Serious question, is it worth using a drone for site checks on a small crew job?

We had a tight 2-week foundation job in Austin where the site was a real mess after rain. Instead of walking the whole thing, I flew my DJI Mini 2 for 15 minutes to map the mud and water pooling. It showed a drainage issue we would have missed. Some guys say it's overkill for a crew of five, but it saved us half a day of guesswork. What's the smallest job you'd bring a drone out for?

4 comments

4 Comments

simonk981mo ago

What's your insurance say about drone use?

henry_murray1mo ago

My policy actually covers it for basic stuff like photos (I checked after reading a horror story online). I had to add a small rider for commercial use, which was maybe twenty bucks extra a year. The key was sending them a sample flight plan to show I wasn't doing anything risky. They just wanted to see it was for simple site checks, not like, delivering packages.

skyler_robinson21mo ago

Wait, so @simonk98, are you asking because your own policy has some weird clause about it? I've heard some companies will straight up deny a claim if you were flying a drone during work, even if the crash had nothing to do with it. Like if you're just taking progress photos and then a separate accident happens, they might try to weasel out.

davidw101mo ago

Did you get a nasty surprise from them?