Project Overview
Survey Air was instructed by a building surveyor to undertake a UAV roof inspection of an operational distribution centre at Fenny Lock Roundabout, Bletchley, covering approximately 620,000 sq ft. The objective was to capture high-resolution aerial imagery across the extensive roof areas and high-level elements, providing visual evidence to support the surveyor's condition assessment and reporting.
The survey covered the full accessible roof area, with 820 high-resolution images captured to document roof surfaces, plant and other high-level features. The resulting dataset provided comprehensive visual coverage without the requirement for conventional high-level access.
Challenge
The scale of the building presented the principal operational challenge. Maintaining visual line of sight across a roof of this size required the survey to be divided into sequential zones, with the pilot repositioning around the site to maintain safe and effective coverage.
The distribution centre remained fully operational throughout the inspection, requiring UAV flights to be coordinated around HGV movements, loading activity and vehicle access. Consistent altitude, camera positioning and capture methodology across each zone were essential to producing a coherent dataset for professional review.
Approach
Survey Air completed the inspection using a DJI Mavic 3 Enterprise, with manual flights undertaken systematically across each defined roof zone. Multiple flights were completed over approximately four hours, following a top-down capture sequence designed to provide consistent coverage across the full building.
The 820 images were reviewed, geotagged and systematically indexed by location and feature, enabling the surveyor to navigate efficiently to individual roof areas during their assessment. The structured image set was delivered through Survey Air's secure client portal for review, annotation and integration into the wider building survey workflow.
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