The Gauteng Department of Infrastructure Development (GDID) last week officially launched its drone programme to help monitor the timely delivery of construction projects in its portfolio.
The drone will be used in conjunction with the department’s electronic monitoring hub and project nerve centre, Lutsinga Infrastructure House, as a monitoring tool during the construction of public projects.
“This new intervention essentially combines human intelligence, business intelligence and now artificial intelligence to ensure that the entire value chain of project delivery is efficient and that projects are delivered on time, within cost and at the right quality,” says Infrastructure Development MEC Jacob Mamabolo.
The project will ensure construction work is done in line with work schedules and that safety compliance on construction sites meets health standards.
The pilot kicked off in January, with one drone to monitor the first consolidated pipeline of projects that had been rigorously tested by means of the newly developed project toolkit, the Project Readiness Matrix.
“The department has, for the first time, publicly unveiled a three-year portfolio of all its community infrastructure projects, including new schools, libraries, clinics, licensing centres and community centres, following two years of behind-the-scenes planning to manage its vast and complex projects,” Mamabolo notes.