Real-world Success with the Ranger Pro drone from WISPR Systems

The heavy highway construction industry is very demanding and highly competitive, with projects ranging from new road construction, maintenance and repairs to storm sewer layout and bridge construction and maintenance. The technical knowledge required to be competitive goes without saying but equally important is the equipment these companies rely on to complete the task at hand.

Enter Dan Williams Company, a highway construction company with operations in West and Central Texas and with more than 30 years in the business. Its surveying department in Central Texas, led by Raul Garcia, is in charge of interpreting construction plans and documents and transforming this information into usable layouts – the bridge between a set of plans and a finished structure. Having joined the organization in 2014, Garcia has nearly 24 years of experience in the surveying field.

Why the Ranger Pro?

Dan Williams Company purchased a Ranger Pro by WISPR Systems in the summer of 2023, the first drone acquisition the organization had made.

Garcia said that a primary reason the company invested in a drone was due to contracts with the State of Texas that require such technology and capabilities.

“We had been discussing internally the acquisition of a drone for our own purposes, and we were, in a way, forced to get into the game through one of our state contracts,” Garcia said.

Another main reason the company chose the Ranger Pro is because WISPR products are made in the U.S.

“The main thing about WISPR was that it’s American-made,” Garcia said. “Most state or government institutions, if you’re going to fly, have certain restrictions and requirements.”

Creating efficiencies means saving time and money

A clear example of the great advantage of having the right equipment on your side came in early 2024. Dan Williams Company received a contract to reconstruct a country road about a mile long; however, the contract had absolutely no surveying or design completed. With only a photo of the road with a few markings indicated on it, the company was tasked with demolishing it and rebuilding a nicer, wider road.

Garcia said that in this particular case, the normal way to proceed with these projects would be to get a crew of 2-3 people and do a full survey of the road that would normally take 2-3 days, and then would require 2-3 days of processing and designing.

“With the Ranger Pro, what would have taken two weeks worth of work took two days,” Garcia said. “Now, instead of sending a crew and having that crew do a lot of measurements, we get up in the air. The Ranger Pro has made my job much easier.”

On the same day, Garcia’s crew flew a photogrammetry payload and a LiDAR payload.

“The Ranger Pro increased our ability to capture data and the ability to do it better…We can turn around projects faster
than we normally would.”

“We collected all of the topographic information on the road, and with the Ranger Pro, it only took a couple of hours,” he said. “We bring down the drone, download the data and obtain not only a very detailed 3D photo of the project, but we’re able to utilize that information to create a better, improved road.”

“The Ranger Pro increased our ability to capture data and the ability to do it better,” Garcia said. “We can turn around projects faster than we normally would.”

In addition, the Ranger Pro has allowed Dan Williams to maintain smaller crews with a survey team of just four people throughout Central and South Texas.

“The people that we have working for us are smart, but very efficient,” Garcia said. “The Ranger Pro and the ability to capture all this data without us having to hire a second crew fits perfectly in the culture of what we do at Dan Williams. The technology is really what it comes down to with Ranger Pro – we can do things more efficiently.”

Garcia also said that having the technology gives Dan Williams Company a leg up on the competition when it comes to winning contracts.

“When customers are aware that we have this technology, it allows us to be more competitive, and the finished project will be of equal or more superior quality than we promised because of the Ranger Pro’s technology,” he added.

Stellar Service and Support

Since discussions began, Garcia said the WISPR Systems service and support team as well as his local dealer have “been there every step of the way.”

“Everybody who was involved in the sale of the equipment was extremely helpful, extremely knowledgeable, and more than anything, dedicated to get us flying and doing what we’re supposed to do,” he said.

Garcia noted that Dan Williams Company did encounter some issues with its Ranger Pro in the beginning, but “the truth of the matter is that from day one, when we were having issues, WISPR has been responsive. They have listened to us and tried their best to the best of their abilities, and I can say that WISPR and our dealer have helped us get to where we need to be.”

“The entire drone operation was completely new to us,” Garcia said. “It’s not just flying and getting the job done – there is an ecosystem of steps. We had to learn the process and what was required. We needed to go from knowing nothing to producing something.”

To learn more about WISPR products, click here.

 

 

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Founded in 2016, WISPR Systems strives not only to manufacture reliable and affordable American-made drones with turnkey payload options for commercial operations. WISPR Systems supports various industries with our drones such as Surveying, Mapping, Telecommunications, Utilities, Public Safety, and much more. WISPR Systems and our affiliated distributors strive to provide the best drone and service money can buy! WISPR Systems is a one stop shop for all your commercial drone needs!