Bilal Yasir has a passion for bringing his problem-solving skills and tech savviness to assist project teams. He emphasizes that PCL’s purpose of “Building a better future, together” is not just a slogan but a reflection of the impactful projects that clients partner with PCL to undertake, literally building the spaces and places where people live, work and play. He is also passionate about the potential for technology to lean, enhance and de-risk construction methods on projects, often offering unique solutions to the challenges project teams may encounter.

As a PCL drone pilot, Bilal has unique expertise operating drones on large project sites to support a number of operations, from aerial photography to data collection to site mapping and more. He believes this technology is becoming a necessary resource for major and complex jobs. Drones are now playing a vital role in planning, not only by capturing bird’s-eye views of sites but also by informing the development of 3D point-cloud models of sites. He understands firsthand how drones have empowered construction teams to look at the bigger picture and provide a far more informed context for planning.

The cost savings in optimizing complex scheduling plans with third-party contractors are hard to miss. While working on the CA$1.7 billion new St. Paul’s Hospital project in Vancouver, British Columbia, Bilal helped coordinate the arrival of 520 concrete trucks — one every 75 seconds — to undertake a continuous concrete pour over a 13-hour period using drone footage to optimize the ideal site access and concrete pump locations. This plan was perfectly executed on time and on schedule.   

Bilal is excited about continuing to explore and advance the potential benefits of technology, such as 3D modeling and 4D animations, drones, GIS and virtual reality to drive greater efficiency, quality and value to project delivery. Expect PCL’s Integrated Construction Technology experts to take to the skies when traditional methods are proving limited, and don’t be surprised if you see Bilal flying a drone behind the scenes.