Outsourced Commercial Drone Volume Declining??

[Coteair]

Hello all,
I'm a new DSP looking to enter the construction market. I'm concerned that the combination of access to better, cheaper technology and increased adoption of mapping are leading to more in-house drone programs and less business for DSPs. I haven't been able to find any data speaking to any changes in the mix in the US.

 

[BigAl07]

I'd say that in today's market where I live (southeastern USA) about 2/3's or more of your larger companies have their In-House UAS operations running strong. It really makes a lot of business sense to train existing employees how to fly a drone rather than outsourcing it and hoping to get the results you want/need.

 

[MapMaker53]

I work as an in-house drone operator for an environmental company. Based on my experience, using an in-house employee for this type of work not only guarantees that the needed work product is what my employer wants, it is also more economical than outsourcing the work. Operating the company drone is only one of the several responsibilities I handle at my company and we reap the benefit of me being able to bill 100% of my done work. The only time we might outsource the work would be if the logistics of the client request were deemed unfeasible. For example, if the job was a huge time-consuming headache that was halfway across the country, I'd probably recommend farming it out as I have other work related responsibilities that can't be sidelined for long periods of time. But that hasn't happened yet in the 5 years I have been flying commercially.

 

[John Githens]

I'd say that in today's market where I live (southeastern USA) about 2/3's or more of your larger companies have their In-House UAS operations running strong. It really makes a lot of business sense to train existing employees how to fly a drone rather than outsourcing it and hoping to get the results you want/need.

Also, government entities are developing in-house UAS Operators and (more important in my perception) the post-flight data processing and analysis capabilities needed to meet their organization's information requirements and specifications. For example, at least one department in the US Army Corps of Engineers. Smaller government entities and companies may consider hiring an independent DSP (at least for a while) if the organization's management structure perceives enough benefit, preferably in provable internal cost savings.

 

[skiptv]

I am a professor at a college in CA. I wrote the drone curriculum for the state, and teach basic through advanced drone flight and technologies. In the last couple of years the trend has been for institutional companies to send in their employees to get their 107 and learn how to fly. Insurance adjustors, construction site crews, Solar companies etc. As noted in a post above, it makes more sense to a company to have a full time worker that also flies drones.

 

[Recoveryone]

All of the in house programs is economical from a business stand point, as each company gets a 2 for 1 deal, an employee that does their normal duties with the added assignments of drone operations. Coming into 2023 I was concerned about the inflation aspect. Feds raising rates, I was worried it would slow down lending, but here in SoCal building is still booming both housing & commercial and I personally saw a 30% increase in work. In addition to my forecast of solar work picking up on existing projects has been the icing on the cake. Just as with any business, you need to be able to move with the times (actually be a step ahead), being prepared to handle the needs of the market.

 

[Recoveryone]

I am a professor at a college in CA. I wrote the drone curriculum for the state, and teach basic through advanced drone flight and technologies. In the last couple of years the trend has been for institutional companies to send in their employees to get their 107 and learn how to fly. Insurance adjustors, construction site crews, Solar companies etc. As noted in a post above, it makes more sense to a company to have a full time worker that also flies drones.

Do you teach at Fullerton Community College? I know they are the only one that has a full drone course program that takes you from start to part 107 to a internship with local infrastructure companies (Edison, SoCal Gas, PG&E) to name a few.