Eye in the sky
For building services personnel, detecting roofing issues early is vital to prevent structural failure, escalated repair costs and operational disruption. Chris Woods, Client Development Manager at IRT Surveys, part of the Mears Group, explores the crucial role visual drone surveys play in identifying undetected roofing problems during maintenance and refurbishment.
Roofing failure is rarely instantaneous, but more often the result of a minor issue being left to progress over time. A small, easily fixable fault that remains undetected can slowly deteriorate into a major problem.
When this happens, the damage can spread to other parts of the building, the safety of occupants is put into jeopardy and operations are disrupted because the facility needs to be taken out of service. The longer the defects are allowed to escalate, the greater the costs of repairs, the length of downtime and the financial impact.
The value of prevention
When undertaking refurbishment or carrying out maintenance, drone thermal imaging surveys provide facilities managers and other professionals with a quick and effective way to gain clear insights into existing roofing issues.
Equipped with highly sensitive infrared technology, the latest thermal imaging drones swiftly and precisely identify the early signs of insulation failure, water ingress, structural defects and other problems. This means any issues detected can be factored into refurbishment plans, and repairs can be implemented quickly before conditions worsen and drive up remedial costs.
Drone surveys are also highly practical. Unlike other surveying techniques, they do not require operations to pause or involve invasive inspection, such as the removal of roofing tiles, sheet materials or brickwork. There is also no post-inspection repair work.
One of the key advantages of using drones is that surveyors do not need to access the roof to inspect it. This means there is no need for scaffolding or similar temporary platforms that can add cost or cause delays and disruption. For occupied buildings, this is a less hazardous approach and one that has minimal impact on day-to-day operations or those using the facility. As a result, visual drone surveys are quicker, safer, less disruptive and less costly.
Wider portfolio management
While visual drone surveys are ideal for roofs, the thermal imaging technology it utilises can be used to survey a broad range of environments, from commercial buildings, hospitals and data centres to manufacturing facilities, processing plants and warehouses.
This versatility makes thermal imaging particularly suitable for inclusion in portfolio-wide preventative maintenance routines. For building managers, construction companies and others, the data gathered from thermal imaging surveys provides invaluable information about issues across the entire estate, including problems with vents, roof tiles and pipework. This enables repairs to be implemented quickly before they cause further damage and disruption or costs rise.
The shift from single building maintenance to portfolio-wide management is made significantly easier and more effective by the use of advanced cloud based software, like DREam. These modern applications combine and analyse thermal imaging data and other building information to provide teams with a comprehensive overview of their portfolio’s roofing issues.
Supplied with this information, estate managers can make data-led decisions to implement effective proactive maintenance programmes across their portfolios. For instance, they will be able to establish maintenance priorities and the most suitable methods, while reducing costs and tracking progress. More efficient maintenance routines can therefore be put into place not simply at single facilities, but across complete estates.
When included in preventative maintenance strategies, drone thermal imaging reduces the need for frequent manual inspections. This gives maintenance teams more time to carry out other vital tasks. Moreover, besides being used to support insurance claims, a drone survey’s ability to detect issues early also helps to extend roof longevity.
Improving sustainability and compliance
Aside from detecting defects that lead to roofing failure, visual drone surveys also identify energy inefficiency issues, like ineffective insulation or draughts. Data from these surveys enables building services personnel to make fully informed decisions regarding energy efficiency investments and repairs that align with business sustainability objectives.
With the survey data highlighting the real issues, investment can be focused on maintenance and refurbishment that has the greatest impact on improving energy efficiency, reducing energy costs and minimising carbon emissions.
With regard to compliance, as visual drone surveys enable defects to be rectified before they deteriorate and violate safety standards, building managers are better positioned to remain compliant with regulations. This helps businesses avoid non-compliance penalties and the ensuing reputational damage that can result.
A key element of preventative maintenance
For building services professionals, visual drone surveys can be the difference between preventing roofing issues and reacting to them. When embedded into preventative maintenance routines, drone thermal imaging detects issues early, stopping them from developing into costly and disruptive problems. At the same time, they deliver portfolio-wide savings and reduce manual maintenance while improving safety, compliance and the pursuit of sustainability goals.
