Construction Progress Tracking

Weekly/monthly aerial mapping of construction sites for project managers and developers.

Quick answer

Construction drone work is the highest recurring-revenue niche — USD 500–1,800 per weekly visit means USD 8–35k/month with 3–5 active sites. RTK precision and a cloud dashboard (DroneDeploy / Propeller) are mandatory differentiators.

Typical Revenue

USD 500 – 1,800 per site visit, USD 8–35k/month for active operators

Pricing Floor

USD 500 / site visit

Pricing Ceiling

USD 1,800 / site visit

Top jobs in this niche

  • Weekly progress orthomosaics
  • 4D BIM overlays
  • Stockpile volumetrics
  • Time-lapse documentation

Recommended equipment

DJI Phantom 4 RTK / Matrice 350 RTK

Sub-3cm accuracy required for survey-grade reports

DroneDeploy / Propeller / Pix4D

Cloud processing + dashboards

GCPs (ground control points)

Absolute accuracy for legal reports

Key regulations

  • !Part 107
  • !Site-safety briefing (OSHA 10)
  • !BVLOS waiver for large megaprojects

Certifications you need

  • Part 107
  • OSHA 10/30
  • DroneDeploy / Propeller certifications

What top operators do differently

  • Recurring weekly contracts
  • Cloud dashboards delivered <24h
  • Safety record

Getting started checklist

  1. 1Part 107
  2. 2OSHA 10
  3. 3Buy/lease P4 RTK
  4. 4DroneDeploy Pro subscription
  5. 5Sign 3–5 GCs for weekly recurring

Frequently asked questions

Do I need GCPs (ground control)?

For survey-grade reports, yes. For visual progress, RTK alone is usually sufficient.

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