Balfour Beatty VINCI saves £5 million on HS2 development using DJI Drones
HS2 is the largest infrastructure project in Europe. The £106Bn development will create high-speed rail links between London, The Midlands and the North of England.
Joint venture Balfour Beatty VINCI (BBV) is designing and building the largest section of HS2’s first phase – covering about 90km.
The Challenge
- Conducting regular and efficient surveys for progress updates and monitoring earthworks
- Staying on-budget and on-schedule, with Phase 1 due for completion between 2029 and 2033
- Keeping on-site personnel safe
- Traditional survey methods are potentially dangerous
The Approach
BBV has digitised the project – using drones to conduct faster, safer and more cost-effective surveys.
BBV has upgraded to the new Mavic 3 Enterprise – replacing the Phantom 4 RTK.
The Mavic 3E has cut drone surveying times by 50% thanks to its longer battery life, larger sensor, and more rapid interval shooting rate. heliguy™ has supported BBV’s adoption of the Mavic 3E, including survey-specific training.
The Results
He continues: “Drones allow us to cover large areas very efficiently and we can survey far more safely from a remote position, removing people from potentially dangerous areas. By deploying drones on the HS2 development, the cost-savings will be substantial.”
- Estimated £5million cost-savings over five years by deploying drones.
- 10-20 minutes to measure a stockpile with a drone, compared to at least half-a-day using traditional methods.
- DJI Mavic 3 Enterprise halves drone surveying time compared to Phantom 4 RTK: Mapping 9.3km in a single 12-minute flight, compared to 29 minutes, over two flights, with the P4 RTK.
- Mavic 3 Enterprise’s improved camera creates detailed, high-resolution digital assets.
- 20-25mm survey-grade accuracy with Mavic 3 Enterprise, without GCPs.
- 800 ‘working at risk days’ removed by deploying drones.
- Number of site visits reduced, cutting carbon emissions.
- Centralised data for remote monitoring, and improved collaboration/decision-making.
