I finally hit 500 hours on my drone mapping software and it changed how I bid jobs

Everyone in construction tech talks about BIM 360 or Procore like they're the only tools that matter, but I disagree. I've been using drone mapping on my residential site work in Phoenix for about 18 months, and last week I crossed 500 flight hours logged. That number surprised me because I started just trying to get better overhead shots for client proposals, but now I use the elevation data to calculate exact cut and fill volumes before I even touch a shovel. It saved me from underbidding a 12 lot subdivision by almost $8,000 because the site had a hidden slope the old topo maps missed. Most guys I talk to still rely on ground crews with GPS rods and think drones are just for photos, not real numbers. Has anyone else found a tech tool that shifted how you estimate, or am I the odd one out here?

2 comments

2 Comments

miles58110d ago

Wait, you really trust a drone more than a guy with a rod on the ground?

patp7910d ago

People put way too much faith in tradition just because it's been done a certain way for years. Tech like drones has been proven in real world rescue situations, while that guy with a rod might be guessing based on a hunch. Ngl, it's the same reason folks still trust a paper map over GPS even though the GPS is usually more accurate.