Practical, no-nonsense guides on reality capture, Scan-to-BIM/CAD, pricing and ROI — written for the engineers and managers who run industrial and commercial facilities.
A Houston-area chemical plant needed as-builts before new steel could be fabricated. A 1-day laser scan caught a design conflict before it reached the field.
A Houston plant needed field-verified as-builts before relocating a production line. Existing conditions captured in 4 days, delivered as a 3D BIM model.
Ground scanners thin out on stacks and cooling towers. How terrestrial scanning plus drone photogrammetry delivers a complete power-plant as-built survey.
After a fire or collapse, a photo shows damage — a point cloud measures it. Field-verified loss documentation, and why a pre-loss baseline matters more.
Dense process areas need the right scanner per zone. A FARO and NavVis deployment delivered an LOD 300 as-built plus a 360 tour in fewer site trips.
Design teams scope tenant improvements against a proposal, not the real space. An existing conditions survey caught a hidden structural risk before drilling.
A rice mill cut a 12% inventory discrepancy to near zero with monthly laser-scan volumetric measurement. How stockpile and silo measurement works.
A remote mine made investment calls from across the country; a glassmaker kept retiring experts' knowledge. Two uses for a point cloud you may not expect.
Documenting cleanroom HVAC the old way means repeated entries — time, protocol and contamination risk. How one entry delivers a cGMP as-built survey.
Before designing an expansion that ties into existing duct and pipe, document existing conditions. How field-verified as-builts prevent field surprises.
Need approval for a laser scanning budget? Four ROI arguments with real examples that convince a CFO, plus a 5-minute formula to build your own number.
A point cloud linked to IBM Maximo via NavVis IVION turned an underused EAM into a tool 80 techs actually use. How geospatial context drives adoption.
Refineries know their assets but not where they sit. Point cloud development that gives every tag a real coordinate and generates as-built isometrics.
What laser scanning costs in the U.S.: real ranges ($0.25–$0.50/sq ft), what moves the price, Scan-to-BIM fees, turnaround and what the deliverable includes.
A land survey and an as-built survey are not the same job. What each method captures, when to hire which, and why confusing the two gets expensive.
Most jobs are requested as Scan-to-BIM and delivered as Scan-to-CAD. The real difference, what LOD means, and how to spec 2D line extraction into a DWG.
An as-built drawing and an existing conditions survey document what exists, not what was designed. What's included, formats, accuracy, turnaround and cost.