Service 01
Preserve changing site conditions through coordinated aerial, ground-based, and spatial documentation.
Purpose
Site conditions change. Equipment is moved, repairs begin, demolition proceeds, weather alters surfaces, temporary elements disappear, and access changes. Documentation preserves spatial context for later review after those conditions are no longer available on site.
Context
A photograph records one viewpoint. An investigation, claim, or design review usually needs something else: how a location sat in relation to access, equipment, adjoining rooms, or the rest of the site. Once equipment is moved or a surface is repaired, that relationship is gone unless it was recorded as a spatial whole.
Forensic mapping exists to keep that whole available. SterFlies captures and organizes the record. It does not determine causation, responsibility, or the meaning of a condition. Those conclusions remain with the qualified professional reviewing the work.
Scope
Capture is selected for the site and the questions the record needs to support. The examples below reflect current field documentation work, not every possible environment.
Layout, access, and surrounding conditions before they are cleared.
Progress, existing conditions, and staging as work advances.
Yards, equipment surroundings, and operational context.
Open conditions that will be backfilled or altered.
Envelope, roof geometry, drainage, and access.
Room relationships, corridors, and close-range conditions.
Clearances, placement, and adjacent work areas.
Interior layout and exterior context for sampling review.
Existing-condition records for later comparison.
Site layout and surrounding conditions where access allows.
Methods
Aerial and terrestrial methods are complementary. Combined capture can preserve more complete site context than either method alone.
Interactive walkthroughs, including Matterport, are used when a navigable interior record is the appropriate deliverable. The IAQ project below shows how exterior reconstruction and interior capture can be paired.
Deliverables
Scaled aerial map of site layout, access, and surrounding conditions.
Navigable geometry for remote review after conditions have changed.
Spatial dataset that can support measurement and further analysis.
Still photography for conditions, access, and visual reference.
Interior tour that preserves room layout and annotated locations.
Distances, areas, or volumes derived from the agreed capture scope.
Marked stills that connect observations to a location in the record.
Organized exports as specified for the engagement.
Deliverables are selected according to project scope, site conditions, and documentation objectives.
Measurement
Distances, areas, and volumes can be taken from an orthomosaic, point cloud, or model when the capture was planned for measurement. Overlap, surface texture, occlusions, and any control used for the engagement all affect what can be measured later. A number from the model should be read with that method in mind.
Photogrammetric measurement is not a licensed land survey, an as-built certification, or a stamped engineering product. When a project requires a surveyor, engineer, or other licensed measurement, that work stays with the licensed professional. The SterFlies record can still provide context around it.
Field conditions
Sites limit what can be captured. Active work, restricted airspace, weather, interior lighting, reflective surfaces, and access controls all change the plan. The useful response is to state what was reachable and what was not, then choose a method that still preserves the conditions the review needs.
Aerial coverage is often the right overview and the wrong interior record. Ground-based capture is often the right room record and the wrong site map. Combining them is a scope decision, not a default package. Flight limits, scan line of sight, and safety requirements are planned before capture, not repaired afterward.
Applications
SterFlies produces the record. Qualified professionals interpret that record.
Preserve scene layout and surrounding conditions for later review.
Record existing conditions before they are covered or altered.
Connect interior sampling context with exterior building conditions.
Document conditions that support later claims review.
Provide spatial context that photographs alone often cannot reconstruct.
Preserve access, staging, and site layout for later analysis.
Create a reviewable record of current building and site conditions.
Applications
Incident and investigation work uses the record to preserve layout, access, and surrounding conditions before a scene is cleared. Construction and industrial work uses it to keep exposed conditions, staging, and site layout available after they are covered or changed. Industrial hygiene and IAQ work uses interior continuity and exterior context so later sampling review can be located in the building, without SterFlies performing the assessment.
In each case the documentation supports someone else’s professional judgment. Expert, insurance, and facility reviewers can use the spatial record when photographs and notes no longer reconstruct the site. The record does not replace that review.
Workflow
01
Identify what conditions need to be preserved, measured, or reviewed.
02
Determine what can be captured safely from the air and on the ground.
03
Choose aerial, terrestrial, thermal, or combined methods for the required record.
04
Capture field conditions systematically.
05
Create the agreed spatial, visual, and supporting deliverables.
06
Provide organized documentation for project teams and qualified professionals.
SterFlies captures and organizes field conditions. Interpretation of those conditions remains with the appropriate qualified professional.
Limits
The practice preserves visible and spatial conditions. It does not determine accident causation, mold or IAQ conclusions, code compliance, structural adequacy, or legal responsibility. Annotations mark locations. They do not validate laboratory results or opinions placed beside them.
Operational work is conducted under an FAA Part 107 remote pilot certificate where aircraft are used, with OSHA 10 construction safety training and insured operations. Those credentials support field access and flight operations. They are not industrial-hygiene, engineering, or surveying licenses.
Project
An example of combined interior and exterior documentation. Results are limited to what was captured and delivered.
Interior and exterior documentation
Articles
Tell us what needs to be captured, measured, or preserved and we can determine the appropriate documentation approach.