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Construction Progress Monitoring via Drone: Why Every Project Phase Should Be Documented

Construction Progress Monitoring via Drone: Why Every Project Phase Should Be Documented — by EASA-Certified Drone Pilot Guy Liebert, Droneview.be

When a construction project is completed, you only see the finished result. The facades gleam, the roof is sealed, and the grounds are immaculately finished. But what did the site look like six months ago? Where exactly were underground utilities and drainage pipes laid before the concrete slab was poured? How did the steel frame assembly progress on the third floor? And what condition was the roof in prior to final waterproofing?

Once concrete is poured and exterior walls are closed, that crucial information disappears beneath the surface forever.

Systematic aerial monitoring changes everything. Drone-based progress tracking does not merely produce “pretty pictures”—it establishes an independent, high-precision, chronological visual record of your entire build. Not random flights, but a structured digital asset archive.

What Is Professional Drone Construction Monitoring?

Structured monitoring avoids random site flyovers. It relies on a rigorous, pre-planned flight schedule:

  • Fixed intervals: Flights timed to key construction milestones or fixed frequencies.
  • Repeatable vantage points: Automated flight tracks ensure identical positioning, altitude, and angles on every visit.
  • High-resolution capture: Ultra-sharp photos and 4K footage for close inspection.
  • Georeferenced data: Every image embedded with accurate GPS coordinates and altitude data.
  • Integrated digital archive: Chronologically structured data accessible online at any time.

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Buying and Selling Second-Hand Drones: Why We Started Our Own Marketplace

Buying and Selling Second-Hand Drones: Why We Started Our Own Marketplace — by EASA-Certified Drone Pilot Guy Liebert, Droneview.be

Anyone who has ever tried to buy or sell a second-hand drone, camera, or set of batteries knows the issue. You put a post in a Facebook group, and a day later it is buried beneath dozens of other posts. Nobody can find it again, and Google certainly cannot. On major sales platforms, you pay commissions, and among thousands of random listings, specific drone gear is hard to locate.

As drone operators, we kept bumping into this exact frustration. So we did something about it: an independent, free marketplace built specifically for drones and accessories.

What It Is: Drone Gear Only, No Clutter

A simple, clean, and free location to buy and sell second-hand drones and equipment. Drone gear only, nothing else: drones, cameras and gimbals, batteries and chargers, spare parts, and accessories. No irrelevant clutter to scroll through.

A few key factors that set this platform apart from a social media post:

  • Your listing stays discoverable: It doesn’t disappear down a timeline after 24 hours. It is structured to be indexed properly by Google. If someone searches for a specific model weeks later, your listing will still show up.
  • Key info at a glance: Every ad highlights the essential details right away: brand, model, condition, price, and region. Buyers know instantly whether it’s worth reaching out, without digging through dense paragraphs.
  • 100% free with no middlemen: Listing costs nothing, browsing costs nothing, and zero commission is charged. You deal directly with the buyer; we don’t take a cut. Contacting a seller is handled via a secure form, keeping your email address private.

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Cheap Drone Inspection? Why a €100 Thermal Scan Costs You Thousands

Drones equipped with high-quality thermal (infrared) cameras are a major benefit for the construction and energy sectors. In no time, they reveal invisible heat leaks in facades and pinpoint defects in solar panels that remain unseen by the naked eye. At least… if the person operating the controls actually knows what they are doing.

Since the introduction of European drone regulations, the barrier to flying has dropped significantly. Anyone can obtain a drone certificate, purchase a radiometric camera, and claim to be an “inspection specialist” the very next day. The result? A massive wave of operators flying quickly over a roof for €100 or €150 and handing over a colorful report.

It sounds like a bargain. But in practice, such a cheap drone inspection often turns out to be an incredibly expensive mistake. Here is how saving €100 can easily cost you thousands of euros in incorrect renovations or lost energy yields.

The Illusion of ‘Pretty Pictures’

Infrared thermography is not ordinary photography. A thermal camera does not capture colors; it registers infrared radiation and translates it into a temperature image. Interpreting those images is pure physics. Factors such as the angle of the shot, material properties (emissivity), sky reflection, wind speed, and even humidity determine whether a measurement is reliable.

When a drone pilot is only trained to keep a device in the air but lacks a structural engineering or thermodynamic foundation, things go wrong inevitably. Software will always generate flashy red and blue spots on the screen. But what do they actually mean?

The difference between a drone pilot and an inspector: A drone license is merely a driver’s license for the platform. It says absolutely nothing about the expertise required to use the camera as a scientific measuring tool.

Two Concerning (and Expensive) Real-World Examples

Faulty interpretations lead directly to wrong decisions. In the field, we regularly come across reports that do not deserve the title “inspection”:

Faulty versus correct thermal drone inspection

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3D Mapping for Industrial Sites: From Centimeter Precision to Instant Cloud Insights

In modern industry and construction, data is the new gold. But data only becomes valuable when it is accurate, up-to-date, and accessible to everyone.

At DroneView.be, we combine the power of the DJI M30T with centimeter-accurate RTK positioning and a revolutionary cloud platform. The result? A complete digital copy of your site, instantly accessible at the office and on-site.

DJI M30T Drone Mapping

The Power of Precision: DJI M30T & RTK-3

For complex projects on industrial sites and large construction yards, a standard drone photo is not enough. Every centimeter counts when calculating volumes or comparing as-built plans. That is why DroneView.be utilizes the DJI Matrice 30T, an industrial powerhouse paired with our own RTK base station (Real-Time Kinematic) and the FLEPOS network.

Thanks to this combination, we achieve a positioning accuracy of 1 centimeter. This means:

  • Reliable volume measurements: No more estimates, but exact calculations of stockpiles (sand, gravel, aggregates).

  • Digital Elevation Models (DEM): Essential for drainage studies and sewage planning.

  • Integrated Measurements: Our RTK station can also be used independently on the ground to measure ground control points (GCPs).

RTK Drone Precision

WebODM Cloud: Your Project Anytime, Anywhere

Collecting data is one thing, making it usable is another. DroneView.be delivers all projects in a full web version via WebODM Cloud. The big advantage? You don’t need heavy software or expensive licenses.

All you need is a standard web browser. This opens new doors for collaboration:

  • In the Office: Study the high-resolution textured 3D model, perform detailed analyses for quotes, and share results with partners or clients via a simple link.

  • On-Site: Open the model on a tablet while standing outside. Check elevation differences on the spot, annotate specific zones, or view the exact coordinates of an object.

From Point Cloud to Smart Analysis

Unlike traditional surveying, which is often based on a limited number of points, our 3D mapping generates a point cloud of millions of points. This ensures an unprecedented level of detail.

3D Volume Measurement Quarry

In the WebODM Viewer, you can use powerful tools yourself:

  1. Interactive 2D Orthomosaics: An up-to-date, crystal-clear map of your entire site.

  2. 3D Volume Calculation: Select a pile of material and calculate the volume with just a few clicks.

  3. Elevation Profiles: Draw a line across the terrain to instantly see cross-sections and slope gradients.

  4. Historical Comparison: Overlay different measurements to monitor the progress of earthworks or inventory.

Why Choose DroneView’s Integrated Approach?

Whether it’s a quarry, a logistics center in the port, or a large-scale construction project, our method minimizes risks and maximizes efficiency. You don’t have to stop production on-site, and you gain a Digital Twin that serves as objective evidence for billing and planning.

Our advantages at a glance:

  • Speed: Large areas mapped in hours, not days.

  • Safety: No physical measurements needed on unstable stocks or dangerous locations.

  • Transparency: Everyone in your team looks at the same, real-time data in the cloud.

Transform Your Project Management

Ready to take the step towards digital site monitoring with centimeter precision? At DroneView.be, we believe in data that works for you.

Contact us today for a free demonstration of WebODM Cloud and discover the possibilities for your industrial site.

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Why Droneview built its own client portal – and is now sharing it with professional drone operators

From an internal solution at Droneview.be to an independent platform for the entire industry.

Anyone who flies drones professionally knows the problem. The flight itself is often the easiest part of the job. After that, the real work begins: sorting through hundreds of photos, processing thermal imagery, generating reports, and delivering everything to the client in a professional manner.

At Droneview.be, we ran into this issue two years ago. WeTransfer links expiring. Emails with attachments of dozens of megabytes being rejected. Clients calling a few weeks later asking if we could “send those photos over one more time.” And thermal images that are barely usable on the client’s computer because a standard JPEG simply contains no temperature data.

We went looking for a solution but never found exactly what we needed. That is why we decided to build our own client portal.

Each client received a personal access code and could consult their projects, photos, thermal images, and reports at any time. Everything neatly brought together in one central location, entirely in the corporate identity of Droneview.be.

What started as an internal tool quickly grew into one of our strongest assets. Clients compare different quotes. When you offer a professional online portal where all photos, reports, and inspections remain clearly accessible alongside high-quality drone imagery, it makes a much stronger impression than a temporary download link that disappears after a few days.

“Could we actually use that too?”

We kept getting this question more and more frequently from fellow drone pilots. It got us thinking and marked the beginning of something much bigger.

Discover DronePortal.app →

From internal solution to DronePortal.app

Over the past year, we have completely rebuilt our client portal into an independent platform that not only works perfectly for Droneview but for every professional drone operator.

This is how DronePortal.app was born.

Starting July 2026, every professional drone operator can set up their own client portal within minutes, without a developer, without their own server, and without technical maintenance.

You simply create an account, choose your own subdomain (yourcompany.droneportal.app), upload your logo, and you can immediately publish projects for your clients.

More than just an online storage space

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Thermal Drone Inspection of a Solar Park: How We Mapped 485 kWp Without Setting Foot on the Roof

An IEC-compliant thermal inspection at industrial scale — from preparation to Digital Twin — by EASA-certified drone pilot Guy Liebert, Droneview.be

Inspecting an industrial solar park of nearly 500 kWp without setting foot on the roof. Locating string faults without shutting down the installation. And making the results immediately available to the installer via an interactive 3D model in the cloud.

This is not a vision of the future — it is what Droneview.be recently achieved for Finaspan NV in Boortmeerbeek. In this article, we explain step by step how a professional drone inspection of a large PV park works, what it delivers and why traditional manual inspection is no longer sufficient for installations of this scale.

thermografische-drone-inspectie-zonnepanelen-boortmeerbeek.jpg

Why Large PV Installations Require a Different Approach

An installation of 485 kWp — such as the Finaspan NV installation — comprises 1,180 solar panels spread across a large industrial roof. A manual inspection of each panel individually is not only time-consuming and costly, it also poses safety risks for technicians working at height.

Moreover, the biggest problem with large installations is not visible damage — you can see that yourself. It is the hidden electrical anomalies: string faults, poorly performing bypass diodes, overheating inverters and gradual degradation that the eye cannot see but that costs yield every month.

A professional thermographic drone inspection solves all these problems in a single flight.

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Paper reality vs. the control tower – Why a 5-minute flight takes 8 days of paperwork

As a professional drone operator, you want one thing: to help your client quickly, safely, and by the book. Especially when it comes to an urgent inspection following hail damage to solar panels. Damage to panels means a loss of efficiency, and the insurance company is waiting for a clear inspection report.

That is where the administrative merry-go-round begins. The location? Gilly, right in the controlled CTR zone of Charleroi Airport (EBCI, zone VLL1A).

According to the official procedures of the skeyes platform, you must submit such an application at least 8 working days in advance. And because Belgian weather is unpredictable, you play it safe: one application for the planned date, and a second application for the following day as a backup. Spot on time, everything strictly by the book.

The flight details?

  • Maximum altitude: 15 meters (well below the level of passing aircraft).
  • Total flight duration: Less than 5 minutes.
  • Timing: Around noon, because a proper damage analysis of solar panels requires optimal solar irradiance.

skeyes DAA Planner Droneview

The clock is ticking… and the system remains silent

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Hail Damage to Solar Panels: What is Visible and What is Not?

After a severe hailstorm, you might think your solar panels came through unscathed. The reality is different — by EASA-certified drone pilot Guy Liebert, Droneview.be

After the recent severe hailstorm in Belgium, we at Droneview.be immediately received a series of calls from owners and companies wanting their solar panels inspected. That is understandable — when you see glass shards on the roof or notice cracked panels, you know there is damage and want it documented as quickly as possible for the insurer.

That visible damage is one story. Broken glass, crushed cells, ripped-off junction boxes — it’s clear, you photograph it, you file it with the insurer. Done.

But the calls that concern us most are from owners who say: “Everything looks fine, no broken panels, but my inverter has been showing less than usual for two days.” Or worse: the owners who notice nothing at all — not yet.

Hail damage to solar panels is 80% invisible to the naked eye — but very real and costly in the long term.

⏱ Recently affected by the hailstorm? Have your installation checked before filing an insurance claim — a professional thermal inspection report significantly strengthens your case. Request an urgent quote →

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Drone Survey in Belgium: What Can a Certified Drone Pilot Do For You?

Published by Guy Liebert, Droneview.be — EASA-certified drone pilot with 30 years of experience.

More and more contractors, property developers and government bodies are asking the same question: can a drone replace the traditional land surveyor? The answer is nuanced — but what is certain: a professional drone survey delivers measurement data faster, cheaper and safer than ever before.

In this article, I explain what drone surveying exactly entails, when you can benefit from it, and what the difference is with a certified land surveyor.

What is drone surveying?

Drone surveying — also called drone mapping, aerial survey or photogrammetric measurement — is the process of mapping a terrain, construction site or object using aerial photos taken by a drone.

The drone flies a systematic pattern over the area to be measured. The images have significant mutual overlap, allowing specialised software to calculate an accurate 2D orthoplan or 3D terrain model.

At Droneview.be, we use the DJI Matrice 30T — an industrial drone with RTK precision (Real-Time Kinematic GPS). This means centimetre-accurate positioning without ground personnel on site.

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Accurate Inventory of Bulk Materials with Drones

Do you truly know how much stock you have?

Many companies storing bulk materials—sand, gravel, ores, crushed stone, or waste streams—face the same challenge: the actual inventory is never quite certain. Traditional measurement methods are time-consuming, labor-intensive, and often inaccurate. The result? Uncertainty during audits, inefficient logistics, and potential financial risks.

Droneview.be offers a modern solution with professional drone technology and RTK precision.

Why traditional inventory falls short

With classic stockpile measurements, employees are deployed to climb heaps, take manual readings, or make estimates based on delivery notes. This entails three concrete problems:

  • Safety Risks: Climbing large stockpiles is dangerous and falls under preventive workplace safety concerns.
  • Time Loss: A full inventory of a large site can take days to complete.
  • Inaccuracy: Manual measurements or visual estimates can result in discrepancies of 5 to 15%—which has a significant financial impact on large volumes.

3D mapping of stockpile measurement with drone and Volume measurement of bulk materials via RTK drone

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