WVDOT manages to save $340,000 by leveraging UAS to calculate stockpile material quantities.

WVDOT’s uses UAS to replace a historically labor-intensive process that relied on using surveyors and engineers.

Date Posted
08/14/2020
Identifier
2020-B01479
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Using UAS Results in Huge Savings

Summary Information

The West Virginia Department of Transportation (WVDOT) has used Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) to save money calculating stockpile material quantities.

WVDOT purchased its first UAS to test the viability of measuring stockpile material, and the State's program has steadily grown from there. Each year, 150 sites with this material require an inventory. In 2019, the State inventoried the sites using UAS and seven pilots.



Findings

  • For 2019, WVDOT’s Division of Highways saved $340,000 in man-hours alone.
  • The State estimates the overall savings were likely higher when including factors such as the surveyors and engineers being available to complete other work during the inventory.
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