How a Solar EPC Uses Sitemark to Verify 2,400 Pile Elevations Per Project

The project

A regional EPC contractor specializing in utility-scale solar was awarded a 200-acre project in the Southwest. The design called for 2,400 driven piles, each with a precise finished-grade elevation defined in the issued-for-construction (IFC) drawings. Structural tolerances were tight: any pile elevation more than 25 mm outside design called for a corrective action before module installation could begin.

Getting that verification right mattered beyond quality. If a pile deviation was missed in the field and caught during the engineer's as-built review, the corrective work — re-driving or cutting — happened after the module crew had already mobilized. That sequencing risk translated directly into project delay and liquidated damages exposure.

The problem with spreadsheets

The previous workflow was built on a shared Excel file. Two field technicians would collect pile elevations throughout the day using a Topcon total station, record them on a paper tally sheet, then enter them into the spreadsheet at the end of the shift. A project engineer would compare each row to the design elevation, flag deviations by conditional formatting, and compile a summary for the client's construction manager.

On a 2,400-pile site, that process consumed three full working days — typically spread across the week when pile driving was completing. The lag meant that a deviation discovered on a Wednesday might not be reviewed and actioned until Friday afternoon, putting the module installation schedule at risk.

Accuracy was also a concern. Manual data entry across two shifts and multiple personnel introduced transcription errors. The team caught several during QA review, but the process to trace a suspect entry back to field notes added hours of rework.

How Sitemark changed the workflow

The contractor piloted Sitemark mid-project on a block of 400 piles. Field technicians logged elevation shots directly from the total station into Sitemark using the pile elevation checker. Each shot was tied to a pile ID, compared to the imported design elevation in real time, and flagged immediately if it exceeded the ±25 mm tolerance.

Deviations appeared on-screen the moment they were logged. The field crew could respond immediately — document, flag for re-drive, or confirm as accepted with a note — rather than waiting for the end-of-day compilation. Pile IDs with open deviations showed in a live dashboard that the project engineer monitored from the site office.

When the block was complete, the as-built report generated in a single export: every pile ID, design elevation, measured elevation, deviation value, and pass/fail status, formatted as a PDF ready for the engineer's stamp.

The result

Verification of the 400-pile pilot block took under two hours, compared to roughly six hours under the spreadsheet workflow. On the full 2,400-pile count, the team completed verification in four hours across a single shift. The three-day window compressed to less than a half day.

Transcription errors were eliminated. Every data point originated in Sitemark from the total station operator, with no paper tally or manual re-entry step.

The client received a complete as-built PDF — not a shared spreadsheet — with deviation flagging and corrective action notes embedded. The engineer of record accepted it without a revision request.

Why it worked

The shift was not about replacing the field crew's workflow — it was about removing the layer between field data and the final document. When pile elevation, design comparison, and report generation happen in one step, the three-day lag disappears. The crew does the same physical work. The documentation catches up in real time instead of trailing behind by days.