Using drone technology for roof inspections

We use drones for roof inspections at social housing and council owned properties when we need to assess for repairs.

The main reason is for safety, following the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) best practice guidelines for eliminating work at height whenever possible.

Using a drone will also enable us to better identify:

• any hazardous materials we need to remove before a repair
• any non-standard materials we need for the repair
• the right amount of, and location for, scaffolding for the repair

All of our drone operators have had professional training and achieved the A2 Certificate of Competency (CofC) qualification.

For roof inspections, our drone operators will be assessing in real time. This means the drone camera is only active when the drone is at altitude and in position over the roof.

We will erase the SD card in the drone before each flight, so no historic data is stored.

The only data we may store is a single photograph of any completed repair work.

We will not collect, use or disclose any personal data in the use of the drone technology.

Using a drone to survey a roof is more cost-effective than manually surveying with ladders and/or scaffolding, lifts or cherry pickers.

Working at height carries a number of risks. Letting a drone with a camera do the hard work means we can minimise the risk to everyone involved and spend time paying closer attention to the hard-to-reach and difficult-to-see areas of the roof, meaning inspections are safer and more accurate.

Also, using drones may open role opportunities in the future that were previously prohibitive due to the nature of needing to work at height.

Our drone has enhanced safety in mind and powerful sensing capabilities. It features:

• Tri-Directional Obstacle Sensing, ensuring the drone has forward, backward and downward dual-vision sensors, and the design offers a broader sensing range. 
• APAS 4.0 - Advanced Pilot Assistance Systems. This feature detects objects in the drone’s flight path in real time, allowing the drone to avoid obstacles, even in complicated environments.
• An automated return-to-home feature, which activates when the drone becomes too far from the controller or becomes low on battery.
• FlySafe geofence, which is a system that prevents flights in unauthorised locations.

When we’re using a drone we will inform people in the surrounding area using temporary signage. This will include where members of the public can read these FAQs and our accessible privacy notice.

Operators will wear appropriate personal protective equipment, which includes a branded high visibility jacket so they are clearly identifiable.

Our drone is registered with the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and it is marked in accordance with legislation.

We and the drone are fully insured and comply with insurance regulations.

Please contact emergingtech@swindon.gov.uk for any queries.