{"id":716732,"date":"2025-01-09T06:05:45","date_gmt":"2025-01-09T14:05:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/?post_type=blog&#038;p=716732"},"modified":"2025-01-13T11:32:34","modified_gmt":"2025-01-13T19:32:34","slug":"salem-public-works-pioneers-drones-as-a-service-program","status":"publish","type":"blog","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/blog\/salem-public-works-pioneers-drones-as-a-service-program","title":{"rendered":"Public Works Pioneers a Drones-as-a-Service Program for Salem, Oregon"},"author":671,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"sync_status":"","episode_type":"","audio_file":"","castos_file_data":"","podmotor_file_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[],"tags":[141,40532,161432,339192,276572],"industry":[],"esri-blog-category":[491052],"esri_blog_department":[478202],"class_list":["post-716732","blog","type-blog","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","tag-drones","tag-monitoring","tag-operations","tag-oregon","tag-public-works","esri-blog-category-public-works","esri_blog_department-infrastructure"],"acf":{"video_source":"","video_start":"","video_stop":"","short_description":"In Salem, Oregon, the city\u2019s public works department has established a comprehensive drone program that is revolutionizing city operations.","pdf":{"host_remotely":false,"file":"","file_url":""},"flexible_content":[{"acf_fc_layout":"sidebar","layout":"standard","image_reference":null,"image_reference_figure":"","spotlight_image":null,"section_title":"","spotlight_name":"","position":"Right","content":"The Public Works Department for the City of Salem in Oregon has built a robust drone program that offers services ranging from utility inspections to community engagement, all while fully leveraging the latest in GIS technology.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Key Takeaways<\/strong>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>In Oregon\u2019s capital city, a comprehensive drone program supports city operations and well-informed decisions.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Salem's drones-as-a-service program provides cost-effective aerial solutions for urban management and public safety.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Integrated with GIS, the program aids in emergency management, construction, and infrastructure maintenance through real-time data collection.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>","snippet":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"For the City of Salem, Oregon\u2019s capital, a fleet of drones supports nearly every city department. The city\u2019s drones-as-a-service program, launched by Salem Public Works in 2018, deploys six drones that can perform safety inspections and deliver images for digital models. Drones in Salem have become integral to construction planning, community outreach, emergency management, and more.\r\n\r\nDrone operations are managed as part of the city\u2019s enterprise geographic information system (GIS) suite of technology. The imagery drones collect is processed into 2D and 3D data products that can be integrated onto the city\u2019s maps, providing high-resolution and up-to-date details.\r\n\r\nUtility operations managers and safety inspectors, for instance, request drone imagery of critical infrastructure such as reservoirs, water towers, and bridges. Drones can easily reach areas that would be risky for staff to capture in person. That includes getting a bird\u2019s eye view of roads susceptible to periodic landslides due to hillside creep and cracks.\r\n\r\n\u201cDrones are a perfect way to do that work. In fact, the first request we had after a landslide was, \u2018Can you deploy the drone team right now?\u2019 And since we had all the processes in place, we were in the air within an hour,\u201d said Nitin Joshi, the city\u2019s environmental and operations technology manager.\r\n\r\nDrones proved crucial in Salem <a href=\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/blog\/visualizing-ice-storm-damage-aided-salems-response\/?\">following a major ice storm<\/a> in February 2021, which resulted in widespread road closures, debris removal needs, and downed powerlines.\r\n\r\n\u201cYou could almost make a case for a drone program\u2019s existence purely on emergency management,\u201d said Devin Doring, technical services supervisor for Salem Public Works. \u201cWe can rapidly document conditions, and provide images for FEMA documentation,\u201d showing how drones could speed funding for the city\u2019s recovery."},{"acf_fc_layout":"gallery","gallery_images":[716802,716792,716782]},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"<h3><strong>Showing, Not Telling with Drones<\/strong><\/h3>\r\nWhen the city wanted to showcase unique amenities in each of its 90 parks\u2014in just 90 days\u2014the Public Works Department and its drones got the job done.\r\n\r\n\u201cIt was a monumental undertaking,\u201d said Doring. The project was part of the city\u2019s push to draw more attention and visitors to city playgrounds, picnic areas, and ball fields. The park inventory campaign was a success, showcasing both the value of the city\u2019s parks and the benefits of drone-captured imagery for residents and city staff alike. Salem's Parks and Recreation Department continues to employ drones and infrared technologies to assess turf health and determine areas that need reseeding after public events.\r\n\r\nFor Salem construction projects, drones have proven to be a cost-effective option. They provide engineers with valuable videos and images that can be used for monitoring progress, both before and after the project starts. Most recently, drones were used to capture footage of a dam for a grant proposal to fund repairs expected to cost $60 million. The data was rendered to illustrate the proposed improvements and shared <a href=\"https:\/\/storymaps.arcgis.com\/briefings\/d1e4c8b2cd054e16afbe01e67a1805c2\">as a digital story<\/a> with the proposal.\r\n\r\nThe ability to show the need, rather than just explain it in words or with an architectural drawing, can be instrumental in securing funding, according to Joshi.\r\n<h3><strong>Establishing a One-Stop Shop for Drone Services<\/strong><\/h3>\r\nIn the past, Salem staff relied on a once-a-year flyover of the entire city to capture aerial imagery. Now, with the drone program, employees can request the aerial data they need more quickly, and for specific projects.\r\n\r\nIt just takes a simple survey form to make flight requests. City employees can also access a digital archive to view a map of past drone flights, a timeline of when requests were made, and data on the drone program\u2019s workload. Details include completed operations, new requests, processing times, and projects that are planned but delayed.\r\n\r\nThe customized site also allows Salem staff to access a catalog of all imagery captured by drones using ArcGIS Flight. Users can filter through high-resolution images called orthomosaics based on mission date, title, or metadata tags, and use the data as needed.\r\n\r\nSalem Public Works staff were inspired by a presentation at the Northwest GIS User Group Conference. Seeing how drones fit into another city\u2019s workflows encouraged Doring to work with Joshi to create a drone program of their own.\r\n\r\n\u201cWe quickly realized all the different use cases for drones, but securing funding for them was another matter entirely,\u201d Joshi said. So was making a case for the program to be overseen by Public Works.\r\n\r\nThe case was made in the context of the daily tasks <a href=\"https:\/\/mediaspace.esri.com\/media\/t\/1_aoizo6r4?co3=true\">Salem Public Works<\/a> staff already do\u2014planning, constructing, and maintaining the city\u2019s infrastructure.\r\n\r\n\u201cIn my mind, it made perfect sense,\u201d Joshi said. \u201cThe work we do deals with geographical information. Drones would be a natural asset to add to our program.\u201d\r\n\r\nOver the following year, Joshi and Doring sought advice from drone program leaders in other cities. They established critical relationships with their local airport authority to ensure compliance with all regulations, and meticulously prepared the documentation, legal requirements, manuals, and processes required for a successful program launch. It was also crucial that they get support from management, and that the city\u2019s risk and legal departments were on board. Those conversations can take time, Doring warned.\r\n\r\n\u201cIt\u2019s not just, \u2018Let\u2019s go buy a drone at the store and try flying it, and then we\u2019ll develop the program,\u201d Joshi added."},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":716772,"image_position":"center","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"<h3><strong>The Future of Aerial Insights <\/strong><\/h3>\r\nFor municipalities looking to follow in Salem\u2019s footsteps, Joshi advises patience and a focus on making sure that the program\u2019s value is directly tied to existing work processes. The team behind the Salem drone program is also responsible for regular GIS-related utility management duties. Balancing these tasks has been key to the initiative\u2019s success.\r\n\r\n\u201cOur goal is to provide support for any projects that the city might have or to share interesting things from our department,\u201d Joshi said.\r\n\r\nAccording to both Doring and Joshi, the program has more than justified its investment. Looking forward, they are eager to explore the integration of lidar sensors to further enhance their 3D GIS capabilities.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nLearn how <a href=\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/en-us\/arcgis\/products\/arcgis-reality\/platform\/drone-mapping\">GIS professionals utilize drones to add aerial context to operations<\/a>."}],"references":null},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v25.9 (Yoast SEO v25.9) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>How Salem&#039;s Drone Program Pioneers the Future of Public Works<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"In Salem, Oregon, the city\u2019s public works department has established a comprehensive drone program that is revolutionizing city operations.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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