October 2, 2019

Stockpile Measurement with a Drone

Author: Stockpile Reports

There is no doubt that using a drone for measuring stockpiles is a great solution for many companies with inventory spread across large worksites. Drones allow you to measure all of your stockpiles in just a few minutes. Whether you fly yourself or have Stockpile Reports fly for you, we believe that completing inventory shouldn’t be a hassle. We created a solution for companies that is straight-forward and simple.

Choose The Best Option for Your Company

It’s important for your company to evaluate whether you want to invest and maintain your own internal drone program or if it would be better to partner with a company that can complete the drone measurements for you.

Do-It-Yourself Drone Flights

Many companies choose to complete their stockpile measurements with their own drones. This solution is perfect for companies that have a couple of worksites within a short drive of each other. You can invest in a drone, get certified, measure your stockpiles, and upload the imagery to Stockpile Reports. Within a few hours, you will have stockpile volume reports to share with your team.

Flying your own drone can be more expensive if your company has worksites across multiple states or even hundreds of miles apart. Consider travel expenses such as meals, vehicle rental, fuel, and lodging costs. This will play a role in the affordability of having your own internal drone program.

Companies also need to consider employee turnover and training expenses. Internal drone pilots must be Part 107 certified to fly a drone for commercial purposes. If an employee leaves the company or is promoted, they take their skills and certification with them, leaving you without a drone pilot. You’ll be responsible for replacing a key player of the organization, getting them trained and certified, and on the road.

However, if you have a few worksites within close proximity to each other, you might find that this is the ideal solution for you. You can still utilize Stockpile Reports for your stockpile volume calculations even if you fly the worksites yourself. It’s really simple to do and only takes a few minutes of your time. While we can’t save you the travel expenses between sites, we can save you a ton of time and provide you with valuable, reliable stockpile inventory data.

Stockpile Reports Flies For You

The alternative to flying your worksites yourself is having Stockpile Reports do it for you. We have drone pilots located across the U.S. and Canada. No matter where you are in the country, we can send a drone pilot to fly your plant or worksite.

Companies choose to have us fly for them because it can save them a lot of time, money, and hassle of measuring their stockpile inventory. Instead of worrying about travel time and expenses, they are working towards producing more, becoming more profitable, and being more efficient. Customers can log in to the dashboard, schedule their flights in bulk, across multiple worksites in just a few clicks. Within a few hours of the flights, companies receive their stockpile volume measurement reports and can share them with their teams.

With the digital age upon us, companies are shifting towards automating and digitizing to leverage efficiencies. They’re partnering with service providers that offer affordable options to complete once error-prone and time-consuming tasks. This digital shift also has other benefits that can positively impact the business such as gathering reliable and consistent inventory data, implementing better risk management, and eliminating waste.

Companies that choose to have Stockpile Reports measure their stockpiles for them often ask us (and each other) why they didn’t start sooner. The time savings alone are worth shifting from a DIY drone program to utilizing a partner like Stockpile Reports.

Benefits of Using a Drone for Measuring Stockpiles

Using drones for measuring stockpiles allows companies to:

1. Speed up measurement time
2. Remove humans from unsafe spaces
3. Capture large, complex piles
4. Gather consistent, reliable inventory data
5. Make better, more strategic business decisions

Whether you choose to fly yourself or partner with us to fly your worksites, we will make your job easier, smoother, and safer. Collecting stockpile inventory data has never been more straightforward or efficient. Contact us today to learn more.