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Water Damage RestorationFire and Smoke Damage RestorationCatastrophe RestorationRestoration Training/Education

Best Practices for Drones in the Restoration Industry

By Erica Stein, Darren Hudema
Photos courtesy of PuroClean

Photos courtesy of PuroClean

Photos courtesy of PuroClean
Photos courtesy of PuroClean
Photos courtesy of PuroClean
Photos courtesy of PuroClean
Photos courtesy of PuroClean
Photos courtesy of PuroClean
Photos courtesy of PuroClean
Photos courtesy of PuroClean
Photos courtesy of PuroClean
Photos courtesy of PuroClean
Photos courtesy of PuroClean
December 16, 2019

In recent years, the restoration industry has increasingly explored the use of drones, commonly known as unmanned aircraft vehicles (UAV). Hurricanes, wildfires, and other weather-related events have served as a beta test to offer a glimpse into the potential capabilities of drones for use in restoration efforts following emergency situations.

As a company that prides itself on being on the cutting edge of innovation and emerging technologies, PuroClean recently teamed up with United Rentals, the world’s largest equipment rental company, to explore the uses of drones when assessing property damage. United Rentals’ Advanced Solutions team provides drone services across a range of industries, including disaster response and recovery – an area PuroClean specializes in with its sister company, Signal Restoration Services-- to respond to large-scale losses across the United States and Canada.

In an unpredictable world where natural disasters often happen without much warning, restoration professionals and first responders must act quickly when deploying to residential, commercial and industrial buildings affected by the weather-related event. Today, drones play a crucial role in providing next-level disaster assessment. With accuracy and consistency, drones capture information, including images of the damage from a bird’s eye point of view that can include thermal and infrared data. Restoration professionals can share this important information in real-time with both insurance companies and the affected parties, expediting the handling of the insurance claim.

Another benefit to using drones is safety.  Instead of sending personnel into a smoldering building or black water, drones can enter a danger zone, displaying images and videos to reveal the scope of work and damage to a property. UAVs are safer and easier to use than putting first responders, contractors, and technicians on site.

While drones are becoming a more common tool in restoration and remediation projects today, this is still a relatively new technology and there are several things to keep in mind:

  1. The drone industry in the United States is regulated by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and operators must obtain the proper license and follow its relevant guidelines.
  2. For the use of drones in the restoration industry, the FAA requires an operator to hold a pilot’s license.
  3. The FAA can limit an operation based on proximities to government facilities such as ports, buildings and other restricted air space.
  4. Approval and itineraries can be required before a drone can be used to survey a property.

As with any vehicle, it’s wise to have liability insurance for your drone in the event that something goes wrong. Most major carriers or brokers have plans that provide adequate coverage for drone operations.

Although there are many types of UAV’s, companies should look for solutions that automate image capture and provide measurements, models and artificial intelligence tools. This will make it easier to turn imagery into information that will help in the assessment and execution of a restoration job.

It’s easy to see why drones are becoming a tool of choice for first responders. Today, many restoration companies like PuroClean have expanded their offerings to include drone-based services as a safe and reliable way to complete site and area assessments through aerial mapping, insurance claim processing and more.  Drones are a cost effective and safe way to complete damage assessments of an area or structure in a timely manner. 

KEYWORDS: aerial imaging disaster restoration innovations in restoration

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Erica Stein is a member of the Advanced Solutions team of United Rentals, the equipment rental industry’s leading innovator. In her role as a program lead for drone services for the Advanced Solutions unit, Erica supports the company’s innovation agenda related to its field organization in North America. Earlier, as telematics project manager, she contributed to the largest telematics initiative in United Rentals’ history: over 300,000 deployments of telematics technology on heavy equipment units, resulting in significant operational efficiencies and greater use of business intelligence by customers.

Darren Hudema is the director of training and technical services at PuroClean. Hudema leads the PuroClean Academy, trains, and mentors new franchise owners and their teams. With expansive knowledge and expertise, Hudema develops PuroClean’s training efforts, including hands-on education programs at the company’s Applied Structural Drying (ASD) facility, to provide franchise owners and their technicians with the instruction needed to achieve IICRC certification. Hudema has been involved in the restoration and cleaning industry for more than 40 years and is a certified water loss specialist, IICRC master textile cleaner, master fire and smoke restorer, master water restorer, and an approved IICRC instructor.

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