A PILOT STUDY ON THE DEPLOYMENT OF UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES (UAV) IN FACILITY MANAGEMENT IN SINGAPORE FROM UAV SERVICE PROVIDERS' PERSPECTIVE

Abstract

Singapore Building and Construction Authority (BCA) has envisioned the transformation of the facilities management sector into a smart industry that lessens dependency on human resources by leveraging “data analytics, predictive maintenance, and smart technology solutions” (Building and Construction Authority, 2019). Such vision has allowed for technological wave in the local sector, among which is the use of drones for façade inspection. Considering the increasing trend in drone deployment by practitioners and the government’s effort in encouraging such use, professionals must understand and evaluate prevailing drone-based inspection practices of UAV service providers operating in Singapore, forming a basis for necessary modifications in the future. Nevertheless, there is a lack of research focusing on the application of drones in facilities management, especially in the context of Singapore. Thus, this pilot research aims to contribute to the body of knowledge about drone application in the sector by discovering and evaluating current inspection practices adopted by UAV service companies, identifying challenges faced, and proposing recommendations to enhance such deployment in the built environment. To achieve these objectives, the author has used several research methods, including literature review, case studies, interviews with UAV service providers, and building owners in Singapore. After that, content analysis and descriptive statistics were used to analyze obtained data, which was subsequently discussed to arrive at the research conclusion. The study concluded that while UAV service providers collectively selected suitable UAV types for inspection based on its camera quality, they use UAV to inspect building façade in a relatively non-standardized manner. Besides, although UAV-based inspection brings about improved productivity and useful inspection results to building owners, cost, and UAV-related technological issues challenging its large-scale deployment in the local facilities management sector. Three recommendations have been made, including emphasizing the role of government to act as a catalyst, raising public awareness about UAV, and leveraging technical research to industrial use. However, as the research was conducted on limited sample size, larger-scale research is urged to validate these findings.