The importance of proper earthworks design and procedures on a construction site can’t be overstated. Although particularly important within civil engineering projects, earthworks touch every sector of the construction industry — from residential, to commercial, to mixed-use and more.
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Composed of practices surrounding the filling, removing, placing, and carving of subsoil, earthworks play a critical role in pre-construction activities. These operations form the basis on which the rest of the project will work, and include necessary steps like building foundations, fortifying embankments, and reducing permeability from water sources.
Earthworks and it’s Challenges
But earthworks present other barriers that aren’t inherently obvious, or even physical. Ensuring compliance with both local and federal regulations through permits and approvals involves a high level of organization, and rigorous attention to detail. Mitigating worksite disputes, litigation, and commonplace conflict that arises from poor communication between cross-functional teams, subcontractors, and technicians is bound to take up billable hours. And staying competitive and up-to-date on the latest construction technology requires ample time for researching and testing before a final decision can be made.
Of course, there is the tangible work, too. Gathering existing conditions data often proves difficult, as halting grading work is nearly impossible. As earthwork is one of the most dangerous elements of construction today, navigating OSHA standards and guaranteeing a safe workplace is no simple task. These types of projects require a higher level of precision, rigor, and accuracy than most, and contractors already have a lot on their plate.
Yet drones and other technological advancements give us reason to believe that long-held actions, ideas, and best practices comprising earthworks will soon be digitized and automated. Drone technology, and the software that comes with it, provides users with the unique opportunity to face these challenges head on, and resolve pain points in just a few clicks. Rather than spending hours on manual surveys or copious amounts of paperwork, project managers can instead retrieve information from the cloud, perform remote inspections, and document each stage of the construction lifecycle in a fraction of the time required by traditional methods.
Here are five ways drones tackle some of the most frequent earthworks concerns.
What's included in YOUR GUIDE...
A Proven Roadmap of Success for Implementing Drones in Construction.
A List of Red Flags to Avoid When Hiring Drone Service Providers.
How to Persuade Your Leadership Team to Leverage Drones on Every Jobsite.
1. Regulatory Compliance & Environmental Protection
Simply put, the act of earthworks is not “green” or eco-friendly. Large volumes of earth and natural resources are utilized to carry out these tasks, polluting the atmosphere and the surrounding biodiversity of the area. As a consumer of roughly 40% of the world’s total raw stones, gravel, and sand, the construction industry is a huge environmental offender, responsible for over 30% of all energy and process-related carbon emissions by some estimates.
To combat these startling statistics and adapt to a changing world, local and federal regulations have been put in place regarding the handling and disposal of hazardous materials, as well as new, continually-updated environmental protection laws contractors must stay on top of. By digitizing this information and connecting these instructions with a drone solution, project managers can elicit more sustainable construction processes and leave sites with minimal disruption.
Related Article – 5 Steps to Choosing a Drone Vendor for Your Construction Business
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Piloting drone flights before breaking ground and accurately depicting the topography of the landscape allows workers to both expedite surveying and site planning. While it’s common knowledge that the less time on-site means the more money saved/earned, the environmental impacts are just as valuable. Pilots can pinpoint sensitive habitats, and work with local conservationists to determine a course of action or proper avoidance techniques. Uneven terrain, exposed utilities, and other safety concerns can be marked and shared with team members. Plus, this streamlined approach requires less equipment and therefore, fuel, in the long run — reducing the project’s carbon footprint.
2. Worksite Disputes & Effective Communication
With so many parties involved in a project, worksite disputes and poor communication are often inevitable. When it comes to the complex, time-consuming, and physically demanding exercise that is earthworks, these challenges are multiplied. Whether working with outside contractors or an internal, specialized department, conflict is bound to arise as there are numerous stakeholders and personalities involved. But by attacking the root cause of common disagreements before they surface, one can minimize and even eliminate these questions, and instead promote proactive, effective correspondence.
The best way of communication? Clear, detailed documentation, through repeated drone flights. With a bird’s-eye view of project progress and live shots of what’s happening on-the-ground, contractors can precisely record site information, and share with other groups, including subcontractors and project owners. This visual proof will serve as evidence should issues come to light, but more importantly, serve as a transparent communication instrument now. Time-stamped imagery provides verification of due diligence, and offers actionable data partners can with.
Autodesk reports that miscommunication causes approximately 52% of all rework. Establishing this single source of truth — drone data — early on, ideally during pre-construction, sets the tone for the rest of the project. Centralizing engineering or earthworks information and enabling its accessibility to other teams empowers them to leverage it for their own operations.
3. Competitive Advantages of Drone Technology
In a digital world, every contractor must stay up-to-date with advancements in their field and other construction technologies. The role of Virtual Design & Construction illustrates this point, as it was just invented roughly 20 years ago, but now the specialization is an integral part of standard processes. But whether it be a new department, way of performing regular job duties, or a revolutionary piece of equipment, both owners and project managers alike benefit from modern efficiency tools. These discoveries not only allow businesses to scale, but also give them a competitive edge.
Drones take the guesswork out of stockpile volumes, cut/fill projects, and load hauls when accompanied by photogrammetry software. Instead of estimating material quantities and attempting to track earthworks progress against paper schedules or designs, drones can fly the area and automatically read these figures. Photogrammetry, or the process of taking and using overlapping images to reveal 3D information, makes this possible. Oftentimes, this method is even more accurate and reliable than manual surveying.
Video Credit: Skydio
Today, drones are used by only 46% of civil contractors, leaving ample opportunity for growth. For smaller contractors, this figure dips to just 9%. Within this analog, traditional industry, becoming an early adopter can clearly yield tangible, physical results. For those just getting started and unwilling or unable to build an in-house drone program, a drone service provider may be the best bet, with low up-front costs and commitment.
4. Existing Conditions Data
The most obvious use case for drone technology within earthworks is in documenting existing conditions data. Establishing current site conditions before construction takes place allows all parties involved to have an explicit view of the land for better planning and scheduling, plus a referenceable account of the environment should litigation or other conflicts occur.
We recommend that these flights be slated for regular intervals, to ensure that site progress is effectively monitored and recorded. These images and data points can then be compared against as-built plans to confirm project timelines and expectations. Should an issue be discovered, it can be quickly dealt with before rework becomes inevitable.
On a tight schedule, stopping grading work mid-way is not feasible as manual walkthroughs would take days to complete. In this climate, drone surveys are necessary — and these are often the projects that The Drone Life’s pilots regularly operate. Most recently, at a 160-acre mixed-use development site in Burlington County, New Jersey, where our pilots flew a LiDAR drone mission using a two-manned crew in order to verify earthwork volumes throughout the given area. After analyzing the elevation data, it was discovered that over 100,000 cubic yards of additional dirt was needed to complete the job!
Upon investigating further, the team realized that a large pile of dirt was delivered before the cut and fill balance began. As the ground surrounding it was built up, the stockpile actually went ten to fifteen feet below the grade around it. When the general contractor originally shot the site, they chose to only take ground measurements – missing the dirt below. While it’s impossible to determine any one reason for the miscalculation, it’s clear that the consequences could have been even worse if the error was not independently verified.
Although unfortunate, in comparison, traditional survey methods would have required multiple crew members shooting elevation points on a 50’ x 50’ grid for 3-4 days. This action would have been laden with safety risks when traversing the heavily active site, and inherently costly to complete. With drone technology, the procedure was automated.
5. Worker Safety
According to the Occupational Safety & Health Administrations (OSHA), “trenching and excavations” are two of the most risky procedures within construction operations today. Inhalation of toxic materials, water-related dangers, utility line strikes, and cave-ins or falling material make up some of the most relevant threats to worker safety. From 2011-2018, roughly 168 workers lost their lives to cave-ins as stated by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
When reading these startling statistics, it should come as no surprise that worker safety remains extremely important to earthworks contractors. To supplement these dangerous activities, drone technology can be used to survey the worksite, locate hazards, and in some cases, eliminate the need for human intervention. Performing remote inspections and quickly digitizing its results cuts down on valuable billable hours, and lets workers focus on more specialized tasks.
Keeping employees out of harm’s way is at the forefront of every project, and earthwork is no different. While managing these types of sites is not easy, they can become less stressful. Outsourcing these jobs to a drone service provider ensures actionable data for a fraction of the labor costs — and none of the safety risks.
Get Started with Drone Surveying for Grading Plans
Collecting near-daily data and centralizing this information across multiple teams reduces downtime and promotes efficient scheduling, site walkthroughs, and more. By its very nature, drone technology minimizes both change orders and rework, particularly for earthworks operations. Leveraging this technology to automate long-held, manual processes increases safety on-site, while also granting businesses a competitive edge.
If you’re interested in exploring drone technology for your construction site or streamlining your earthworks activities, schedule a free consultation with one of our drone experts. The Drone Life offers personalized consulting and aerial service solutions for a host of construction organizations, with over five years of direct experience in the AEC industry.
What's included in YOUR GUIDE...
A Proven Roadmap of Success for Implementing Drones in Construction.
A List of Red Flags to Avoid When Hiring Drone Service Providers.
How to Persuade Your Leadership Team to Leverage Drones on Every Jobsite.
