As more and more people are looking for ways to work remotely and automate tasks, drones are gaining more and more popularity, especially when it comes to inspections. From the construction industry to the agriculture one, drone inspections have proven beneficial in a variety of ways. Here’s how:

1. Promotes safety 
By replacing human inspectors with drones, you protect them from potential accidents. This is particularly true when inspections require accessing hazardous and hard-to-reach spots. Moreover, the efficiency of drone inspections lets you catch a lot of issues early and deal with them before they escalate into serious safety concerns.

2. Saves you time
When it comes to assets like pressure vessels or nuclear power plants, you will need to shut things down before any inspection is done. And since longer downtimes lead to bigger losses in revenue, it is in your best interest to complete inspections as fast as possible.

Fortunately, this is where drones come in. With their ability to quickly capture accurate data in a matter of minutes, they can really save you a lot of time, effectively reducing your downtimes.

3. Saves you money
Truth be told, drone inspections allow you to save the money you would have spent on a lot of inspection related activities. For instance, you won’t have to pay for scaffolding or any other piece of temporary infrastructure that supports manual inspection. 



Also, you won’t incur any transportation costs related to getting large vehicles, helicopters, and workers on site. Even your insurance costs will be highly reduced. 

4. Increases customer satisfaction
Since inspectors who use drones aren’t hindered by safety hazards and hard-to-reach areas, they can provide all the data that customers require. As such, they have higher rates of customer satisfaction and therefore retention.

5. Provides comprehensive data
Since drones can be equipped with a variety of sensors, they can do so much more than the usual visual inspections. Across several industries, they have been used to perform radiography, thermal imaging, ultrasound, liquid penetrant, and even eddy current inspections.

As such, the data they provide is extremely comprehensive and accurate, giving much more insights than data collected from manual inspections. 

6. Provides effective marketing material
Since aerial photos and videos are so stunning, inspectors are now using them for more than just inspections. For one, they are using them to market their work to potential customers. This kind of data, when gathered over time, also creates a good record of the work you have done. And with the integration of cloud technology, you can securely save it for years to come. 

7. Improves facility and equipment integrity
When manually inspecting factories, you may have to tamper with equipment by cutting it open. However, this can permanently affect its structure and make it less reliable. For instance, if you cut off a piece of metal then later on weld it back, the welded area will always be a point of weakness.

This is why you’re better off using a drone. These aerial devices can easily and accurately inspect equipment without affecting its integrity. And if any issue is detected, it can be dealt with early.