Enhancing Construction Dispute Mediation and Risk Management Using Unmanned Aerial Systems

The use of unmanned aerial systems (UAS) has become increasingly prevalent across various industrial sectors, owing to their diversified noteworthy benefits and preferable advantages in favor of productivity, efficiency, and performance. UASs can achieve significant savings in time, cost, and effort resources, which can be sometimes remarkable and technically complicated. Nonetheless, in spite of all these considerable practicalities, their pace of adoption in the construction sector recorded low rates. Based on successful trials conducted by experienced construction engineers, confidence in UAS has increased due to their significant benefits to project management practices. These benefits include improved quality control and performance through regular tracking of tasks, risk management, progress auditing, cost control, timesaving, and resource allocation. However, the application of UASs in critical areas such as claims management remains unexplored in the literature. UAS systems facilitate quick, informed decision-making for construction consultants by enabling flexible inspections of inaccessible sites. This study aims to identify and classify the key benefits of UAS systems in mitigating risks and resolving disputes before they escalate into major claims or disputes. Quantitative data from construction experts was collected via online survey. The results show that UAS systems improve construction by delivering real-time data, enabling rapid progress and risk audits, and helping professionals improve productivity, completion rates, and quality.