Drone stockpile and volumetric surveys
Stockpile, quarry and cut-and-fill volumes measured from the air against a documented base surface, while the site keeps working.
A drone volumetric survey rebuilds each stockpile's surface from RTK-positioned imagery and subtracts a documented base surface from it. The base is defined once, recorded in the report and reused, so the change from one visit to the next is a measure of material moved. Capture takes hours, nobody climbs a pile and the site doesn't shut down; volumes, surfaces and the Survey Quality Report are issued two to three business days after capture. Indicative pricing as at October 2026, exclusive of GST: around $500–$2,000 a visit, with per-visit rates falling for recurring monthly programs. Quarries, bulk materials yards and construction earthworks across Queensland, with South East Queensland as home ground.
Volumes your reconciliation can stand on
A walked GPS pole samples a pile point by point and interpolates the rest. The drone measures the whole surface, crests and scallops included, against a documented base surface rather than an assumed flat plane.
Capture parameters are fixed from one visit to the next, which keeps month-on-month movement comparable and the figures auditable.
| Measured | STOCKPILES · CUT-FILL · RECONCILIATION |
|---|---|
| Basis | DOCUMENTED BASE SURFACE — NOT ASSUMED PLANES |
| Repeatability | FIXED CAPTURE PARAMETERS, EVERY CYCLE |
| Output | VOLUME REPORT + SURFACES + SURVEY QUALITY REPORT |
| Turnaround | 2–3 BUSINESS DAYS FROM CAPTURE |
SURFACE MODEL — PILE AND BASEHow the number is built
A volume is one surface subtracted from another. The top surface is the pile as it stands on the day, reconstructed from imagery position-stamped by RTK and checked against ground control. The bottom surface is the base the pile sits on, and on most sites that is where the uncertainty lies.
Where a pre-fill ground model exists, it's used. Where it doesn't, the base is established from the surrounding terrain and the assumption is written into the report. Either way the same base is reused on every following visit, so a quantity surveyor comparing March with April is working from one base, and the difference between the two figures is material moved.
| Error source | What it does to the volume | What controls it |
|---|---|---|
| Camera position | Shifts or warps the whole surface | RTK on every frame, plus ground control measured independently |
| Surface detail | Rounds off crests and toes, smoothing volume away | Ground sample distance and image overlap, set in the flight plan |
| Toe definition | Often the largest practical error | A documented base, reused between surveys |
| Overhangs and cover | Material the camera can't see isn't measured | Flight design, and stating where the method stops |
Any volumetric accuracy figure should come with an account of how those four are controlled.
Built for end-of-month
A volumetric flight takes hours and needs no site shutdown, so it works as a standing program: same day each month, same parameters, and the report in your inbox before reconciliation closes.
Monthly suits active sites and anything that reconciles stock against sales. Quarterly is enough where material moves slowly. End of financial year usually needs a survey, and booking it as part of a series means the June figure is measured the same way as every other month.
One-off measurements for disputes, handovers and audits run on the same capture and processing workflow as our drone topographic surveys, with the control evidence attached. In greater Brisbane, stockpile and site work is flown from the local base; drone surveying in Brisbane sets out the city-specific detail.
Cut and fill, against a stated surface
Cut and fill is always measured against something. On a drone survey it can be the pre-start surface, the previous visit, or the design surface your engineer supplies, and the report states which one. Run as a series through bulk earthworks, it shows what has moved since the last claim, from the same flight that gives you the current-condition surface.
Where the method stops
A drone sees the outside of a pile. Material inside a shed, under a cover, below an overhang or behind a bunker wall isn't visible from the air, and it isn't silently estimated: anything the camera can't reach is flagged in the deliverable with the assumption used, or left out and noted as excluded. If most of your stock lives undercover, we say so at quoting.
Questions we get at scoping
Q/01How accurate is a drone stockpile survey?
Positioning is up to 1 cm + 1 ppm horizontal and 1.5 cm + 1 ppm vertical, tested against check points withheld from the bundle adjustment, and the job's accuracy gate is written into the proposal before capture. On a typical pile the larger risk is how the base and toe are defined, which is why the base surface is documented in the report and reused visit to visit.
Q/02How do drone volumetrics compare with a GPS pole survey?
A walked survey samples the pile at points and interpolates between them; the drone measures the entire surface, millions of points, against a documented base surface. Coverage is complete, nobody climbs the stockpile, and the site keeps operating during capture. The checks behind the figure, with real report numbers, are in how accurate a drone stockpile survey is.
Q/03How do you define the base of a stockpile?
From a pre-fill ground model where one exists. Where it doesn't, the base is established from the surrounding terrain and the assumption is recorded in the report. The same base is then reused on every later visit, so the movement figures are not distorted by a re-drawn toe.
Q/04How often should stockpiles be surveyed?
Monthly on active sites and wherever stock is reconciled against sales, quarterly where movement is slow, and at end of financial year. Fixed waypoints and parameters make each visit directly comparable with the last.
Q/05Does the site need to stop?
No. Capture is flown from standoff above the pad. Normal operations continue; we coordinate timing with your loader activity only to keep piles static during the pass.
Q/06Can you measure material in sheds or under covers?
Not from the air. Photogrammetry measures the surface the camera can see, so covered, shedded or overhung material is flagged with the assumption used, or excluded and noted. If most of the stock is undercover, raise it at scoping.
Q/07What do we receive?
Volumes by pile against the documented base, the surfaces behind them (DTM/DEM, a GeoTIFF orthomosaic and a .LAS point cloud) and the Survey Quality Report. The files load into Civil 3D, 12d, Trimble Business Center and standard GIS platforms.
Q/08How much does a stockpile or volumetric survey cost?
Volumetric drone surveys typically run around $500 to $2,000 per visit, exclusive of GST, depending on site size and how many stockpiles are measured, with per-visit rates falling for recurring monthly programs. Regional sites are quoted as one fixed price for the trip. See the cost guide; Hover quotes each site in writing within one business day.
Scope this for your site
Send the asset and the deliverable you need. A scoped method and quote come back within one business day.
HARRY BILLING — CHIEF REMOTE PILOT
0411 445 458
[email protected]
CASA ReOC #9398 · $28M PUBLIC LIABILITY