Human safety, of course, is a prime issue, and as Kuhn and Cummings pointed out, in such procedures as the above-mentioned thermal inspection of a smokestack or in detecting leakages in heavy chemical applications, the drones prove their worth, going where humans might understandably fear to tread . . . or climb.
The safety factor is an incalculable part of the value equation. More measurable is the savings that can be had through increased energy efficiency, as in the steampipe case study, as well as in time. Kuhn pointed to a parking lot study for which they used drones to scan both used and unused parking spaces. What would have taken facilities team members days to do by hand was accomplished with a flyover “in five minutes.”
Such applications also help corporate users reallocate and maximize their team deployment and re-evaluate their use of outside consultants for work that can now be accomplished with in-house personnel. In fact, the managers stated that, in a three-year time span with more than 36 “missions,” the corporation saved more than $50,000 performing projects in house vs. contracting out.
But to maximize those savings, both facilities managers advocated hiring people who are dedicated to the technology, especially in these early days of its advancement, with the rapidly evolving changes to both the technology and to FAA regulations. This includes licensed drone pilots at the helm (to mix metaphors). But the all-in cost is relatively low for the savings it will produce. They reported that the drone and the FAA training will run a corporation roughly $10,000—and that includes the thermal camera.
As to those FAA restrictions, in what is likely to be a major boost for use by building management, the FAA recently has begun to approve certain companies to sell autonomous drones. This opens the door to using a drone without the current restrictions of it needing to remain within the pilot’s line of sight. The implications for savings on travel time and expense are clear.
The technology might still be new and evolving, but the value of drones to commercial real estate, and business in general, boils down to an old adage. As Cummings concluded: “Time is money.”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
John Salustri is editor-in-chief of Salustri Content Solutions, a national editorial advisory firm based in East Northport, New York. He is best known as the founding editor of GlobeSt.com. Prior to launching GlobeSt.com, Salustri was editor of Real Estate Forum.