Principle invests in drones to provide safe, cost-efficient and more detailed property surveys

We have recently invested in drones to help provide more detailed and cost-efficient building surveys for the properties we look after. Our investment includes training for three colleagues to become qualified drone pilots so that the new in-house service can be offered to its clients across the UK.

 Joe Jobson, joint managing director at Principle, explained that the drones would give the company the ability to review complex areas of buildings that were previously inaccessible any other way.

 Mr Jobson said: “Our new ability to use drones as part of our building surveying is a safe and cost-efficient method that will cause minimal disruption.

“The drones’ cameras also provide thermal imaging that can identify issues not able to be seen by the naked eye, which will result in more accurate surveys to inform maintenance and repairs planning.

“The drones will therefore result in more efficient and complete building surveys, with cost savings including the fact that there will be no requirement for the usual scaffolding.

“The drones also have a reduced carbon footprint compared to scaffolding and other platforms.”

Benedict Williams, Richard Coles & James Lucas

Mr Jobson added that staff members Richard Coles and James Lucas of Principle’s building surveying team, were now trained as drone pilots, along with property inspector Benedict Williams.

All three were Qfqual and GVC (General Visual Line of Sight Certificate) accredited pilots, qualifications that were also approved by the Civil Aviation Authority.

He added: “We acquired two drones last year and our building surveying team have been going through the process of getting trained up and qualified to use them.

“We will now be offering drone surveys in-house, extending our service offering to all clients.

“Roof areas are not always visible and can be one of the most difficult areas to survey, but they have many components that can fail which require periodic maintenance.  

“Equipment such as scaffolding or cherry pickers normally required to access these areas come at a high cost and with multiple safety and noise issues, but even with this equipment it is not always possible to view all areas of the roof.

“Our drone surveys will therefore save clients both time and money, as well as providing much more accurate information that has been acquired with safety in mind.”