Searles Stockpile Volume Calculations

Unmanned Aerial Vehicle technology allows 3D models of stockpiles to be completed more efficiently than using traditional ground surveying methods. Not only is this method more efficient, but it also yields more accurate volumetric calculations due to every detail of an irregular-shaped feature being mapped. Utilizing the 3D model, we quickly develop volumetric calculations and in many cases can produce a volumetric report within 24 hours of collection. The efficiency of UAV technology allows managers of yards, landfills, aggregate plants and other similar facilities to regularly measure stockpile volumes at a fraction of the cost allowing them to measure more often which leads to less material waste.

The Searles stockpile took 15 minutes to fly, 2 hours to process, and 15 minutes to calculate the volume. This new technology allowed us to deliver our client a highly-accurate stockpile volume calculation that same day. Traditional ground surveying would have taken at least a full day before a volume could have been calculated and would not have depicted the stock pile as accurately as a UAV due to the UAV’s ability to capture every feature of the stockpile.