Drones can be used to really understand the condition of the whole roof, gutters and elevated areas of the building, as well as fixtures and fittings.

Drones capture it all digitally helping you to review, get expert advice and inform your maintenance decisions, safely, quickly and for a fixed price.You can then use the data to prioritise action and get more accurate tenders for repair. Furthermore, you can then check work completed at height to ensure it meets your standard before paying.

Many who have used drones agree that they enable faster, cheaper and more complete information to be provided than traditional inspection methods using scaffolding and without needing access for heavy equipment.

A drone survey can help you identify slipped or cracked tiles, missing or damaged lead flashing, loose or eroded stonework and enable you to take action before issues manifest as a significant problem.  Drones can be used for routine and reactive surveys, to help find the cause of issues and to check detail without anyone leaving the ground.  The data you receive can also be used as a baseline against which you can compare future surveys to monitor and understand condition, identify degradation, dilapidation and erosion.  All this insight helps inform decisions and prioritise scarce resources.

It is important to get the right operator - a responsible, skilled company who

• have all the correct permissions to fly a drone commercially
• have all the correct insurances and provide you with supporting safety paperwork
• is registered with the Civil Aviation Authority (check their website of commercial operators).
• is ideally a member of the Drone Safe Register, safety organisations, a member of professional organisations (RICS for example) and with a portfolio of work on historic, ecclesiastical and listed buildings for major clients
• work not just with visual systems but infra-red and other test equipment to really help you understand building condition

Drones offer a technological leap forward in providing a safer, faster and more effective way of inspecting the condition of buildings. Have you considered using a drone to inspect your building and joining the property technology revolution?

Timothy Wright, Head of Sales and Marketing, Ocuair Ltd.