The company I am working for is looking into purchasing a UAS. We are a land development company with both a engineering and survey department. The survey department performs mostly large scale topographic surveys and ALTAs. I am wondering if any survey companies are using drones and if so are they worth the investment?
I have used one for a Public Works sand pit and it was perfect for the job. I would use one on probably 80% of my projects, if I had a computer operator to develop the plans. I am lucky enough to have a relative that is a distributor for the Leica drones. The pit was about 15 acres and I would have spent the better part of three days topo'ing it the "traditional way" with either gps or the total station. The field work was completed in a morning with the drone and I have two foot contours, tied to my control, as well as a 3_D Image.
Are you able to charge equivalent to the three days and not get scoffed at?
(Sarcasm on) I mean you was only there a few hours?
foggyidea, post: 395624, member: 155 wrote: The field work was completed in a morning with the drone and I have two foot contours, tied to my control, as well as a 3_D Image.
Don't take this as a challenge, but did you charge your client 1/3 of the cost of performing the task conventionally, or did you charge what the service is reasonably worth?
Adam, post: 395649, member: 8900 wrote: Are you able to charge equivalent to the three days and not get scoffed at?
(Sarcasm on) I mean you was only there a few hours?
I'm not sure with drones, but apply that logic to anything.... I do my work 2 times as fast now with a robot than I did before, AND I'm not paying another worker.
So do I charge less than half what I did before?
Heck no. The equipment is expensive, the product is the same or better, and I'm giving faster turn around times which they should be happy about. I should charge more for better service.
Surveyors are the only people in the world who will invest everything they have to reduce billable hours...
On a per project basis, sure does. However with a team of 5 Surveyors we decided against as we wouldn't have the workload to support it full time. It would sit collecting dust more often than not. Makes more sense to get someone else with one in to fly for us, then we reduce data in house.
We used one about 13 times this calendar year.
Equivocator, post: 403552, member: 6885 wrote: Makes more sense to get someone else with one in to fly for us, then we reduce data in house.
Or to be the one flying for everybody else in the area.
Yeah, that works too, for them.
Equivocator, post: 403559, member: 6885 wrote: Yeah, that works too, for them.
It's the same business model traditional photogrammetrists have been using for years.