Stockpile measurement by drone, flown for you in Texas and the Gulf Coast
We send an FAA Part 107 certified, insured pilot with a survey drone, RTK positioning and ground control to your yard, fly every pile in one visit, and put the volumes in your hands: each pile’s cubic yards and tonnes, with the base it was measured from printed beside the number. No one climbs a pile, and the yard keeps working.
What comes back from one visit.
A stockpile survey is only useful if somebody can sign for the number. These are what we hand over, from the same tools anyone can try on the demo quarry.
- Every pile's volume
- Cubic yards or cubic metres for each pile you name, from the terrain model rather than an eyeball, with the area it covered.
- Tonnes, if you give a density
- Each material's density turns its volume into tonnes, the number your inventory and your accountant actually use.
- The base, printed
- Every volume says what it was measured from: a plane fitted to the ground around the toe, a level, the lowest point, or last month's survey.
- The survey itself
- The orthomosaic of the whole yard, the surface and terrain models, the point cloud and a 3D mesh, open in the browser.
- Exports
- Excel and CSV for the inventory system, DXF for the drawing office, LandXML for surfaces, and share links for people with no account.
- Month against month
- Fly again next month and the new piles sit on the same site's timeline, so the change between two dates is measured.
How a flown survey runs.
Flown surveys are part of Enterprise, where we also run the photogrammetry. If you already fly your own drone, send the photos instead and we process the flight.
Tell us the yard
Address, which piles, the materials and their densities, any induction, and a quiet window. A phone call settles it.
We fly it
One visit. Targets go down, the drone flies the yard in parallel lines, and the photographs and positions come home the same day.
We process it
The photographs become the orthomosaic and terrain model; each pile is drawn at its toe and measured against the base that fits it.
You open the numbers
The flight, the volumes and the report land in your Groundsight site, for your whole team and anyone you share it with.
Why we print the base.
The same flight can give very different volumes depending on the ground the software assumes under the pile. In our own test, a cone on ground falling 1 in 20, a slope you would hardly notice on foot, came out 68% high when it was measured from a flat base through its lowest point, and within about 1% of its true volume from a plane fitted to the ground around its edge.
So every volume we deliver says which base it used, and on a yard that slopes we fit the base to the ground around each pile. The stockpile volume guide walks through all six bases and when each is right, and the quarry inventory guide covers density and month-end reconciliation.
Where we fly.
Based in Houston, flying across Texas and the Gulf Coast. Further away is possible too, with the travel quoted before anything is booked.
- Texas
- Houston, Beaumont and Port Arthur, Dallas and Fort Worth, Austin, San Antonio, Corpus Christi, the Valley
- Louisiana
- Lake Charles, Lafayette, Baton Rouge, New Orleans
- Mississippi and Alabama
- Gulfport, Biloxi, Pascagoula, Mobile
- Florida's Gulf coast
- Pensacola, Panama City, Tampa, Sarasota, Fort Myers
Typical yards: quarries and aggregate yards, sand and gravel pits, ready-mix and asphalt plants, port and bulk terminals, salt, scrap, mulch and biomass piles, and earthworks stockpiles on construction sites.
Questions before you book.
Which areas do you fly stockpile surveys in?
Texas and the Gulf Coast: Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida's Gulf coast. We are based in Houston, so sites across Texas and along the coast are routine; a site further away can still be flown, with the travel quoted up front.
What do we need to give you before the flight?
The site's address and gate, which piles to measure (a marked-up plan or a phone photo of the yard is enough), the density of each material if you want tonnes, any site safety induction, and a window when the yard is quiet. We bring the drone, the pilot, RTK positioning and the ground control.
Are your pilots certified and insured?
Yes. Every flight is flown by an FAA Part 107 certified remote pilot, and the operation is insured. If your site needs a certificate of insurance or a copy of the pilot's certificate before we arrive, ask when you book and it comes with the confirmation.
Can you fly our yard every month for inventory?
Yes, on a schedule you set: month-end, quarter-end, or before and after a big sale. Every flight lands on the same site in Groundsight, so this month's piles sit beside last month's and the difference is measured, not estimated.
Do we need a Groundsight account to get the numbers?
The results are delivered into your own Groundsight organisation, where your whole team can open them at no charge per person, and share links work for anyone without an account. The volumes also export to Excel, CSV and DXF for your inventory system and your accountant.
How much does a flown stockpile survey cost?
It is quoted per site, from the area, the number of piles and how often you want it flown; flown surveys are part of Enterprise, priced by how often you fly. Ask for a call back and we will price your yard.
Get your yard priced.
Tell us where the yard is and how often you want it measured, and we call you back. Or write to service@malya.io.