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Tata Steel

Volumetric Survey

Introduction

Many contractors face the issue of keeping track of their stock volumes on live sites as daily changes occur to their quantities and locations.

Challenges with keeping track of live volumes include keeping track of deliveries of materials, where they are placed and how they are distributed around site; knowing how much material has been received in has largely been left to the collection of delivery notes and trusting that the supplier has provided the quantities stated on the tickets.

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The same issue comes with removal of material generated on site, as material is removed it is usually stock piled and removed on a quick turn around with little time to accurately calculate what material has been produced.

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With the speed and precision that drones can survey stockpiles, volumetric calculations have never been easier or more reliable.

Client: 

Hunter Environmental

Date:
Equipment used:

  • Mavic 3 Enterprise with RTK Module  

  • Leica GS18T GNSS​ 

  • Premium Positioning RTK network

20/01/2023

Service: 

Volumetric Survey

Location:

South Wolverhampton

Software used:

Challenge

On this particular site there were conflicting results when the volumetric surveys were taken by 2 engineers with GPS equipment. With no way of determining what results were correct, a drone survey was requested to give a comparison.

 

Due to the nature of stockpiles, it is not always practical or safe to take accurate readings on all surfaces of the pile. This means that there are usually large areas of the stockpile that has interpolated data between the measured points. This results in assumptions between points, leaving the results altered and not entirely reliable.

 

Main Challenges on this job include:​

  • Safety

  • Accuracy & reliability

  • Survey Turn Around time

  • Consistency 

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Solution

Using our DJI Mavic 3 Enterprise we were able to fly the mission in under 5 minutes after setting up ground control on site. We also provided a report detailing the weight and volume of each individual stock pile. While engineers can take hundreds of readings on stock piles using photogrammetry, drone data is able to produce hundreds of thousands of points that are computed into the calculation that cover the entire surface of the stock piles including the areas unsafe to reach. 

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How did using a drone specifically help this project?

  

  • Risk was reduced by removing an operative from a dangerous situation where they would be climbing on loose material at a height.

  • The data we provided was guaranteed by our quality report (which we produce on every job) and compared to known control points.

  • The data can be replicated and calculated consistently, omitting any chance of producing varying results which can occur from the estimation errors produced from traditional surveys.

  • The volume report took a total of 1 hour to produce from start to finish, enabling works on site to continue immediately after, with data results being presented to clients on the same day.

Results

We were able to determine that one of the two surveys produced by the first of the initial engineers was an accurate representation of the stock pile, corresponding to the data provided by the drone survey. Not only did the mission take a fraction of the time to collect the data, by reducing our point cloud density to a level that a volumetric survey requires, it took only 30 minutes to process.  We were able to produce confirmation results within the hour. 

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Another benefit of using a drone over traditional surveying equipment is the over sampling of data.   On this particular job, we were able to extract volumes from surrounding stock piles that were not part of the initial survey request. Because of the amount of data our drone collected from 1 flight, we were able to produce a second report within minutes of it being requested. 

Summary

  • Approximately 4 hours saved from initial the survey compared to an engineer collecting the data using a GPS or total station.

  • Removed the need for a second site visit as a result of our over sampling data practice.

  • Lowest risk method of surveying the stock piles.

  • Images of location and condition of stock pile to compliment data set.

  • Heavy plant was still able to operate in the surrounding areas without risk of disturbing the survey or causing a hazard to an operative.

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