Just a short while after passing my professional practice exams, my office was involved in the construction of a high-rise residential apartment in the suburban parts of Lekki, Lagos – Nigeria.
The project involved daily inspections and reports on the progress of work. Progress photographs were usually the highlights of most of the reports. The lifts had not been installed meaning that I had to climb up several stairs to inspects works going on the topmost floor.
My responsibility became very demanding especially when I had to climb up and down several stairs’- multiple times in a day. My wife happens to be a film maker and had always talked about buying a drone to improve her productions.
I read about drones and watch YouTube videos about their use in construction. I narrowed down on the particular type of drone that I preferred and began to watched several YouTube videos about its until I bought my first drone in 2017, the DJI Phantom 4 pro plus.
The unique features I enjoyed about this paticular drone was the range, obstacles avoidance features and the photo and video quality. The fact that it was one of the first few commercial drones that had its own built-in crystal-clear screen was indeed a fair deal for me, so one didn’t have to use a smart phone.
One its arrival, I took out time to practice and learn the ropes of its operation right at the soccer field in my neighborhood. After about a month or so later, I had the confidence to test it out on the site and that was the turning point.
I joined a community of drone users online. I learnt about licensing and in mid-2019. I applied for my operations license with the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority- having fulfilled all the requirements and studied all the rules and regulations.
Flying drones have become a hobby. However, using it has completely revolutionized the way I see the built environment, my approach to planning and design in context.
Since then, I have been able to organize seminars and trainings on the use of drones in construction. By the side, I have developed an eye for aerial photography. I try to tell stories of parts of buildings and the landscape that no one has seen before. Our stories about the built environment from the drone’s perspective is different and unique.
Over time, we have been able to commercialize the drone service and we have made its use available to Architects, town planers, Surveyors, Film makers, Visual Artists, Developers, Marketers, Engineers and Oil & gas companies.
We hope that in the nearest future… And with the emancipation of drone laws, we can be at the forefront of championing the use of drones, most especially in construction because it is a value-added service, it saves time and deploying it is cost efficient.