Count the yard from above and check it against the delivery log.
A weekly drone flight over your laydown yard, returned as unit counts for pipe, precast and rebar and volumes for aggregate, so the tally you reconcile is not one somebody made with a clipboard.
The job today
Where the yard walk runs out
Someone walks the stacks with the delivery log, counts what they can reach and judges the aggregate piles by eye. Project controls then sets that tally against the goods received notes and the invoices.
When the figures disagree, nobody can say if the delivery came in short, the count was off or the material has already gone into the works. That question tends to arrive the week before a payment application goes out, when the person who did the walk has moved on to something else.
Comparison
The weekly count, step by step
01Getting the count
The yard walkA person walks the yard with the log and a clipboard and tallies what they can see and reach.
With Material TrackingA drone flies the yard boundary you drew, and the counts by type and location come from the imagery.
02Loose material
The yard walkAggregate piles are sized by eye from their height and a rough footprint.
With Material TrackingEach stockpile is measured in cubic metres from the surface built from that week's flight.
Still yoursAny quantity that has to stand as a certified survey figure stays with your surveyor.
03Setting it against the paperwork
The yard walkThe tally goes into a spreadsheet beside the delivery log and the invoices, and someone chases the gaps.
With Material TrackingThe yard report lists counts and volumes by material and location, laid out to sit next to the delivery log.
Still yoursThe matching itself: purchase order, goods received note and invoice, and what to do about a variance.
04What moved since last time
The yard walkYou compare this week's clipboard with last week's, if last week's was kept the same way.
With Material TrackingEach report shows the change in every count and volume since the previous flight, so movement in and out is visible.
05Dating the count
The yard walkThe count is as of whenever the walk got done, which is not always written down.
With Material TrackingEvery count is dated to the flight.
06What the camera can't see
The yard walkSomebody lifts the tarp, opens the container and looks.
With Material TrackingNothing. Covered stock and anything inside a shed is outside what the imagery shows.
Still yoursEverything under cover, receiving at the gate, and the sign-off on any payment.
What you get
What each weekly report holds
Count table
Unit counts
Pipe joints, precast pieces and rebar bundles, counted by type and by location in the yard. Set it beside the delivery log to see where the two disagree.
Getting the countVolume table
Stockpile volumes
A volume in cubic metres for each aggregate stockpile you marked. It is an estimate from the flight for reconciliation, and it feeds your materials-on-site line.
Loose materialAnnotated map
Yard map
The flight image with each count and pile marked where it was taken, so anyone querying a number can find the stack.
Setting it against the paperworkWeekly change
Change since the last flight
What came into the yard and what left, by type, since the previous report. This is the page to read before the weekly materials meeting.
What moved since last time
How it works
Once: mark the yard
You draw the laydown yard boundary and name the material types you expect to see. For a pilot, that is one yard for a set run of weeks.
Each week: we fly it
A drone or crewed aircraft covers the boundary. If rain or low light stops a flight, it moves to the next clear window.
Counted and measured
Stacks are counted by type and each aggregate pile gets a volume. The count is checked against the image before it goes out.
Before the weekly meeting
The report reaches you ahead of your weekly materials or controls meeting, so the count is on the table when the delivery log is.
Limits
Only what is exposed
Optical imagery sees the top of what is uncovered. Stock under tarps, inside containers or sheds, and rows hidden behind or under other rows, is not counted.
Resolution
At under 10 cm a pixel, a pipe joint, a precast piece or a rebar bundle can be picked out and counted. Individual bars in a bundle cannot, and neither can markings or heat numbers on the material.
Volumes are estimates
A stockpile volume comes from photogrammetry. Use it to reconcile, not as a certified survey quantity or in a dispute over payment.
Weather and light
Rain and low light delay a flight to the next clear window, so a week can slip. Weekly is a target for the schedule.
Not live
This is a scheduled flight, not a feed. The report tells you the yard as it was on the flight date.
Not a cost figure
It counts and measures. It does not price, quantify work in place or replace a take-off.
Who it's for
Switch if
- You are the project controls manager on a large civil or industrial build and reconcile deliveries to invoices every month.
- The yard holds pipe, precast, rebar or aggregate in quantities that a clipboard count struggles to cover.
- You have been asked why the tally and the paperwork disagree, and could not say.
Stick with the yard walk if
- Most of your stock is under cover or in containers.
- You need a certified survey quantity for the volume of a pile.
- The yard is small enough that one person can count it in a short walk.
FAQ
Questions before a pilot
Does this replace our yard walk?
It replaces the count part of it. Receiving at the gate, checking tickets against the order and looking under cover are still done by people on site.
How do we check it against our own count?
Pick a week, do your usual walk, and put it beside the pilot report for the same stacks. Differences show up straight away and you can walk to the stack in question.
Can it count material under tarps or in sheds?
No. Optical imagery sees what is exposed from above.
How good is a stockpile volume?
It is a photogrammetric estimate that suits reconciliation. It is not a certified survey and should not be used as a legal quantity in a payment dispute.
What if the weather stops a flight?
Rain and low light push it to the next clear window. Weekly is what we plan for, and a delayed flight is flagged.
Will it open in our systems?
The report is designed to open in a spreadsheet and to be attached to your materials register. We do not write into your ERP or project controls system.
Who owns the imagery and the counts?
Ownership and licence terms are agreed in writing when the pilot is set up. If your legal or procurement team needs them earlier, ask.
How is a pilot bought and priced?
Scope depends on the size of the yard and the number of weeks. Tell us about the yard and we'll scope it from that.
Get next week's yard counted.
Tell us what is in the yard and how big it is, and we will scope a pilot flight and what the report would show.