Construction is one of the main U.S. industries in which unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are making their mark.  Drones can quickly survey a construction site to assess its stock and inventory; they can also conduct random safety checks at a fraction of the cost of human inspections – and without exposing field workers to injury.

But in some countries like Kenya where the construction industry is highly unregulated and building collapses all-too-common, drones are also becoming vital for identifying illegal permitting and contracting practices.  In this case, it’s the government, not private industry, that is taking the lead in the hopes of holding renegade construction companies accountable for property damage and loss of life.

Kenya deregulated its construction sector back in 1986.  The country’s legislature largely neutered the enforcement power of Kenya’s state National Construction Corporation (NCA) which continues to suffer from chronic understaffing.  Even if the NCA wanted to more closely monitor the country’s burgeoning construction sites, it simply lacks the human inspectors required.  Drones, of course, are natural force multipliers.  A single drone can fly over several widely dispersed construction sites and observe their operations in a single day, avoiding confrontation with an offending company; a team of field inspectors walking the sites on foot might take 10 times as long and cost 20 times as much, to say nothing of exposing inspectors to injury.

“On the issue of staffing, we are not able to be in every county,” NCA executive director Maurice Aketch told reporters in June, justifying the use of drones in place of inspectors. Drones aren’t just collecting video surveillance; once infractions are detected, the drones are also programmed to contact authorities for speedy enforcement action. “If there is malpractice by construction workers and contractors, there is an act put in place to take action on them,” Sketch noted.

Meanwhile, several Kenyan Non-Government Organizations (NGO’s) are deploying drones to monitor threats to the environment and to deliver vaccines to rural areas to combat malaria outbreaks.  And continent-wide, the government has recently joined forces with its neighbors to contract specialized instant logistics drone companies like Zipline and Swoop Aero to deliver healthcare supplies to remote and undeserved communities.

While commercial drone use is expanding rapidly, Kenya still has strict rules in place that limit recreational flying.  Hobbyists must apply for a license and must first join a registered drone flying club.  And non-citizens, including foreign tourists, are banned from flying drones, but in special cases, and for a hefty fee, may be granted a non-renewable 30-day permit.

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