations.



What Does This Mean For The Drone Industry?


This will give drone operators, be they in-house or third-party, more executable work. By this, we mean that regular repeat missions will become normal practice.


Repeating these processes will provide change analysis and version control.



How can drone technology help?

By doing this you can provide a digital record of all assets and information

Drones allow for a safe way to collect data and create compliant documentation through the use of software.


Drones are only fully utilised if the collected data falls into several categories:

  • is of high quality

  • can be tracked

  • allows easy visualisation and digestion of data


Summary


We think you'll agree, drones are making things safer.


People have been worried about privacy concerns with drones but Ironically, they are making things safer, not only the buildings themselves but the inspection teams and drone operators.


We hope the article helps you understand building regulations and why there is an increasing need for drone technology.


If you'd like to learn more about how to capture high-quality data and get the most out of your drone flights using our cloud-based platform, please feel free to visit our learning resources.


If you haven't got a Hammer account and would like to try Hammer Missions you can get started on our free trial.


To learn more about our enterprise solutions, including mission collaboration, data processing, and AI solutions, please contact us at team@hammermissions.com.


We look forward to hearing from you.


— Team at Hammer Missions



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