A work of art has many layers. It starts with the vision, then requires the canvas, the right tools and the talent to create the masterpiece, says Airware global drone specialist, Mark Christian, as he explained its vision for the digital jobsite canvas of the future.
“At the moment, we are seeing huge growth in the use of drones in a widening variety of applications. Both drone photography and surface modelling topography are increasingly becoming a key part of providing advanced jobsite monitoring data.
“But this is just the tip of the iceberg. As drone capabilities and cloud based software gets more advanced and more automated, the technology will be capable of delivering more applicational benefits.
“The key to unlocking these benefits will be the coming together of datasets onto a single digital canvas, giving us the next generation of digital site management capabilities, and this is just around the corner. It will have a transformational impact on the industries in which mobile plant is operated, with programme timings and logistics, particularly benefitting.
In the case of earthworks, drone data will be able to link with GPS connected devices and RFID tagged materials, allowing all elements to talk to each other.
Want to know where the right sized aggregate is? How much you have in stock? The best and closest fleet mix to move it and where the nearest asset is to grade it? The canvas will tell you.
The canvas will also connect other parts of the industry that don’t talk together, to help them plan better. For example, why not let the structural steel team see the canvas and plan the overall production and site delivery, based on the earthworks progress?
Running the digital jobsite will also be made easier, as you will be able to understand the impact of one action and its ripple effect. This kind of data will be invaluable in improving site performance and will equally help the industry to create better masterplans for future projects, saving time and money, whilst reducing the overall environmental impact of project delivery.