Comparison of the supervisory cost of using an unmanned aerial system and conventional methods in construction projects

Abstract

Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) are a growing aircraft technology being used in all sorts of industries. Despite studies exploring the potential applications of UAS, such as photographs or video collected by UAS, its benefits for the supervisory job on construction sites is not well understood. This paper presents a comparison of the supervisory cost generated using UAS and that from the conventional method. In this study, both five projects applying UASs and another five using the conventional supervisory method participated voluntarily. The survey used questionnaires targeted to people working in a supervisory job within the five projects. The results showed that most potential applications were particularly suited for tracking and monitoring job progress, evaluating safety monitoring and support, and inspecting difficult areas. In comparison, it was found that applying UAS was more cost-effective than the conventional supervisory method. The average supervisory cost to total wage generated from the project supervisory job by applying UAS and conventional methods were 0.212% and 0.450% respectively. Despite insignificant differences, the study provided a picture that, by applying UAS properly, it would be able to have a potential cost saving in the supervisory job in construction.