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My site's new drone mapping software crashed right before a big concrete pour

This happened last Thursday morning, about an hour before the trucks were set to roll in. We were using a new drone to map the pad for a strip mall job, and the software just froze. The whole tablet screen went black and wouldn't reboot. I had to call the project manager and tell him we had no updated topo data. We ended up having to use the week-old survey stakes, which felt like a huge step back. The tech support line put me on hold for 25 minutes. Has anyone else had a major tech fail right at a critical moment? What's your backup plan when the fancy gear gives up?
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3 Comments
bailey.jennifer
Honestly using week-old stakes isn't a step back, it's just using the proven method. Tech fails but a physical stake doesn't crash.
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quinncoleman
Yeah I was all in on the new mapping stuff too, thought it made everything foolproof. Watching that tablet die right before the pour was a real wake up call. Now I make sure we have the old survey prints laminated and ready in the truck, no matter what.
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hall.jenny
hall.jenny6d agoTop Commenter
Used to think new tech was always better. That crash changed my mind, now I keep paper plans in the truck just in case.
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