Aerial photography has been essential to land surveying for decades. It plays a vital role in engineering development and environmental management. Only 15 years ago, capturing aerial data required planes and many costly components for a single photoset.
Today, drone surveying has completely transformed photogrammetry. UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) make detailed, large-area surveys fast, safe, and more affordable. At Meridian Surveys, we embrace technological upgrades, and UAVs have become essential tools in many projects, from pipelines to stockpile tracking to daily site progress reports.
We pride ourselves on the peace of mind we can provide to our clients. We accomplish this by being consistent, upholding procedures to ensure quality, and prioritizing everyone’s safety. When it comes to UAV services, these values are of the utmost importance. Keep reading to learn Meridian’s real-time history with UAV drone surveying and how our programs have developed over the years.
Meridian’s UAV Team & Capabilities
Meridian’s UAV program took off in 2014 with one fixed-wing ebee drone and a small team ready to test what was, at the time, cutting-edge technology. Today, our fleet has grown to more than twenty-five trained, Transport Canada-compliant UAV pilots across our offices.
Our crews train to fly topographic surveys, calculate stockpile volumes, map complex cut/fill areas, and everything in between. We also provide 360-degree site videos, thermal scans and LiDAR payloads for high-density data. Some operators cut corners, but our UAV pilots follow the procedures that give our clients clear data, documented results and peace of mind from takeoff to the final reports.
Client Challenges Meridian Solves
Meridian clients require UAV services for a variety of reasons. These are some common pain points they might experience, and we can easily solve with UAV drone surveys:
Safety: Avoid placing ground crews in hazardous environments
Efficiency: Faster data collection for a quick snapshot of the surface
Data Quality: Our LiDAR payload can capture difficult-to-access details with high accuracy
Communication: Daily progress updates, visual records, and flythrough videos to ensure access to up-to-date site information
The Real Benefits For Our Clients
When you’re working with Meridian for UAV services, it’s easy to see the cost savings and improved efficiency of our results. We spend less time in the field and receive more information through our data processing. After a thorough analysis of our UAV data collections, the high-density point cloud provides you with a more accurate representation of the land topography. As a survey company, we ensure that the checks and balances are completed on this data in order to supply our clients with precise results and peace of mind.
Long-Term Value: Why UAV Drone Surveying Builds Confidence
Meridian Surveys provides repeatable, thorough data and imagery, which you can store for future use or consultation with your stakeholders. Along with your data, you’ll have a 360-degree video reference of the terrain prior to construction. Having an up-to-date image of your construction site, along with a point cloud and 3-D model, ensures a detailed recording of changes and, at the final stage, an accurate representation of what exactly has happened on site.
Core Values that Make Meridian Different
Meridian Surveys’ core values prioritize consistency, compliance, and competency for everyone’s safety. We pride ourselves on the peace of mind we can provide to our clients by maintaining these core values. Our UAV drone surveying department consists of 25 experienced pilots and data processors across our organization. UAV team members are trusted long-term staff and pilots prepared to provide you with accurate and consistent data.
UAV drone surveying is not only a faster survey method; it’s also safer, clearer, and provides accurate results for future analysis. Are you ready to see how UAV Drone Surveying can protect your projects, budget, timeline and your crew’s safety? Contact us today to discover how our UAV expertise will benefit your operations.