Proptech is maturing and now impacts our relationship with all buildings, whether they are our homes, places of work, or we have a management and maintenance responsibility for them.
IoT (Internet of Things) can now connect everyday items to the internet, aiming to automate or enhance our lives (see internet connected toasters or kettles saving us precious morning minutes). We can control home security or our climate control systems remotely, with AI increasingly taking over those responsibilities. As buyers or tenants, we can walk through properties far away without leaving our computers, and as contractors and engineers, we can remote-monitor plant and equipment, and make adjustments or order spare parts in anticipation of failure.
The proptech toolkit now available to surveyors has been revolutionary, and without it, I would not be running this business! For you as managers, owners or developers of blocks of flats, our proptech can be hugely beneficial to you in establishing the condition of a building and how it is ‘performing’. We are able to access and record areas that were previously difficult, expensive or unsafe to reach, and now there is tech that permits non-destructive analysis, getting under the skin of the building’s envelope, to see what’s there and if it’s doing its job effectively – especially when we are talking about energy performance and the UK’s net zero/sustainability goals.
Here I highlight some of the proptech solutions available now to specialist surveyors.
Drones
Over the last 10 years the use of drones in surveying has transformed how buildings are inspected. They enable surveyors to assess areas which would otherwise be inaccessible or require specialist equipment or scaffolding. The condition of roofs, elevated sections and façades can be easily and safely inspected and recorded. Using platforms such as survaey.io, surveyors can share the drone imagery and their findings with stakeholders and communicate the evidence of any remedial actions or maintenance that is required. Disappearing are the days of assumed conditions and provisional sums based on guesswork, meaning budgets are set more realistically and leaseholders have confidence that resources and their service charge monies are being allocated accurately.
Thermographic Surveys
Infrared thermal surveys provide evidence beyond the visual spectrum. By recording temperature differences across the surface of an elevation or roof, heat patterns can be recorded then analysed, and can identify faults such as insulation gaps and failing elements which allow heat to escape. These surveys can be combined with airtightness analysis to further understand where and how heat is escaping. Using this information, property managers can proactively address these issues and put in place plans to improve the energy efficiency of the building. Thermal imaging can also identify if water is being retained under flat roofs, avoiding expensive and intrusive investigations.
Leak Detection
There are several non-destructive tech solutions to identify, trace and remedy leaks.
Electronic leak detection and Troxler surveys (along with thermal surveys) are non-destructive methods of identifying moisture in flats roofs. Passing an electrical current across the roof or by using a small nuclear device that looks similar to a hovering lawnmower, you can create a moisture map of the surface. Fluorescent dye testing simulates water ingress allowing a surveyor to trace the path that water takes across a surface of a building.
Time-lapse Photography
Time-lapse photography is a powerful tool enabling monitoring of works and allowing developers and other stakeholders to track project progress, ensuring works are correctly undertaken in the areas under video scrutiny. By documenting the entire project, this encourages transparency and accountability and provides a long-term record of the transformative works.
New technologies are emerging and we’re keeping a constant watch on AI solutions for the built environment. Some solutions will be accessible to property managers but for the time being at least, the specialist proptech is primarily used by those who have invested in it, and, importantly, trained to use it effectively.
Adam Bailey, Director, EK Specialist Surveys
Adam is a pioneer of the drone industry, the first to specifically provide drone surveys of the built environment in the UK and has continued to lead on innovation in the property and construction sectors. Adam is an experienced building surveyor in his own right and worked for several years as a residential block manager.
