Episode 26: Histories and Futures of Drones in Construction w/ Richard Lopez of Hensel Phelps

Richard Lopez is the National UAS Operation Executive with Hensel Phelps Construction Co., an employee-owned company founded in 1937 that over the last 80 years has grown to be one of the nation’s most recognized general contractors, serving both public and private clients. Richard leads the implementation of new sUAS technology, software, and advancements at Hensel Phelps to increase efficiency and safety on the jobsite while providing valuable information for forecasting, recordkeeping, and as part of the procurement effort. In this episode we go through all the steps it took to launch a drone program in both the risk averse construction industry and the strict regulatory environment of the 333 exemption era. Since then, Hensel Phelps has evolved its drone program into an example for the entire construction industry to follow. Just recently it received the first-ever waiver to fly over people with the aid of a parachute from the FAA. After hearing Richard talk about what he and his team have done with drones over the last few years, we think you’ll understand why they were the first.