Change is underway in the world of roof inspections. Many roofing contractors, insurance adjusters, solar companies and other industry professionals are shifting from using ladder assist services to using innovative drone technology. In this piece, we break down why drone solutions are a better option for roof inspections, and why the days are numbered for traditional ladder assist services.

Drone Assist

If you’re going to get a third-party involved, the best option is to hire a Drone Assist service. Services like these use a drone solution (such as IMGING) to gather property data and deliver it you inside an easy-to-use app. Every situation is different, but in general, here are some reasons you may or may not consider outsourcing drone inspections.

Drone Assist Pros

• Flexibility: Like a ladder assist, a Drone Assist gives you measurements, imagery, and other data you can’t get yourself. For steep and highs, or when you have a lot of jobs to bid, Drone Assist is great.
• Efficiency: With a drone assist service, it’s a simple process. All you need to do is provide the service with an address and they get the roof data from the home.
• Costs: For around the cost of a ladder assist, you get more, better quality data. Imagery gathered by a drone is clear and crisp. You can easily see small hail strike in imagery delivered by Drone Assist pilots.  Not only is the service affordable, but you don’t have to invest in a platform or worry about training your own pilots.
• Safety: Using a third party totally eliminates the risk of your estimator falling and sustaining an injury.

Drone Assist Cons

• Still relying on third parties: While Drone Assist pilots are quick and professional, using a third party always forces you to release control over a portion of your process.
• Timeframe: While Drone Assist pilots are on-demand, it still takes time for them to arrive on-site, gather data, and deliver it to you. A Drone Assist service is quick, but it’s not always as quick as using your own drones in-house, which leads us to our next section.

In-House Drone Inspections

If you’re looking for ways to keep estimates in-house and improve the efficiency of your bidding process, you might consider arming estimators with a drone platform.

In-house Pros

• Costs: After a small initial investment, an in-house drone inspection platform is more cost effective than enlisting a ladder assist service.
• Safety: As noted, drones keep inspectors 100 percent safe. That means no more climbing up ladders, no more safety harnesses, and no more climbing on top of precarious roofs.
• Time: There’s no delay when a company has their own drone platform. No waiting for ladder assists to deliver data, and more flexibility in terms of the data an estimator can capture on site.

In-House Cons

• Platform investment: When a company decides to have an in-house drone inspection program, they need to invest in a platform. They can do so via either a drone solution provider (who can set them up with drone hardware and software) or they can buy their own hardware and software (of
• Training: In order to fly drones, all prospective pilots need to gain a Part 107 certification. This requires study time, a test at an FAA certified facility, and costs money to take.

Conclusion

Whether, you’re interested in hiring a drone assist service or developing your very own in-house drone solution for roof inspections, you’re making a great choice. Drone options are better than ladder assists because drones are safe, cost effective, and provide outstanding roof data.

If you’re looking to ditch the ladders, check out our IMGING drone solution.