Case study: facade cleaning at Chi-Te Machinery's new Zhubei office
In brief: Chi-Te Machinery's new office building in Zhubei had accumulated staining and water marks across its facade. Rope access or scaffolding carried real fall risk and would have required hoarding, closed circulation routes and disruption to staff movement. General Drone Service replaced the traditional high-access method with a drone fleet, used zoned scheduling to keep disruption low, and captured video throughout for the client's sign-off — deep-cleaning the entire facade safely and without interrupting operations, so the new office opened with the frontage it deserved.
| Project | Detail |
|---|---|
| Site | Chi-Te Machinery new office ("the White House"), Zhubei |
| Location | Zhubei City, Hsinchu County |
| Service | Commercial office facade cleaning |
| Delivered | April 2026 |
Background: the problem with cleaning a brand-new office
Chi-Te Machinery had just commissioned a new office building in Zhubei as its new base. Over years of sun and rain — and through the construction process itself — the facade had gradually accumulated staining and water marks that undermined the appearance of the building and the company's frontage. But cleaning the whole elevation put the company in a familiar bind:
- Traditional methods carry real risk — rope access and scaffolding both suspend workers at height, and the safety exposure and insurance liability give any facilities manager pause
- Circulation routes have to close — erecting scaffolding usually means hoarding off entrances, the car park or the forecourt, obstructing staff and visitors
- Scheduling is hard to reconcile — a long, disruptive programme is difficult to run alongside normal operations
For a company about to open a new office, the worst outcome from "cleaning the facade" is a job that drags on and disrupts both operations and the impression the building makes.
Approach: drone fleet, zoned working, video record
General Drone Service replaced traditional high-access work with a drone fleet, and designed a method around what an office building actually needs — low disruption, and a result that can be signed off:
1. A drone fleet in place of ropes and scaffolding
Several cleaning aircraft were operated from ground level across the full facade. No one was suspended at height and no large-scale scaffold was erected, which removes the fall risk at source and saves the time and route closures that scaffold erection and dismantling demand.
2. Zoned working to minimise office disruption
The facade was divided into zones with a planned cleaning sequence and flexible time slots, working around the peaks of staff movement and visitor reception so the programme ran with almost no effect on the working day.
3. Video captured throughout for sign-off and archiving
High-resolution footage was recorded in parallel with the work, making the before-and-after comparison unambiguous. It was handed over directly for sign-off and archiving, and gives internal facilities maintenance reporting something concrete to cite.
This is precisely why drones have found favour with corporate clients for commercial facade cleaning: safe, quick, and evidenced.
Results
The project delivered on the three measures that matter most to a corporate client:
- ✅ No interruption to operations — zoned working and flexible scheduling kept the impact on the working day to a minimum
- ✅ Shorter programme — the drone fleet removed the long lead-in and lead-out of scaffold erection and dismantling
- ✅ A uniform result across the building — a systematic zone sequence avoided the patchiness that hand cleaning commonly produces
For Chi-Te Machinery this was not simply "the facade got clean". It was a safe, verifiable, non-disruptive outsourcing experience that let the new office open with its best face forward. If you are planning facade cleaning, see also: how to choose a facade cleaning contractor.
What this case shows
The Chi-Te Machinery project demonstrates the full value of drone facade cleaning in a corporate office setting. When the building is a company's own base — one that has to look right and keep running — the method matters for more than whether it cleans well. What counts is that the process is safe, minimally disruptive, and produces a result that can actually be verified.
A drone fleet, zoned working and a complete video record: together, those three let a company take on what used to be the most awkward maintenance job on the building, at lower risk and with far more transparency.
Frequently asked questions
Q1: Will drone facade cleaning disrupt an office building's day-to-day operations?
A: Very little. The aircraft are operated from ground level and the equipment is light, so the work can be split into zones and scheduled flexibly rather than requiring entrances and circulation routes to be closed for an extended period. On the Chi-Te Machinery project the entire building was cleaned without interrupting operations. More detail: facade cleaning service.
Q2: How does a company verify the result and sign the work off?
A: High-resolution video is captured throughout the operation, so before-and-after comparison is direct rather than anecdotal. The footage is handed over for sign-off and archiving, and it also serves as evidence in internal facilities maintenance reporting. For low-disruption approaches to building envelope maintenance generally, see zero-disruption building maintenance.
Q3: What does drone cleaning gain over rope access or scaffolding?
A: The aircraft is flown from the ground, which removes the occupational fall risk of suspending a worker at height. There is no lengthy scaffold erection or route closure, so the programme is shorter and the disruption to normal office use is smaller — and a systematic zone sequence produces a more uniform result across the whole elevation.
Closing
The Chi-Te Machinery facade project is a clear demonstration of what drone technology offers corporate building maintenance. It shows that with a drone fleet and a systematic zone plan, commercial facade cleaning can be safe, efficient and non-disruptive at the same time — letting a company open a new base with a frontage that looks the part.
Does your office building or corporate headquarters need facade cleaning that is safe and does not interrupt operations? See our work-at-height cleaning services.
Get in touch
📞 Phone: +886-2-7733-7678 📧 Email: contact@drone168.com 🏢 Coverage: Taiwan-wide service · Taipei office only
General Drone Service — professional drone cleaning in Taiwan, with over ten years of combined industry experience and more than 50,000㎡ of completed work
