Every earthworks project tells a story of transformation. The flat field becomes a building pad. The natural grade becomes a retention pond. Cut/Fill analysis lets you quantify that transformation with precision.
Key Takeaways
- Cut/Fill analysis compares two surfaces to quantify material movement
- Color-coded visualization: red = cut (removed), green = fill (added)
- Integrated tonnage calculations using 58 verified material densities
- Enables progress billing, design compliance, and resource planning
- Results export to CAD via LandXML
The Power of Before and After
According to FlyGuys, "Cut and fill analysis measures the amount of soil to be removed (cut) or added (fill) to achieve a desired land elevation."
The concept is simple. The value is enormous:
- Progress verification. How much work actually got done this month?
- Payment documentation. Prove the quantities that justify the invoice.
- Design compliance. Is the grading matching the approved plans?
- Resource planning. How much material still needs to move?
When you can answer these questions with precise numbers and clear visualizations, project conversations become productive instead of contentious.
How Surface Comparison Works
Viizor's Compare Surfaces tool analyzes two point clouds and calculates the volumetric difference between them.
The Workflow
- Load both surfaces. Before vs. after construction, last month vs. this month, existing terrain vs. design surface, or morning vs. afternoon for high-activity sites.
- Select which is which. Designate one surface as your "datum" (reference) and the other as your "comparison."
- Define your area of interest. Draw a polygon around the zone you want to analyze—the excavation area, the fill zone, or the entire site.
- See the results. Viizor calculates the difference using a prismatic method, comparing elevations cell by cell across your defined area.
The Visualization
This color-coded display makes the analysis immediately intuitive. You don't need to interpret spreadsheets of numbers. You see where material was added, where it was removed, and by how much.
Results That Matter
The Compare Surfaces tool delivers:
Output Values
- Cut volume (m³) — total material removed
- Fill volume (m³) — total material added
- Net volume (m³) — the balance between cut and fill
- Tonnage calculations — using the same 72-material density database as the stockpile calculator
According to Kubla Software, "One of the biggest goals in earthwork is to balance the amount of material being cut with the amount that needs to be filled. When this is done right, the project avoids bringing in extra fill, which costs money, and hauling away excess soil, which costs time and fuel."
Viizor gives you exact numbers to track that balance.
Real-World Applications
Progress Billing
Construction contracts often pay by the cubic meter of material moved. Capture "before" and "after" states, and let the software calculate exactly what changed. The visualization serves as documentation.
Monthly Progress Monitoring
Regular drone flights create a timeline of site evolution. Compare any two dates to see what changed between them. Track cumulative progress against the original baseline.
Design Compliance
Is the contractor grading to spec? Compare the as-built surface against the design surface. Green and red regions immediately highlight where reality diverges from the plan.
Material Balance Tracking
When you know your cut and fill volumes precisely, you can verify that material is being reused efficiently on site rather than trucked away unnecessarily.
Volatus Aerospace notes that "Progress monitoring not only helps detect when a project has fallen behind but also prevents delays before they happen."
The Intuitive Advantage
Cut/Fill analysis isn't new. Engineers have calculated earthwork volumes for centuries. What's new is making that analysis accessible, visual, and fast.
Traditional cut/fill calculations require:
- Importing survey data into specialized software
- Creating TIN surfaces from point data
- Defining comparison parameters
- Running calculations
- Interpreting numerical outputs
- Creating visualizations for stakeholders
Viizor streamlines this into a visual, interactive process: Load your point clouds → Select datum and comparison → Draw your boundary → See results instantly—volumes, tonnages, and color-coded visualization.
The analysis that used to require specialized training becomes accessible to anyone who can fly a drone and draw a polygon.
A Platform That Keeps Evolving
Here's what makes Viizor different: you're not buying frozen software.
Viizor is built with modern development practices, including AI-assisted coding that accelerates feature development. This means the tool you purchase today continues to improve—new capabilities, refined workflows, better performance—delivered through updates at no additional cost.
The Cut/Fill analysis you use today will be even more capable tomorrow. Not because you paid for an upgrade, but because continuous improvement is built into how Viizor is developed.
One purchase. Ongoing evolution.
From Data to Decisions
The value of Cut/Fill analysis isn't the calculation itself—it's the decisions it enables.
- For contractors: Accurate progress documentation supports accurate billing and protects against disputes.
- For project managers: Visual change tracking identifies issues before they become problems.
- For engineers: Design compliance verification ensures the built result matches the intended design.
- For owners: Quantified progress reports provide confidence that work is proceeding as planned.
According to Propeller Aero, "In a single drone surveying flight, the data collected and then processed with a surveying solution can produce a 3D site map with accurate measurements for distances, surfaces, elevations, and volumes."
Viizor turns those measurements into answers—and those answers into confident decisions.
The Complete Picture
Cut/Fill analysis integrates with Viizor's broader toolkit:
- Volume calculations for individual stockpiles, using the same density database
- TIN surface export to LandXML for CAD integration
- Dual View for geographic context alongside 3D analysis
- DXF export for delivering results to design teams
- Project versioning to track analysis history over time
Each capability reinforces the others. The stockpile you measured becomes the fill volume in your Cut/Fill analysis. The surfaces you compared export to the design team's CAD system. The changes you documented appear in context on the satellite map.
This is what integrated software enables: workflows that connect, rather than tools that silo.
Accessible Professional Analysis
Cut/Fill analysis has always been valuable. It hasn't always been accessible.
Viizor changes that equation. Professional-grade surface comparison, with intuitive visualization and integrated tonnage calculations, available through a one-time purchase that includes ongoing improvements.
Your earthworks tell a story of transformation. Viizor helps you quantify that story, visualize it clearly, and communicate it confidently.
Quantify What Changed
Compare surfaces, visualize cut/fill regions, and calculate volumes with precision.
$540 One-time payment
Windows 10/11 • No credit card required for trial
Sources:
FlyGuys: Cut and Fill Analysis • Kubla Software: How to Calculate Cut and Fill • Construct Estimates: Cutting and Filling in Earthwork • Volatus Aerospace: Drone Mapping for Progress Monitoring • Propeller Aero: Drone Surveying • Datumate: Cut and Fill Analysis • TakeoffPros: Guide to Cut and Fill Maps