What are other RPIC procedures for weather delays on drone operations? Want to have good guidelines for my clients and wondering what other pros are doing about postponded and cancelled operations
Adz
Adz
Weather delay fees
- Thread starter Adzphoto
- Start date
In my case I just have to wait for appropriate weather conditions, it's all part of the business.
Weather Delays are just part of what we do just like general aviation. I don't see how you could work a "Wx Delay Fee" into your pay schedule and it be fair to your clients.
For large projects we get a contract signed with 50% up front (non-refundable but I have to be honest we HAVE refunded a couple of times) and the other 50% upon completion of the product and delivery of the goods.
If you do a lot of work you're going to have Wx delays and there will be jobs that you lose completely because you couldn't fly (one time events etc). That's just part of doing business just like @AH-1G correctly stated.
MapMaker53
Well-Known Member
I just schedule the work and state to the client "weather permitting" - and basically explain the point beyond which my wind or moisture max would require a rescheduling. They've always understood and either shifted the job a day or two, or cancelled if it was time critical. Weather is an "Act of God". It wouldn't be right to charge the client for a missed day because of it, IMO. There was one day where a client of ours had traveled a long distance to visit the site and had hoped to see the drone (a P2V+ at the time) in action. It turned out to be a very windy day with 30 mph gusts and I thought I wasn't going to fly. But I felt bad letting the client down, so I told her I'd take it up for a very short demo flight for her. I launched it and to my surprise it was ROCK SOLID in the air even with those gusts. That actually gave me enough confidence to film some of the field operations that same afternoon. The client was very impressed, but not as much as I was.
R.P..R
Well-Known Member
R.Perry
Well-Known Member
I'm an hour away from my job site. I was suppose to fly today, checked FS, cloudy, 30 to 35 mph winds. Drone stays in the garage today, and I'm back to the book I have been reading.
CHECK THE CONDITIONS, before you take off for your job.
In my way of thinking there is no way I could bill someone for services I couldn't perform.
CHECK THE CONDITIONS, before you take off for your job.
In my way of thinking there is no way I could bill someone for services I couldn't perform.
R.P..R
Well-Known Member
Window of opportunity is what we catch at times. In San Francisco and Oakland last Saturday had intermittent rain, but I was able to grab a 3hr window to document the progressive build at the Brooklyn Basin project.
Here’s the snippets.
At 4pm today the wind picks up at 30mph, I checked the weather report in your area, and it’s the same here in the SF, wind condition is currently at 4mph-7mph. Just show up at the worksite and report to your foreman, you never know, things could change a bit.
Here’s the snippets.
At 4pm today the wind picks up at 30mph, I checked the weather report in your area, and it’s the same here in the SF, wind condition is currently at 4mph-7mph. Just show up at the worksite and report to your foreman, you never know, things could change a bit.
R.Perry
Well-Known Member
I have no foreman to report to, I also know the valley weather norms. Also take a look at the weather maps and high and low pressure areas and that will give you a good idea if the winds are going to die down or continue. We are looking at gusts over 35mph, not good.
Tomorrow they are calling for 14mph winds so I will work tomorrow. That is the nice part about my job, it's two days a week and I pick the days. I just need to let the Webcor, Multivista, and the hospital air ambulance service know, the hospital is about a mile away.
Ask yourself how you would like to be treated when something beyond both your control and your vendor's control happens. As for me, I would offer the option to reschedule or cancellation with refund of all deposits paid.
The exception is if you are traveling and the customer asks you to extend your stay. Then you might be justified in asking for per diem and any expenses required to rebook travel.
The exception is if you are traveling and the customer asks you to extend your stay. Then you might be justified in asking for per diem and any expenses required to rebook travel.
I think it depends on the situation. If you have a long term operation that requires crews be maintained on a hot stand by, where performance and completion clauses penalize you for failure to perform, including a fee schedule for weather or other delays is prudent and justified.
To require crew and equipment be maintained in a status that has them instantly available for operations when conditions make operations possible means you have to keep everyone and everything close to the operation. Crews cannot be expected to bear the costs of things like out of town lodging and vehicle rentals unless they are being paid, and few contractors can afford to pay those costs from a base contract fee, or out of pocket. It takes very little down time without pay for a good crew to look elsewhere and accept gainful employment. You either pay a reduced stand by rate and per diem or lose them. If they were providing their own equipment you lose that too.
If you hired people as employees you have federal labor laws to contend with. The time an employee is required to be available for work, working or not, is compensable time. If you require they remain available on days not working, limiting their movement, all that time becomes your time as the employer, not their time.
The cost of weather and administrative delays is an essential part of large operations. Small day to day stuff is not a big deal as those you can walk away from, but if you are subjected to performance penalties you darn well need to cover your bases. Such clauses are written into contracts to protect the client and reduce their costs when time limits are exceeded, at your expense. We are in business to make money, not finance the operation of the primes.
To require crew and equipment be maintained in a status that has them instantly available for operations when conditions make operations possible means you have to keep everyone and everything close to the operation. Crews cannot be expected to bear the costs of things like out of town lodging and vehicle rentals unless they are being paid, and few contractors can afford to pay those costs from a base contract fee, or out of pocket. It takes very little down time without pay for a good crew to look elsewhere and accept gainful employment. You either pay a reduced stand by rate and per diem or lose them. If they were providing their own equipment you lose that too.
If you hired people as employees you have federal labor laws to contend with. The time an employee is required to be available for work, working or not, is compensable time. If you require they remain available on days not working, limiting their movement, all that time becomes your time as the employer, not their time.
The cost of weather and administrative delays is an essential part of large operations. Small day to day stuff is not a big deal as those you can walk away from, but if you are subjected to performance penalties you darn well need to cover your bases. Such clauses are written into contracts to protect the client and reduce their costs when time limits are exceeded, at your expense. We are in business to make money, not finance the operation of the primes.
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R.Perry
Well-Known Member
Pat
Those are some very good points. Years ago I flew chargers, and a few times I waited for several hours for my clients to have them call and cancel. They got billed for my time. Point is if you are losing money due to unforeseen circumstances then that is part of doing business, however if you clients are the cause of your loss you have every right to bill them.
I try to think "what is the right thing to do", sometimes that has effected my income in a negative way, but in the long run it pays off.
