Considerations You Will Need To Make When Using Drones

Drones are the latest high-tech tool to rapidly become part of every day life in the construction industry, but they are definitely not toys. If you intend to use drones in your construction work, then you need to get in touch with your risk management professional immediately to make sure that you have all of your bases covered when it comes to any problems that can arise from the use of drones.

Is Your Drone Legal?

You cannot buy just any drone from any supplier and start flying it around your job sites. You need to get a drone that is FAA approved for commercial use, and then you need to clear the air space around your job site with the FAA to make sure you won’t be interfering with any flight paths or military aircraft. The penalties for operating an illegal drone in known or unknown restricted areas are extremely stiff, so you need to do your research before making your purchase.

Have An Experienced Technician On Each Site

Smaller construction companies may be able to get away with having one technician for their entire drone program, but larger companies should hire a technician for each job site to make sure that their drones are properly utilized. Drone manufacturers have introduced a wide range of tools that make it very simple to use a drone, but you need someone on site at all times who knows exactly what to do if something goes wrong.

Alert The Local Police

One aspect of drone usage that construction companies never seem to take into account is the possibility for public panic. The momentum created by a public that sees something it cannot explain can become extremely dangerous, and you need to do your part to prevent a panic. You need to post signs all around your job site that you are using drones, and you should alert the local police that the UFO sightings being called in by the local residents are actually just your drone.

Talk To Your Risk Manager

The use of drones can change many of the insurance policies you have in place to protect your business. As insurance experts, we insist that our clients let us go over their existing coverage to make any necessary changes as it applies to their drone usage. There may also be instances where you will need specific types of insurance coverage for your drones on specific jobs. You should talk regularly to your risk manager to make sure that you always have the correct insurance in place for your drones.

Perform Routine Maintenance

Routine maintenance with a drone means updating the software and making sure all of the components are in working order. If you lose control of your drone due to a problem that could have been solved with routine maintenance, then you are looking at potential liability issues and public relations problems.

Drones are being used by construction companies to make job sites safer and make jobs more profitable. Before you get into using drones with your company, it is important to discuss the risks that apply to your specific business when it comes to using drones. It is always better to be proactive about identifying risk with new technology than to have to deal with issues that you should have seen coming.