Construction & earthwork
Know What Moved — and What's Left
Track material movement, compare grades, document progress, and preserve a dense record of what was built. Utah LiDAR provides repeatable field data for contractors, earthwork companies, owners, and project teams across the West.
Why contractors use LiDAR
Know What Moved — and What Remains
Earthwork quantities can change quickly across a large site. Sparse measurements, inconsistent base surfaces, and delayed progress reporting can create uncertainty around production, billing, and completion.
Repeat LiDAR collections create date-specific surfaces that can be compared against original ground, prior collections, or design models.
Dirt moves fast, and pay quantities follow it. When the numbers are disputed, whoever has the data wins the conversation.
We capture the site before you start, at intervals during the work, and again at completion — giving you defensible surfaces at every stage.
Deliverables
- Existing-ground surfaces
- Current-condition surfaces
- Cut-and-fill quantities
- Elevation-difference maps
- Stockpile volumes
- Point clouds
- Contours
- CAD-ready files
- Progress exhibits
- Date-stamped documentation
Relevant services
LiDAR Services for Construction & Earthwork
Earthwork and Cut-and-Fill Measurement
Cut, fill, and net quantities calculated between agreed surfaces and project boundaries.
Construction Progress Capture
Repeat collections documenting site conditions at weekly, monthly, or milestone intervals.
Existing-Condition Baselines
Preconstruction terrain and visible-feature capture before demolition, clearing, grading, or excavation begins.
Construction As-Builts
Dense post-construction documentation of finished grades, roads, pads, drainage, walls, and visible improvements.
Design-Surface Comparisons
Current conditions compared against agreed grading or design models to identify elevation differences.
Stockpile Measurement
On-site material inventories and borrow, spoil, or aggregate quantities.
Applications
How we help
What Construction & Earthwork Get From Us
Pre-construction baselines
Original ground captured before mobilization so quantities have a real starting point.
Progress quantities
Cut, fill, and net volumes between any two capture dates for pay applications.
As-built documentation
Completed work compared to the design surface, with deviation exhibits.
Minimal site disruption
Flights happen while equipment keeps working — no crews in the traffic pattern.
Related services
Earthwork & Cut/Fill
Cut and fill surveys, earthwork volume calculations, and progress quantity verification using drone LiDAR for mass grading, excavation, and pit progression.
As-Built Surveys
Drone LiDAR as-built surveys and existing conditions documentation for construction verification, post-construction records, and pre-construction baselines.
Stockpile Volumes
Drone stockpile surveys and volumetric calculations for aggregate, frac sand, quarry, and mine operations. Repeatable monthly material inventory you can bill against.
Service areas
Construction and Earthwork LiDAR Across the West
Utah LiDAR mobilizes for qualifying grading, excavation, and construction documentation projects throughout:
Common questions
Construction & Earthwork LiDAR FAQs
What is a cut-and-fill calculation?
It is the volume difference between two surfaces inside a defined boundary — material removed (cut), material added (fill), and the net between them. Both surfaces and the boundary must be agreed for the number to mean anything.
Can LiDAR verify contractor pay quantities?
Date-specific surfaces give owners and contractors a common measurement to review quantities against. Final acceptance still follows the contract's measurement and payment provisions.
How often should construction progress be collected?
Monthly aligns with most pay applications. Fast-moving mass grading often justifies weekly or milestone-based collection, and complex sites may add captures before and after major phases.
Can current grades be compared with a design surface?
Yes. Supply the grading or design model and the collected surface can be differenced against it to produce elevation-difference maps and remaining-quantity estimates.
Does LiDAR account for shrink and swell?
No. LiDAR measures in-place volume between surfaces. Shrink and swell factors are applied by your estimator or engineer based on material and compaction assumptions.
Can active construction continue during collection?
In most cases yes. Flights are coordinated with site operations, though equipment sitting inside the measured area at the time of capture becomes part of the surface and is handled in processing.
Can LiDAR document utilities before burial?
LiDAR captures what is visible from the air, so open trenches, exposed pipe, and structures can be documented before backfill. Buried utilities cannot be measured after cover.
Why might two earthwork reports show different quantities?
Usually because of different base surfaces, boundaries, capture dates, or shrink and swell assumptions — not the measurement itself. Agreeing those inputs up front resolves most disputes.
Other industries
All deliverables are provided as preliminary or supporting data. Stamped or permitted use requires review and certification by a licensed Professional Land Surveyor.