Midsouth Aggregates, part of North America's largest aggregate materials producer CRH, is using the Kespry drone-based aerial intelligence platform for inventory management and mine planning. Midsouth has granite and limestone reserves in Alabama, Georgia and Tennessee, and produces a range of aggregate and sand products. Key clients include departments of transportation in Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee and Florida, the Corps of Engineers, and the Federal Aviation Authority.
"Kespry's drones and software really sped up inventory management," said Jerry Adkins, senior production manager with Midsouth Aggregates. "Kespry gave us a consistent measuring tool, whereas in the past we'd use other vendors who would do LIDAR and ground surveys. They would come on site, do the flights and it would usually take a couple of weeks to get the data. Then we'd have a different vendor come in later in the year using a different method for measuring.
"With Kespry, we brought it all in house and 
The Kesprey iPad app walks users through determining the area to survey, identifying flight heights to capture data and completing preflight checklist to ensure the mission is safe and compliant. Tap the “take-off” button, and the drone flies the mission autonomously, and returns to the take-off area.Kesprey
Midsouth Aggregates also uses Kespry data for comprehensive mine planning, including granular analysis of pits across its operations.
"Kespry gives us the ability to look at our pits in 2D and 3D. The volumetric tools allow us to do short-term and long-term mine planning. As a mining engineer, I found that very useful," said Adkins. "Kespry is very user-friendly so we've been able to train our plant managers to do the same type of planning. In the past, we'd have a mine planner doing that for us. So, that's improved the overall outlook of how they manage their pits."
Kespry Cloud, which enables companies to access inventory management and mine planning data 24x7 on any device, has also played a major role in creating internal visibility and transparency at Midsouth Aggregates.
"The Kespry Cloud has been awesome," said Adkins. "I can look at all of our locations in one place and get fast access to all the data. It's a really great communication tool as well. We use it in meetings with upstream management, contractors and our hourly employees to show them mine plans and real-time photos.
"Kespry is the best innovation I've encountered in my 19-year career. It really makes our lives easier. I would recommend it to anyone. Everyone I've introduced it to has been blown away."
