01/09/2019
The construction world is at a crossroads. Thanks to drone technology, companies can access more data than ever before. Drones are safer, faster and cheaper than old industry tools. Most engineering and general contracting firms, however, do not have the internal expertise to navigate Federal Aviation Administration regulations, obtain equipment, train pilots or analyze the data. Here's where Suzanne El-Moursi can help.
"We are an A-to-Z turnkey solution," says El-Moursi, 40, CEO of Uplift Data Partners and newly named general manager for construction and facilities management at PrecisionHawk, which acquired her startup in November. "We have authorizations prefiled across all the major airports and do-not-fly areas." Uplift's staff of 12 is composed of analysts, engineers and client success managers, supplemented by nearly 600 pilots across all 50 states.
Since its start, Uplift's numbers have, well, soared. El-Moursi says Uplift Data saved one client $300,000 by finding a misalignment in the piping and pouring of a building's foundation. The error was caught when the drone's aerial images were overlaid on the building's blueprints. Just a few years ago, this type of discovery from aerial data would have been possible only with helicopter flyovers, which are infrequent due to their $20,000-plus cost. A drone flyover provides closer, clearer pictures for $350.
Austin Rabine, CEO of Chicago-based Site Technologies, uses Uplift's pilot network for site assessments. "Before, we would have to send engineers out to the property. We'd have to fly people all over the country. Thirty sites would take months, whereas now 30 sites might take us a couple of weeks." In addition to saving time, he's reduced costs on most projects. "If it was us walking the site, we would get a few photos. On a large property we might get 20 to 30 pictures, and now we're getting anywhere from hundreds to thousands of pictures depending on the size."
With drone imaging, algorithms can be derived to calculate exactly how much gravel or dirt is delivered to a job site, eliminating ambiguities and overcharges from subcontractors. These advantages are propelling Uplift into the center of a transformative time in construction. "The sentiment of the industry is, 'I can't continue without it because the economics of what I'm doing are going to improve by adopting drones.' "
El-Moursi grew up in Cairo. She earned a bachelor's in operations management from Northern Illinois University, a master's in computer science from DePaul University and an MBA from the University of Chicago's Booth School of Business.
Uplift is the fourth startup in which El-Moursi has held an executive role. Her team operates from the Loop headquarters of construction engineering company Clayco, Uplift's founding parent. She declines to disclose details of revenue, profitability or the terms of the acquisition by PrecisionHawk, which is based in Raleigh, N.C.
