Understanding the Importance of the Data Collection Process

 In our modern times of digital twins and remote asset inspections, there is one crucial factor that is now being overlooked by many businesses: the data collection process. The acquisition process is the most important step when it comes to digital twins and remote inspections. If you don’t get this step right, then there is no point even creating a digital twin or carrying out a remote inspection. Unless you collect all the information you need correctly and put the necessary time and effort into the task, then the end result won’t be what you expected. It all starts with the data.

Start With The End Result

When dealing with data acquisition, you need to work backwards. Start with the end result: what are you hoping to get out of this process? Do you want to create a digital twin? Are you going to need these images for inspection purposes? What accuracy are you trying to achieve? What technology is required to complete this? You should be asking all these questions and plenty more, whether it is an in house project or working for a client.

When dealing with data collection for digital twin or asset inspection purposes, it is very easy to get things wrong and not get the desired end result. The best way to put it is: if you put s!*t in you get s!*t out and what good is that?

Here at Kapcher, we have clients coming to us time and time again because something was overlooked. Whether they attempted to complete a roof inspection, or create a digital twin with unusable data. Some have put the effort in and spent days collecting gigabytes of information, only to discover on review that every single image is blurry. This results in wasted time and resources, with the job having to be reshot thanks to the unusable data initially collected.

Going In House

Sure, we get it. Many companies want to save on costs and have a member of the team carry out the research. You can just head out, buy a drone, watch a couple of YouTube videos, and you’re good to go – right? Not quite.

While it is possible to do all of this in house, there is a lot more to it than most businesses even give thought to. Many dive in and only discover when it’s too late that they hadn’t thought about the processes in depth. This results in unusable data, wasted money, time and effort. And most importantly, it puts you at square one and having to start the project from scratch.

So, what other things are there to think about? Firstly, your team member needs to go out and get their Remote Pilot License sorted. Next, you need to set up your Operations Procedures and Manuals, and then ensure you understand how to use the drone and collect the information properly. Once all that is sorted, you are ready to go. But this doesn’t mean the hurdles are over. Take this scenario: first job is up and you check the location. Right next to an airport. Another roadblock for you. You now need to pay for an submit an application for approval from the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) to review if you are allowed to fly your drone in this space. Expect to wait up to 30 days to hear anything back. Even then, there is no promise CASA will allow you to go ahead.

These scenarios cover just one small aspect of data collection and using a drone. Once you do your research, you will discover it really is just the tip of the iceberg. Some other things you have to think about are knowing when to use Ground Control Points (GCP) or even LiDAR in com cases. It’s enough to send any business running for the hills.

Options For Data Collection

At Kapcher, we see a lot of businesses go down this path and we are usually brought in to pick up the pieces. Some companies train people in roles, such as engineers. Yet having an engineer heading out onsite to collect information isn’t a good use of time and resources. If you had an engineer, wouldn’t you want them looking at the final product and spending their time planning for a solution to any problems that might arise, rather than data collecting? We thought so too…

Of course there is an alternative. Instead of coming to us to clean up your mess and wasting precious time and resources in the process, come to us at the beginning of your project. Kapcher specialises in this type of work and we understand the importance of the data collection process. We work closely with our clients to have a comprehensive understanding of what their desired end result is and we work towards that goal. We understand what is required for all aspects of data collection for asset management such as roof and facade inspections, digital twins and even internal data collection. We can collect data for any application.

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