Dan Rodman | Drone Jay

Drones have made their way into countlessoccupational markets, ranging fromAgriculture to Search and Rescue, on top ofbeing used by hobbyists just for fun!This influx of unmanned aerial activity hasdemonstrated the usefulness of drones forensuring superior safety standards withinvarious applications.So what can drones do to improve the safetyof a person or business? In this article, we’lllay out 10 ways that implementing UAVtechnology can directly improve the safety ofan operation. Let’s begin! 1. Drones can Reduce Human Exposure to Hazardous Conditions Many work environments introduce hazardous conditions that must be handled carefully toprevent injury or loss of life. This can be one of the most problematic challenges facing abusiness.The test here is to maintain workplace efficiency while reducing the chances of injuries andoccupationally related illnesses. It is not uncommon for workplace hazard claims to costemployers up to 500 weeks of compensation, given to workers who were exposed to such risk.These are situations where drones are a real game-changer. Drones will be essentiallyunaffected by materials which are hazardous to humans, like pollution or radiation, and the costof any physical damage to the drone will never be more than the price of a new drone.A stellar example of the life-saving capabilities of UAVs is the Tōhoku earthquake and tsunamithat hit Japan in 2011, leading to severe damage and a full-scale evacuation of the FukushimaDaiichi Nuclear Plant.Instead of putting a huge number of plant workers at significant risk, they relied on drones tocollect vital information about the levels of contamination.Drones also helped to provide aid throughout the disaster, helping the rebuilding efforts andminimizing thousands of relief workers’ exposure to nuclear radiation. 2. Drones can Actively Monitor Construction Progress For people in the construction business, project management and monitoring can be acumbersome process.No matter how reliable the on-site personnel are, monitoring the project involves a lot of “backand forth” around a worksite, in addition to the task of delivering reports to the main office.Managers will always be limited by their physical capabilities, and gathering comprehensiveinformation about an entire workspace may even pose a risk to the person tasked withmonitoring. Fortunately, a drone can simplify this process by providing a safer and faster way to monitor andreport. Drones can gain access to areas that are inaccessible or dangerous for individuals andreduce the risk of injury to zero in these situations. 3. Drones Excel in Disaster Response The focus of disaster response is to save as many lives as possible while minimizing the risk tothe first responders themselves.Drones can get a birds-eye view of rubble and submerged terrain, which would pose significantdanger to human rescuers.They can be fitted with many forms of highly advanced imaging technology to find trapped orfloating people that first responders might never see.In the case of the Nuclear Disaster in Japan, drones were able to map out the safest routes forhumanitarian aid to reach people, reducing casualties and locating as many survivors aspossible. 4. Drones can Safely Survey Power Lines Keeping electricity moving safely is a vital process for any dynamic economy. However,inspection and maintenance of Power Lines carry a great deal of risk.According to a report by The U.S. Department of Labor, around 56 out of every 100,000 linemenwill die while working on power lines.The more we innovate to remove human responsibility in an industry like this, the more lives wecan save, and unnecessary expenses we can avoid. For now, the inspection portion of this jobcan be done completely by Unmanned Aerial Vehicles 5. Drones can Efficiently Observe Traffic Patterns According to the Centers for Disease Controland Prevention (CDC), around 1.35 millionpeople die each year due to traffic accidents.Drone technology can improve the safety ofour road systems by observing traffic patterns,human behavior, and vehicle interactionmodels.UAVs can quickly find ideal routes foremergency vehicles and monitor accidentsituations until first responders arrive. 6. Drones can Provide Instant Feedback Drones can be equipped with laser sensing devices and ultrasonic radars to detectabnormalities and create renderings of three-dimensional projects.They can perform these tasks quickly and safely, whereas a ground-based system wouldrequire much more time and energy to ensure it is done correctly.Contractors and Engineers stand to gain much from the versatility of applying UAVs to their jobsites. Having the ability to get real-time information within minutes and without risking anyworkers is an edge that these types of organizations can’t afford to miss out on.Using this information, contractors and engineers can make precise adjustments to theirprojects and models, resulting in a superior product or project. 7. Drones can Help Manage Large-Structure Maintenance In the modern world, we continue to build higher and higher. These towering cityscapes are thepride of our generation, but these colossal structures don’t exist without creating new andpersistent challenges.Skyscrapers, hotels, bridges, cell towers, and other large structures require constantmaintenance and observation. Obviously, requiring someone to scale the face of aglass-covered skyscraper or a cable bridge would be a substantial risk to that worker.Drones are the perfect solution for inspecting these types of buildings. They can fly and fitalmost anywhere. Use of drones allows maintenance workers to see the most difficult spots without assuming therisk of personal harm. This would apply to regular inspection and checkup or an unplannedemergency. Drones can be sent into action on a dime.Using a drone for these purposes improves the speed and safety of inspection, and astechnology advances other maintenance-related tasks will also be reallocated to unmannedvehicles. 8. Drones can Automate some Repetitive and Dangerous Tasks Specialized drones can already be tasked with transporting some tools, materials, food rations,and equipment from one place to another, which might be quite dangerous if the area betweenthe two sites is unfinished or just difficult to access.Some of these processes can be programmed into the drone, which would remove the need fordirect oversight and a remote pilot and would save time and valuable effort.Other simple jobs such as spraying, applying coat materials, and taking pictures are simple butrepetitive tasks that drones can do more efficiently than a human worker.In an Agricultural setting, drones are helping to remove the high cost of hiring a chemical spraypilot, a job with a high amount of risk, requiring high compensation for the pilot. UAVs are findingways to make people safer in almost every industry. 9. Drones can Reach Dangerous and Hard-to-Reach Places Drones can’t just go high, they can go far. They can reach extremely remote areas that wouldbe hard or impossible for people to get to.Forests and Swamps make for difficult terrain, especially in situations where wildfires ordangerous wildlife are involved.Every year in the U.S, wildfirescause millions of dollars worth ofdamage and take dozens of lives.Specifically, firefighters are exposedto serious risk of injury or deathwhile combating these fires.Unmanned aircraft can be a hugehelp to firefighters trying to reachthese areas: they're designed to flyat a lower altitude and have variousways that they can retain visibility in smoke.First responder drones can also map out the way for firefighters to reach the fires while avoidingdangerous routes and giving them better situational awareness.Fire departments can also equip drones with fire retardants that can help extinguish fires safelyand precisely. 10. Drones can Create Value in their Application A pattern of risky and expensive inspection and maintenance jobs can be seen throughout ourarticle. These high costs of labor are driven up by the dangerousness of these situations morethan the actual complexity of the task. For example, around 51 roofers die each year as a resultof their occupation.By employing and implementing unmanned systems in these fields, the safety score can besignificantly improved, cutting costs and improving efficiency.The upfront cost of buying a drone will be miniscule compared to the value created in safety andefficiency, and you don’t have to look far to see the many ways that implementing drones intothe workplace can make the world a safer place.