Structure & Building Inspection with Drones - A Virtual Workshop Examining Drone Types, Costs & Benefits
Fee: $695 / Online / Sep 22, 2026 / Course Code: 17-0910-ONL26
OVERVIEW
Please note, This instructor-led course has specific dates and times:
This course is held online over 1 day on the following schedule (All times in Eastern Time Zone): 9:30 am-5:30 pm Eastern (includes usual breaks)
After participating in this course, you will be able to:
- Identify the relevant standards and guidelines for building and structural condition assessments.
- Assess the access considerations involved in evaluating buildings and other structures.
- Evaluate the availability and capabilities of various types of drone hardware, understanding their strengths and limitations.
- Integrate drone-collected data effectively into building and structural condition assessments.
- Apply best practices for ensuring safety and regulatory compliance when using drones for inspections.
Description
Aging structures and buildings require routine inspections and condition surveys to ensure their safety and longevity. This course addresses the challenges professionals face in efficiently accessing and assessing these structural elements while balancing budget constraints. Traditional inspection methods can be time-consuming, costly, and sometimes hazardous. Integrating drone technology allows inspections to be conducted more safely, quickly, and cost-effectively, providing detailed data essential for accurate assessments.
You will learn the fundamentals of drone technology and its application in structural inspections, explore different types of drone hardware, including their strengths and limitations, and discover techniques for integrating drone data with professional assessment methods. Additionally, the course covers practical strategies to incorporate drone-collected data into comprehensive condition surveys, ensuring you can effectively apply this technology in real-world scenarios.
By the end of this course, you will have a thorough understanding of how to leverage drone technology to enhance your inspection processes, ensuring a more precise and efficient evaluation of structures.
Who Should Attend
This course is ideal for a wide range of professionals seeking to enhance their inspection capabilities using drone technology.
Structural Engineers, Project Engineers, and Managers will find valuable insights into efficient assessment techniques. Consulting Engineers and Designers can explore innovative approaches to building evaluations. Facility Supervisors and Managers and Building Services Managers will benefit from practical strategies to streamline their inspection processes. Technicians and Technologists will better understand drone hardware and its applications. Capital Asset Personnel and Inspection Personnel will learn to integrate drone-collected data into their workflows, while Architects will discover new methods for ensuring structural integrity and safety.
Join us to stay at the forefront of inspection technology and elevate your professional skills.
SYLLABUS
Overview of Building and Structural Condition Assessments
- Building condition assessments
- Structural condition assessments
- Standards (ASTM, NRC) & professional practice guidelines
Special Access Considerations
- Special access for large structures (e.g., ladders, boom lifts, swing stages, drone review)
- Advantages vs. disadvantages of each approach (cost, ease, speed, information gathered)
Types of Drone Reviews
- Different types of drone hardware (size, capacity, flight time, etc.)
- Drone capabilities (cameras, IR thermography, etc.)
Restrictions & Considerations
- Licensing, regulations
- Restrictions on "advanced" operations
- Controlled airspace
- Flight over by-standards / populated areas
- Flight plan requirements
Performing a Drone Review
- Preparation (regulatory, privacy considerations, etc.)
- On-site teamwork between drone operator & assessor
- Gathering information
- Augmenting drone information with other tools & methods
- Storing and analyzing information
- Integrating drone review data into a final report
Performing a Drone Review (Continued)
Case Study
- Case study of an inspection carried out by a licensed drone pilot
- Transforming drone data into a condition survey report
- Discussion of strengths and weaknesses of drone review
INSTRUCTOR
Partner & Vice President — BEST Consultants Martin Gerskup Architect Inc.
Mississauga, ON
Mitchell is a Canadian Professional Engineer specializing in the practice of building science and restoration engineering with a background in structural and building systems engineering.
He has spent the last twenty years applying building science principles to the investigation and repair of existing structures, with an emphasis on resolving problems affecting the building envelope. This includes preparing hundreds of condition assessments and reserve fund studies.
President — BEST MGA (2025) Inc.
Toronto, ON
Martin has over 35 years of experience and is the president of BEST Consultants Martin Gerskup Architect Inc. He specializes in the field of investigative architecture and building science with particular emphasis on the resolution of problems affecting the building envelope. Martin is a member of the Ontario Association of Architects (OAA) and has served in various capacities on the Ontario Building Envelope Council (OBEC) Board of Directors from 1991 to 1997.
He was president of OBEC from 1993 to 1994, a member of the council for the OAA from 2003 to 2005, and a member of the ULC Thermal Insulation Committee. During his tenure on the council at the OAA, Mr. Gerskup was Chair of the Discipline Committee while also serving on the following committees: Practice Committee, Registration Committee, Public Interest Review Committee, Communications Committee, and the University Liaison Task Group.
In addition to authoring and presenting many technical papers on the subject of building science, Mr. Gerskup taught as an assistant adjunct professor and tutor at the University of Toronto Faculty of Architecture, Landscape and Design from 1999 to 2001 and at the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science at Ryerson University in 2002.
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