Sixteenth International Conference on Technology, Knowledge & Society

Abstract

The hazardous nature of the Nigerian building construction industry due to lack of construction data and records of incidents which have led to loss of life, property damage, injuries, and loss of materials in an average construction site is alarming. This paper investigates a possible solution for monitoring the safety and security of workers in the building construction environment by adopting the use of quadcopter drones (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) as a tool for recording and streaming reality images of on going construction projects. In this study, field observations were carried out by flying a DJI Phantom 3 Standard drone at WTC and Devine Hecters Estates Centenary City, Enugu. Data obtained at commencement of work showed that most workers were not in their personal protective equipment, and materials were not properly stacked. Aerial pictures taken showed the number of workers on site and their activities at work. Drones allowed direct monitoring of all the stages of construction activities from foundation, superstructures and the roofing stages. Aerial pictures taken at the end of work showed that offcuts were scattered around the site. Results from the questionnaires presented in pie-charts showed the level of awareness of the stakeholders in the construction industry, to the adoption of drones was 74.2%, while 80.6% of construction professionals do not use drones. However, 91.9% and 95.1% agreed that workers’ activities, safety, and security culture respectively are easy to monitor using quadcopter drones. The use of quadcopter is a possible panacea for the effective monitoring of construction sites.