The commercial drone industry is rapidly expanding and changing. It’s critical for firms in every industry — especially roofing, to understand how to pick the right drone company. With less than a decade of prevalence in the economic landscape, there’s been little time for drone companies to develop a name for themselves as reputable. It can be very difficult to know if the firm you’re engaging with is legitimate, or a sham. Regulations and technology within the industry are changing every day. New drone companies are popping up in everyone’s backyard. This article is meant to equip you with the necessary information and questions you may need in order verify the authenticity of the potential drone service provider to your firm. Subjects covered will include regulations, certifications, gauging levels of experience, understanding the operational capacity of the service provider and drone insurance.
Regulations have been changing rapidly since small commercial drone operations began to gain traction several years ago. All signs point toward continued rapid change in the commercial drone space for the foreseeable future. It’s of vital importance for your drone service provider to understand and follow these regulations. The following questions can be asked if you want to know if the vendor you’re speaking with understands the regulations surrounding commercial drone operations. What are the federal regulations? What are the state regulations? What are the local regulations? What steps does your firm take to ensure all rules are followed? If these answers can’t be provided with proficiency, it’s likely the vendor you’re talking with performs operations outside of the current regulations and you should be wary. The federal regulations can easily be viewed on the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) website. State and local regulations are also easy to find online.