One common question we get asked as drone service providers; should we hire someone to do our drone ops, or do it in-house?
As with most things, there are pros and cons for both in-house and external drone services.
Why Will You Need a Drone Service?
Drones are a fantastic asset to many industries, providing real-time data and the ability to make quick data-driven decision-making in a range of scenarios. Some common uses for drones include aerial photography and videography, surveying and mapping, infrastructure inspections, drone construction monitoring, and emergency response.
When deciding whether to choose in-house or outsourced drone professional services, it’s important to consider your specific needs and resources.
In-house drone operations can provide more control over the process and potentially save costs in the long run. A dedicated internal team of professionals can also ensure that your projects are completed efficiently and effectively.
On the other hand, outsourcing drone services can offer a broader range of expertise, professional experience, and the ability to scale up or down as needed. This can be particularly beneficial for businesses with fluctuating drone needs or limited resources to invest in building an in-house team.
What Do I Need To Consider if We Do the Work In-House?
Apart from the obvious things like buying the hardware and undergoing training and certification, if required, there are several important things to consider.
Generally, when the decision is made to carry out drone services work in-house, the decision maker is usually not the one conducting the drone operations. It may seem like a simple enough decision, but there are important factors to consider from an employer’s point of view.
If you think sourcing a professional drone service is right for your business, contact us here.
1. Who Will Fly the Drone(s)?
Identifying someone within an organisation to be the drone pilot, or depending on the organisation size, lead the drone team, can be a simple case of asking around if anyone is interested in taking on the job.
That seems straightforward, but at this point, it’s unlikely the person is aware of the burden of this role. It is not their or anyone’s fault; the perception often is that it’s a case of going out and taking pictures or video with the drone.
The reality is, that there is a lot more to it than that, we will address that later.
2. What Training Do They Need?
When the person or people are identified, the next step you should look at is whether they need training.
In Ireland, there is no mandatory requirement for training, depending on the drone’s weight. Sub-4 kg drones can be used commercially without training, although training is recommended.
There are limitations to operating without training, and your location or core operating area will likely determine whether you need formal training. For example, you will need training and certification to use drones in towns or cities, near airfields, or military bases. You are required to hold a Specific Operating Permission (SOP) to apply for permission to fly in these restricted airspace areas.
There are several flight schools around the country. The course is a 2-day ground school training, and you will need to pass an exam at a later date. When the exam is passed, you must complete your Operation Manual, gather all required information and proof of Insurance, and send it to the IAA.
If approved, you will receive your SOP and can apply for restricted airspace approval via UF101 forms.
3. What Insurance Do We Need?
Although no minimum mandatory Public Liability Insurance amount is stated, it is recommended that it be at least €2 million.
You will need a specific policy for drone operations.
4. Will My Existing Public Liability Insurance Cover Me?
No, a standard PLI policy will not cover the use of Drones or UAVs. Specific policies with their own limitations and requirements exist. You need to purchase a policy specifically for drone usage.
5. Can I Cover My Drone as a Tool on My Insurance?
You can, yes, and if it’s stolen, you may be compensated, but this type of policy does not cover drone operations.
6. Do I Need Employer Liability Insurance?
If you don’t already have it, which you probably should, you may need to increase coverage if you introduce drones to your operation. Put, drones can be dangerous and introduce more risk.
We recommend you discuss this with your insurer or broker to ensure you are correctly covered.
7. What Hardware Should We Buy?
There is no simple answer to this question. It would help if you determined what you want to achieve through drones. If you want aerial drone photography and video for marketing purposes, a vast range of consumer drones would fit the bill.
If you’re going to do aerial mapping or survey work, you need to consider more factors. Flight time, weight, and camera parameters all come into play. If you are looking at mapping vast areas, you probably need to consider a fixed wing. If you need advice or guidance on what best suits your needs, call or email us, and we will be happy to discuss and recommend.
8. Do I Just Need a Drone and I’m Good to Go?
Well again, that depends on what you are trying to achieve, but in our experience, no. For example, if you want to take aerial drone photography or video, that will be used in promotional material, you will need to edit the pictures or video. The aerial images and video you see online, do not come straight from the drone. It has almost certainly been post-processed.
9. So What Else Do I Need?
For starters, you need a very good PC and the software packages to go with it. Most consumer drones today can shoot in 4K resolution. This is great for capturing detail and giving a high-end look. However, it is very resource-intensive on a PC. A general office PC would not be capable of running the software to edit and render these files.
4K gives great flexibility to crop and zoom the footage, giving a more professional end product. You will also need software to edit the footage.
There are many applications for photo and video editing, but the Adobe suite of Lightroom, Photoshop, and Premiere Pro for video are some of the most widely used. These are licenced products and cost money to purchase or rent.
10. I Want To Create Aerial Maps, What Do I Need?
Again, computing power is what you need. The data captured to create aerial maps, called data sets, can be extensive, hundreds if not thousands of images. On a recent mapping job, we gathered almost 15,000 images. Aerial mapping works by capturing lots of pictures and stitching them into one large map, or orthomosaic, as it’s called. This is very PC intensive and particularly GPU intensive for certain operations within the process.
If you want the most control, a high-end PC or server may be required. Cloud-based options are available, but they do not offer the flexibility and control. Either way, there is a cost associated with this software. You can purchase it outright or rent it month by month.
You also need to know what you are doing. The explanation above may oversimplify the process. These applications are complex, and you should consider training courses to maximise your investment.
11. Is There Anything Else I Need To Consider?
Storage. A key component in any drone business is storage, and lots of it. Drone images and video are large.
Depending on your drone capabilities, data is captured and accumulates very quickly. High-end cinema drones can capture terabytes of data within an hour of flying. Granted, this is the extreme end of the scale, but it adds up very quickly. Video and mapping data can be large.
You need to process this and store it. Ideally, your PC will have SSD drives for the processing phase and offline storage for an archive.
To start, you will need a few terabytes of storage, which should be configured for resiliency. You will also have to decide how you would like this data processed, such as in 2D or 3D model form, and acquire the programmes to do this efficiently.
12. So in Summary, What Does Running Drone Ops In-House Mean for My Business?
Paperwork! – Whether you have one drone or a fleet of them, there is a lot of paperwork and compliance that goes along with it. If you have gone down the route of training your employees to do drone photography work in-house, you enter the aviation arena of planning and compliance.
Safety is the primary concern. Flights must be planned, and a risk assessment must be completed for each drone flight. Depending on the size of your operation, this can become cumbersome. Part of your SOP requires mission planning, risk assessment, Airspace authorisation if required, flight logging, and aircraft maintenance. Your flights have to be within the limitations of your SOP and are detailed in your Operations Manual.
Nominate a Chief Pilot—The Chief Pilot listed in your Ops Manual maintains overall control for ensuring flights are conducted within these bounds. This is where the buck stops, so the person nominated as Chief Pilot needs to understand the implications of the role and maintain active management of the operations. They are responsible for ensuring other pilots complete all necessary planning and paperwork as per the Ops Manual.
The ops manual contains the details—the distances you can fly to, altitude limits, the amount of time you can fly, breaks required, etc.- and should all be contained in this master document.
Insurance is a must! Regardless of the nature of your business, we strongly recommend that you have a public liability insurance policy for drone operations. You need the training and certification to hold a valid policy, but this is protection for you and your business.
Significant up-front costs—Drone equipment can be costly and require a lot of upfront investment. The ongoing costs of maintenance, software, storage, and insurance can also add up quickly. Considering these financial implications before deciding to run drone operations in-house is essential.
Outsourcing drone professional services may seem like a more convenient option. You can hire experts with the drone equipment, software, training, and certifications required for drone operations. They will handle all the paperwork and compliance issues, allowing you to focus on your core business activities.
If you think sourcing a professional drone service is right for your business, contact us here.
Save Money and Time With Our Professional Drone Services in Ireland
Suppose you have considered your options and decided you would like an external, professional drone service. In that case, Drone Services Ireland provides an incredibly cost-effective complete service for a wide range of industries.
Our drone operators provide efficient operations on all projects according to legal requirements and drone laws, ensuring absolute compliance in every aspect of our work. Additionally, we go the extra mile to ensure our colleagues and site visitors are safe during drone operations. With our consumer-grade drones and specialist equipment, we can efficiently tackle complex operations, including over difficult terrains and regulated airspace.
Outsourcing your drone services to a professional company like Drone Services Ireland can save you time and money in the long run. You won’t have to worry about purchasing expensive equipment, training employees, or dealing with compliance and paperwork. Our team of experienced drone operators will take care of everything for you, allowing you to focus on running your business.
We provide incredibly high-quality aerial drone photography and drone videography services, aerial surveying and mapping, construction drone mapping, UAV inspections, drone LiDAR surveying, drone 3D mapping, secure data sharing, drone environmental monitoring, and much more. We are looking forward to discussing your project!