Regulation of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles and a Survey on Their Use in the Construction Industry

Following several years of proposed regulations, opportunity for public feedback, and revised proposed regulations, in August 2016, the United States federal aviation administration (FAA) enacted regulations governing the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in the airspace of the United States. The enactment of these regulations ended a period of uncertainty regarding the viability of widespread use of UAVs in the construction industry. This paper will discuss the evolution of and current regulations in the context of the use of UAVs in the construction industry. To begin to understand if and how the regulations may effect UAVs use by construction companies, the paper will also discuss the results of a survey regarding the current use of UAVs in the construction industry, including but not limited to how long UAVs have been used on construction sites, how frequently UAVs are used, for what purposes, and at what expense. Initial results indicate: general contractors with fewer than 50 employees have the highest rate of UAV usage, among non-users the regulations have not been a deciding factor, and among non-users those most likely to implement UAVs in the future are companies that employ 101–300 employees. The majority of those who currently use UAVs plan to increase their use of UAVs, while non-users more often than not do not recognize the benefits of UAV use and therefore, the majority do not plan to implement UAVs in the future.