Japanese construction company Komatsu is introducing smart drones to help contractors manage projects.

Contractors know that accurate numbers to track job site activity and topography can make the difference for completing a project on time and on budget. With the addition of smart tracking technology and drones to Komatsu’s suite of job site technologies, contractors have two tools to better manage projects.

“When the smart construction group came in, they integrated everything together, and the transition felt seamless,” said Kevin Hawkinson, vice president of operations at AW Oakes & Son. “Now, we can take the data, transfer it to the machines, get data back from the machines to the office, and utilise all of that information across the board for bidding, customer reference and billing.”

Using data to track spending allows contractors to analyse those numbers quickly and find cost-effective ways to manage and resource projects. Komatsu has partnered with Moovila, a provider of project management software, to develop Smart Construction Field, a mobile app that allows contractors to record job site activity and analyse operational efficiencies in near real time.

Reports generated can track daily job site conditions, and task progress can be broken down by labour, equipment and materials, including machine use and fuel distribution, receipts, timecards and subcontractor work. Regardless of equipment brand, it can collect machine data from an entire fleet.

Collecting accurate topography is made easier with Komatsu’s smart construction drone survey technology. These drones capture quantities for production tracking and billing, without personnel walking the job site to do a manual survey.

Contractors can gather and analyse data throughout each project phase with topographic surveys that incorporate hundreds of thousands of data points. With the capability to take still photos from up to 120 metres above ground level or under bridge decks, the drones can be used for pre-job verification or to keep stakeholders up to date.

Built to combine data from multiple sources into one picture, Smart Construction Dashboard combines 3D design data with aerial mapping and intelligent machine data to let contractors confirm quantities and visualise job site progress. The dashboard is powered by the 3D visualisation power and geospatial accuracy of Cesium, a platform to visualise, analyse and share 3D data.

Both Smart Construction Drone and Smart Construction Field are part of Komatsu’s Smart Construction suite of applications created to help construction users optimise their business remotely, and in near real time.

Komatsu develops and supplies technologies, equipment and services for the construction, mining, forklift, industrial and forestry markets.