From 1 January 2022, facade inspection will have to be carried out every seven years for structures that are over 13m in height and more than 20 years old under the new Period Facade Inspection (PFI) regime announced by BCA.

The inspection of building facades is typically a long, tedious and costly process that requires the inspector to work at height using a gondola or mobile elevating work platform. These issues are further aggravated by increasing building heights and the complexities of facade elements used in modern buildings.

It is estimated that there are at least 30,000 buildings slated for inspection over the next seven years under the new regime. Facade inspection using drone technology can make the process “more efficient and less labour-intensive".

Drone technology has been maturing rapidly over the years in tandem with advancements in sensors technology, mapping technologies, computing power, and artificial intelligence. With drone technology, many more data points can be collected, and footage can be passed through artificial intelligence software to pick up signs of deterioration on the façade.

In EM, we have grown our own drone team to conduct façade inspections for residential properties. Let's check out the short demo videos from our drone team on how they use drone technology to carry out façade inspections.