Before you book
What actually happens, from the first email to the report landing
On the day
The sequence
- Step 1
Scoping the asset list
A site address, a plan if you have one, and a list of what needs covering. Where the list is not obvious, we go through the buildings one at a time. Anything excluded is written down as excluded so a quote and an invoice describe the same job.
- Step 2
Fixed price and a date
A price per asset or one price for the site, agreed before anyone travels. The date is chosen with the forecast in mind and with a margin either side where the record is tied to a works start or a handover.
- Step 3
Paperwork and permissions
Method statement and risk assessment sent across ahead of the visit, insurance certificate on request, and any induction or permit to work process completed before the day rather than on it. Airspace is checked at quoting stage, not on arrival.
- Step 4
Notice to occupiers
Where units are occupied, a short note goes out so tenants know what the aircraft is and why it is there. It takes two minutes and it prevents the phone calls that otherwise reach your helpdesk.
- Step 5
The take off area
A small cordon on hard standing, usually a few metres square, with cones and one person on the ground. Where the only sensible position is in a live yard, we agree a short window with the site rather than blocking a route for the morning.
- Step 6
The inspection itself
The route flown in a fixed order: wides first so everything can be located afterwards, then close detail on each asset, then detail shots of anything found. A single unit is usually under two hours; a multi building site is most of a day.
- Step 7
Handing the area back
Cones away, the site told the work is finished, and a verbal headline before we leave if something was found that you would rather not read about for the first time in 48 hours.
- Step 8
The report
Written up and issued within 48 hours, per asset, with the full resolution originals alongside it.
The report
What lands in your inbox
One section per asset
In the same order as the agreed list, so the report and the quote can be read side by side.
Located photographs
Each image tied to a position on the building, so a contractor can find the thing in the picture without a site walk.
Findings in plain words
What was seen, described the way a builder would describe it, with no attempt to make routine wear sound urgent.
Maintenance or works
A split between what is a clean and clear job and what needs pricing properly, because those go to different budgets.
What was not covered
Anything that could not be inspected, and the reason. A gap you know about is useful; a gap you do not know about is a liability.
The original images
Full resolution files supplied with the report, so somebody can zoom into a joint two years from now without asking us for them.
Within 48 hours
That is a process commitment, not a sales line. The report is written from the images while the visit is still fresh, and it goes out inside two days of the flight. If a site is large enough that 48 hours is not realistic, you are told that at quoting stage rather than afterwards.
Weather and rules
The things that stop a flight, and what we do about them
Wind
The aircraft handle more wind than the photographs do. Close range detail work near a structure needs a settled aircraft, and past a certain point the images stop being sharp enough to be worth having. The visit moves.
Rain and light
Wet surfaces read differently to dry ones and heavy overcast flattens the detail that makes a fixing or a hairline split visible. Overcast is fine and often better than sun. Rain is not.
Airspace and permissions
Restrictions around airports, some prisons and military sites are checked before a price is given. Where a notification or a permission is needed, it is arranged first. Where a location cannot be flown at all, you get told that rather than sold a visit.
People below
The A2 Certificate of Competency sets how close the aircraft may be flown to people who are not part of the operation. On a busy site that means either a short agreed window with the area kept clear, or a greater standoff distance and more work from the camera. Both are discussed before the day.
Before you book
Common questions
- Do you need us to shut the site or move vehicles?
- Almost never. Most commercial inspections are flown from one or two positions on the ground with a small cordon around the take off point. Where the flight path crosses a live yard or a public footpath we agree a short window with you, work in it and hand the area back.
- What do you need from us before the visit?
- A site address and a contact who will be there, the assets you want covered, any permit to work or induction process we need to go through, and a note of anything on the roof we should know about, such as fragile rooflights or a lightning protection system. A method statement and risk assessment are sent over before the visit as standard.
- Can you inspect while the units are occupied?
- Yes. Nothing is leaned against the building and nobody walks the roof, so tenants keep working underneath. The usual arrangement is a short notice email to occupiers so they know what the aircraft is and why it is there.
- How close can the aircraft actually get?
- Close enough to read a fixing washer or a split in a sheet, from a standoff distance set by the A2 Certificate of Competency and the site around us. Where uninvolved people cannot be kept clear, the standoff distance goes up and the camera does more of the work. That is agreed before the visit rather than argued about on the day.
- What does the report look like?
- A written report per asset with dated photographs, each one located on the building, plus a plain summary of what was found and what it means for maintenance planning. It is a PDF, it is sized to email, and it is written to be read by someone who was not there.
- Is this a structural or building survey?
- No. It is a photographic condition record of what can be seen from the air, carried out by a drone operator with a construction background, not a chartered building surveyor. Plenty of clients use it as the evidence a surveyor, roofer or loss adjuster then works from.
- What happens if the weather stops the flight?
- The visit moves. Wind, heavy rain and poor light all affect what the camera can record, and flying anyway produces a report nobody can rely on. The visit is rebooked for the next suitable window and you are told as early in the day as the forecast allows.
- Can you cover several sites in one go?
- Yes. Sites within a sensible run of each other can share a day, and a portfolio can be put on a repeating schedule so the same assets are recorded the same way each time. Tell us the list and you get one price for the lot.
See how a visit runs
Request a site quote with Drone Inspection Services
Tell us the site and the assets you need covered. Sam Hembury will come back with a fixed price, a method statement and a date.