Surveyors need to accurately capture, manage and utilise 3D spatial information – often in environments where there is very limited time on site. Omega Geomatics, a land surveying practice in the UK, took on one such task when they produced 2D floorplans for a nursing home, while the site was occupied 24/7. Paramount was ensuring minimum disruption to residents, while still achieving a high level of accuracy.

With the building measuring 663m2 and with 23 residential rooms, communal and staff areas, the project team needed to find a new surveying method that meant they could walk and scan each resident’s room quickly without disrupting their daily routines.

Two surveyors visited the nursing home and coordinated five spheres by the building exits on multiple levels. With GeoSLAM’s ZEB Revo, and its speed of capture capabilities, the team were able to walk around the building and capture the data needed from each room within just 10 to 20 seconds.

With just two team members required for the project and less time expended on site, the overall cost was dramatically reduced

The team conducted long-distance checks and height measurements. External scans took place, as an extra accuracy check. The entire scan took just 30 minutes, and the client was provided with accurate 2D floorplans within 24 hours, notably without any distress or disturbance to residents.

The project required just two team members and this rapid data collection had huge cost-saving benefits. In turn, this led to less time spent on site, which also contributed to reducing the cost, all without compromising on accuracy. The scan achieved an average +/-15mm which met the needs of the client.

Words by David Johnson | Midland Survey

“Midland Survey are experts in surveying complex and difficult to access spaces where there is limited or no GPS, but Oriel College with its labyrinthine network of historic buildings brought a particular set of challenges.

 Oriel College, part of the prestigious University of Oxford in the UK, is nearly 700 years old, with around 200 rooms across five stories including an “island site”, accessible only via tunnel. The structure has been extended over the years and no accurate floor plans or elevation drawings exist.

As a world-class institute, it is occupied 24/7 and opportunities to accurately scan with minimal disruption are few. Traditional tools were not an option due to the network of rooms spread across 5 stories.

Due to the lack of GPS coverage in the tunnel, the only option was to use GeoSLAM’s ‘go-anywhere’ ZEB Revo. The unusual shape of the building, with its unconventional layout and complex network of rooms, meant it was too difficult and time-consuming to survey with traditional static scanning methods (as this would require multiple individual set-ups and increased post-processing work). We needed a lightweight, mobile tool that works well in enclosed environments.

“The entire project was completed in around half of the total time that would have been required using static equipment. The ZEB Revo is a real game-changer for us.“

Using the ZEB Revo around 200 rooms were scanned, amounting to 12,000m². Across 5 days, 12 individual rapid ZEB Revo scans were completed each taking just 30 minutes. The entire project was completed in around half of the total time that would have been required using static equipment.

We frequently work in hazardous environments, as well as in complex and difficult to access spaces where there is limited or no GPS coverage such as heritage buildings with thick stone walls. We often have limited time on site to accurately create a 3D model. Access to user-friendly technology such as the ZEB Revo that scans multi-level environments and produces accurate and high-quality 3D survey data, is a real game-changer for us.

Public works and energy utilities are continually looking for new ways to protect the safety of their personnel in the field. With the help of the GeoSLAM ZEB Revo mobile laser scanner and the specially designed GeoSLAM Cradle, the cramped and hazardous spaces in manholes can now be captured in 3D without putting field workers at risk.

 “An engineering survey firm scanned the interiors of 4,500 manholes with the ZEB Revo for a Minnesota municipality,”

What lies beneath the manhole covers found in nearly every city and town varies considerably. Some are access points to extensive storm water and sewer pipe networks. Others are entries into utility conduits through which water mains and electric lines are run. A few manholes are simply tight underground spaces where key pieces of municipal infrastructure reside.

Regardless of their function, manholes and the assets they contain are difficult and sometimes hazardous to map. Not only are the interior spaces dark, dirty, confined and usually wet, they pose potential risks related to cave-ins, poor ventilation and rodent infestations. Above ground, the manhole access points are often in the middle of busy streets requiring set-up of a cone zone to try and protect workers from passing traffic.

“You capture the data you need for one job and then have information someone else might need for another without a second site visit.“

This combination of hazards compels workers to spend as little time inside the manhole as possible. As a result, they have traditionally captured only the measurements they need for the project at hand – usually with a surveying level rod.

You capture the data you need for one job and then have information someone else might need for another without a second site visit. One of the most common applications is measuring the elevations of pipe inverts to map a water supply or drainage network in preparation for system expansion or maintenance. Personal hazards aside, making accurate asset measurements in a tight underground space with a long level rod can be challenging.

The ZEB Revo is increasingly being turned to for these jobs because the handheld laser scanner is fast, accurate, and captures comprehensive point clouds. Most importantly, it keeps personnel out of harm’s way. Favoured for manhole environments because of its high IP rating, which means it can be used in dirty and wet conditions, the ZEB Revo can be lowered into the underground space with the GeoSLAM Cradle.

In just a few minutes, the lightweight device can capture 360-degree scans inside the space regardless of available lighting. Even if the assets being surveyed are offset from the opening or several meters down tunnels, the ZEB Revo captures the 3D scan data needed to generate an accurate point cloud of the subsurface space.

“The first benefit of laser scanning [in manholes] is safety. The second is you collect a very comprehensive and complete data set. You capture the data you need for one job and then have information someone else [in the organization] might need for another…without a second site visit.

The Importance of Accurate Measurements in Construction

In Denmark, inaccurate data of floor space in residential or office buildings can have legal implications. Therefore, building contractors must provide accurate measurements for the built floor area for each apartment before a purchase could be finalised.

LIFA Surveyors is one of the leading surveying companies in Denmark. They were recently tasked with collecting floorplan data for a 13-story waterfront apartment building in Vejle. The apartment building, totalling 58,000 sq. ft, was going through construction, and each apartment required accurate measurements of the floor space.

Consequently, LIFA Surveyors needed a solution that could precisely map each apartment at speed and with minimal disruption.

How GeoSLAM Technology is Beneficial for Surveyors

They decided to work with handheld SLAM laser scanners and found that GeoSLAM’s ZEB Revo was the best solution for the job.

The ZEB Revo appealed to LIFA for various reasons but above all the scanner is easy to use, requiring minimal training. As a result, the entire building could be scanned by one person in 30 minutes. Further, the ZEB Revo’s speed of capture combined with its accurate measurements, meant that LIFA could achieve its goals cost-effectively.

We surveyed an entire 13-storey residential building in one and a half hours with only 30 minutes needed for the actual scanning.

Using accurate measurements and point clouds to Create BIM Models

The 3D point cloud data collected by the ZEB Revo was used to create a Building Information Model (BIM). Technicians used the BIM to take measurements of the apartments and common spaces, such as hallways and elevator shafts. During this process, the team visually compared the model against the original design plan to ensure that all building elements were constructed correctly. Due to the efficiency of the scanner, LIFA achieved the accuracy needed for their client.  

The speed of capture and ease of use resulted in LIFA surveyors dramatically reducing their time on interior building survey from days to hours, whilst maintaining high levels of accuracy.

Within days of the scan, LIFA delivered the final measurements to the contractor – a cost-effective solution for both companies.

Words by Tina Greensfield | Iowa DOT

At Iowa State DOT (Department of Transport) it is our job to make sure over 24,000 miles of road remains clear and safe to use in winter. We have 109 maintenance areas across the state where stockpiles of salt are kept for distribution. Each facility can each hold up to 1200 tonnes.

Throughout winter salt is loaded onto trucks and spread on roads to stop the surface from freezing. Pay loads are measured in weight as salt is loaded onto spreading trucks and supplies are depleted. But as the salt is used, there is a clear discrepancy between the volume of salt in the shed and the paper records – it is not reliable to just look inside a half-empty shed and assess how much material remains.

 If volume of salt is too low or we don’t know how much is available, we may find ourselves forced to make snap decisions about redistribution which is both costly to the state and inconvenient to residents and businesses alike.

 We needed another solution and following a few severe winters where salt reserves around the country ran out, the Great Lakes froze and shipments were halted we were determined to invest in a reliable measuring process for managing stockpiles in future, which led us to a GeoSLAM volumes solution.

“In terms of speed and accuracy, this was a real game changer for us!“

Using the handheld SLAM device, we can produce a three-dimensional model of the stockpile in just a few minutes. We have never experienced this level of accuracy before and capturing data was as easy as surveying the site with the naked eye.

The surface of the stockpile is very uneven with lumps on one side and big cliffs on the other where loaders have dug-out salt for spreading, in the past our ‘best guess’ used to involve looking at the stockpile against some markers on the walls of the shed which provided limited accuracy to say the least, so this was a real game changer for us.

Data is then processed using GeoSLAM Hub and imported to the volumes software. As the granules vary in size, we apply a bulk density value as well as defining a floor and perimeter of each pile calculate the total volume of the stockpile in tonnes.

From start to end, the entire process took around twenty minutes. We now have depot staff going out and scanning the stockpiles regularly. This new level of insight means we don’t have to worry about compromising road users’ safety across the state of Iowa as we always know what volume of salt we have available to use.

Kidd Mine, Glencore | Natural resource company

When creating underground mapping for mines, mining engineers are often faced with having to work in hazardous and rugged environments, in difficult-to-access spaces and without GPS coverage. In order to address these challenges, mining companies are continuously searching for ways to plan efficient site operations, streamline tunnelling processes and optimise production and personnel safety.

Kidd Mine, an underground base metal mine in Canada and the world’s deepest copper/ zinc mine, epitomises this by adopting new and advanced survey technology. With the aid of GeoSLAM’s 3D mapping technology, the mine is able to assess risk associated with ground and support systems failure, magnitude seismic events, large-scale deformation or rock bursts associated with mining at extreme depths.

Built for harsh and demanding environments, GeoSLAM’s handheld laser scanners are robust, splash-proof and dust-tight (with ratings up to IP64 level). They’re adaptable to any environment – inside or outside, in daylight and darkness – without the need for GPS.

Lightweight and easy-to-use, you can walk and survey accessible areas quickly and easily – even those which are normally off-limits. For more confined or unreachable places, they can be attached to trolleys or mine vehicles for remote monitoring.

“It’s critical data that will help us lower the risk to personnel and keep mines safer“

David Counter, a senior ground control engineer at the Kidd Mine, emphasised the importance of using a hand-held laser scanning device to map the underground areas at the mine. “It produces a continuous 3D animation image of whatever underground areas are being scanned as the user walks along the drift. This allows the mine to map out problem areas and to carry out ground support rehabilitation in those areas.”

“The ZEB Revo provides a background dataset that can be used for comparative purposes if a future high-magnitude seismic event occurs or for determining how much static deformation has been occurring due to regional mine closure over time.”

Despite needing to rapidly map mines under intense time constraints, traditional underground survey techniques have proved to be slow. Mine engineers and surveyors all need access to user friendly technology that is easy to install and use,  but is robust and reliable enough to do the job quickly and accurately. Within minutes anyone can be using a GeoSLAM scanner and immediately start creating a 3D point cloud of the area. Data is collected continuously while walking the survey area – with no time-consuming or cumbersome set-up required.

GeoSLAM’s award-winning software instantly turns data into actionable 3D information. So, you can rapidly gain insight into rock mass behaviour and map out deformations in rock walls & complex tunnel profiles. Plus, accelerated survey workflows help you deliver productivity and efficiency improvements, at the same time as helping you hit your zero-harm targets.

“There is a sound basis for SLAM laser technology to define areas where the ground support systems need to be replaced or rehabilitated,” Counter concluded.

Entropy Group | Words Robert W. Myers J.D.

Active shooter incidents are a growing concern in the United States, with death tolls, most predominantly in schools, rapidly rising and law enforcement resources stretched beyond breaking point.

With the unpredictability of these incidents, both in scale and location, our team at Entropy Group LLC has been working alongside law enforcement and US attorneys nationwide in order to compress response times, by utilizing 2D floor plans and 3D models developed from GeoSLAM ZEB Revo RT data sets, a program that is patent pending.

“ZEB Revo RT provides us with the necessary accuracy and is much more time efficient than other laser scanning technologies.“

The significance of the problem is evidenced by the recent publication of a National Standard for response to active shooters. The National Fire Protection Association, (NFPA), published NFPA 3000(PS), a provisional national standard, titled, “Standard for an Active Shooter / Hostile Event Response (ASHER) Program“, published April 11, 2018.

According to scanning professionals, to map just the K-12 public schools in the U.S., it would take a scanning team, scanning 100,000 square feet per day, seven days a week, a total of 181 years to complete. This estimate addresses only the public schools and does not address any of the many private schools, let alone the post-secondary school facilities.

When confronted with the magnitude of the effort it was immediately obvious to Entropy Group LLC staff that we needed to join forces with GeoSLAM because their ZEB REVO line of scanners provide the necessary accuracy and are much more time efficient than other laser scanner technologies.

To finalize the proof of efficacy of the patent pending filing, Entropy Group LLC recently completed a simulated active shooter incident where six law enforcement officers were tested by responding to a fictitious scenario. Officers were provided a detailed floorplan of the two story building which is currently used as a church and parochial school facility. The structure is quite complex with many classrooms, counselling rooms, worship sanctuary, multi-media studios, café area and church offices.

The results of the exercise indicate that officers which have access to the 2D floor plans ahead of time, improve their situational awareness, their confidence in responding to a facility that they have never been to previously, by gaining “facility familiarity” through review of floor plans and other data prior to their response. Additionally, response times were documented to decrease by up to 21%. This improvement in response will directly result in fewer deaths and casualties.

Entropy Group LLC is a full-service Forensics and Security Consultancy firm providing services for Executive Protection, Accident Reconstruction, Security Threat Assessments, Building Information Modelling, Security Design Reviews, Security Program Reviews / Audits,Litigation Support, Pre-Travel Security Front Team Assessments, and Access Control Assessments.

We value our relationship with GeoSLAM and California Surveying and Drafting Supply (CSDS) and their support of our mission by providing premier instrumentation for the improvement of societal ability to address and respond to active shooter events.”

1 Springer. “Rapid rise in mass school shootings in the United States, study shows: Researchers call for action to address worrying increase in number of mass school shootings in past two decades.” ScienceDaily, 19 April 2018

“We chose the ZEB Revo RT for its portability“

University of Leicester | Eden Project

Monitoring and understanding our environment has never been more important as the threat of climate change looms and governments step up to better manage their greenhouse gas emissions. Tom Potter, a doctoral researcher at the University of Leicester, UK, set out to further develop a technique to estimate biomass and carbon more efficiently using state-of-the-art, mobile LiDAR sensors across multiple, complex forest environments.

To do so he visited the Eden Project in Cornwall, UK which reflects a true tropical forest – representing different forests from around the world with a rainforest ‘biome’ of over 1,000 tropical trees and plans. However, he had to work around several challenges. For fixed point scanners, the high-density plots of specimens created a problem of shadows – known as ‘occlusions’ – whereby the nearest features will block out features behind. This also limits the ability to acquire accurate measurements to create a comprehensive 3D model. And with the biome being open to the public and a popular tourist destination, Tom only had a few hours each day before opening hours – insufficient time for a traditional static survey.

“Using GeoSLAM’s local processing software, the raw scan data was processed on site, with no internet connection required – useful when in an actual rainforest!“

Mobile surveying equipment that was able to take readings easily and quickly from even the densest areas was needed to ensure precise scans were taken to accurately calculate biomass and carbon storage potential.

Tom found the mobility and speed of GeoSLAM’s ZEB Revo to be the perfect solution. The lightweight scanner can be pole mounted, handheld or even attached to a vehicle or drone – collecting over 43,000 measurement points per second. Instead of hundreds of time-consuming static scans, Tom captured all angles by simply walking in a loop around the rainforest environment.

He then converted the point cloud data into 3D volume-based plots to derive above-ground biomass and carbon densities for multiple types of tropical forest. A comprehensive dataset was built, containing information for any type of forest that scientists can use to make calculations with minimal survey effort or expertise. And all at considerably less expenditure than traditional survey methods.

Choate Construction | Construction company

2017’s Hurricane Irma was the most powerful storm to hit the continental United States since Katrina in 2005. Besides the high human cost (almost 100 lives lost in the US) the financial cost to property was estimated to top $50 billion – the 5th costliest hurricane in US history.

Amongst those damaged properties were the Westlake Apartments in Savannah, Georgia – a complex of 14 buildings containing 100 individual apartments encompassing over 111,000 sq. ft. These residential structures were flooded by the storm surge – meaning major renovations were required to repair the significant water damage.

With the complex dating from 1974, no building blueprints were in existence. The huge task facing contractor Choate Construction was therefore to rapidly collect this spatial data to produce the necessary internal floorplans and external elevations. Utilizing a static scanner was out of the question as to capture all necessary data would have required over 1,500 individual set-ups – at an estimated timescale of 3 weeks.

“This would have taken over 75 hours of scanner time along with a static scanner, with the ZEB Revo we were able to accomplish this in only two days“

Mobile, handheld mapping was therefore the ideal solution – chosen for its incredible speed and ease of use. Instead of 1,500 scans, just 14 scans were required (one scan per building) to collect the necessary building elements (floors, walls, ceilings, rooves, doors, and windows) within the required accuracy tolerance.

The Choate Construction team utilized the ZEB Revo to complete the job. With individual scans as quick as just 7 minutes, the average scan time was 40 minutes per building. In total, the team spent less than 10 hours scanning – spending just 2 days on site.

This speed was of particular importance as the residential units were in occupation – with a scan time of just 5 minutes per unit, disruption to residents was kept to an absolute minimum.

The survey team were delighted with the high reliability of the scan data, all within 1” relative and absolute accuracy. They were also surprised by how well the external features (exterior walls and sloped rooves) were captured – with no drift or errors encountered.

The 3D scan data was quickly processed in GeoSLAM Hub – a one-stop shop for point cloud manipulation.

The office team were able to view the individual 3D point clouds, as well as merging them into one. The data was also sliced into plans, sections and elevations within GeoSLAM Draw, and exported in a CAD-friendly format. From this data, an accurate 3D Revit model was built and supplied to the project architect.

With the increasing incidence of ever-more powerful tropical storms, and an ageing property stock, such quick and simple survey solutions are surely the way of the future

Builders by Design | Words by Nick Philips

Established in 2001, Builders by Design Ltd are a multi-disciplinary design and construction company based in London. Their expertise and services are mainly in the residential sector for new builds, conversions, and extensions. The core business is a combination of collaborations via competitive tender, negotiated contracts and design and build. They also have a bespoke joinery workshop facility in Park Royal, designing and fabricating furniture, kitchens, windows and doors. One of their greatest achievements to date, was being selected as the main contractor for Peacock House, a new build in Aldeburgh, Suffolk which was awarded a National and Regional RIBA award and was longlisted for Grand Designs House of the Year in 2017.

We spoke with Director, Nick Phillips, following their recent purchase of their GeoSLAM ZEB Revo RT to get an understanding of how this was helping to support their business. Previously, external companies were appointed to produce the 2D surveys which proved to be expensive, time consuming and not without errors and omissions.

Traditional 2D surveys instructed, would only take limited data, meaning important details on areas, such as staircases were incomplete. Inevitably there were times during the later stages of design and construction that the absence of such details required re-working of proposals. The manual process was also not very efficient, as it could take a full day for 1 person to survey a 3-bedroomed house and several weeks to receive the results. Nick identified that projects with existing structures should always start with comprehensive 3D data, which led to the purchase of the GeoSLAM ZEB Revo RT to enable 3D data capture in-house.

“Bringing 3D data capture in house was the obvious next step, with speed and accuracy important factors. For this and other reasons we selected GeoSLAM to provide the equipment and software required. It has had a positive impact on our workflows, which we will look to keep improving“

Before purchasing the ZEB Revo RT, other scanners were considered, such as terrestrial and static, but there were time and software limitations to adopting these more traditional systems. Using these methods was not efficient enough for Builders by Design, as they needed technology with speed, accuracy, and ease of use. Using GeoSLAM handheld solutions meant they could complete between 6-8 scans a day, with the accuracy they needed, whereas a static scanner may only achieve 1-2 scans a day. With current Covid-19 restrictions, having a single operative on site for only 30-minutes to complete the internal and external data capture can bring logistical advantages where a property is still occupied.

Builders by Design have integrated the ZEB Revo RT as an integral part of their digital workflows, providing all the stakeholders with dynamic visualisation material for project design. They use the ZEB Revo RT to scan the 3D point cloud, importing the data into CAD software to create 3D models and 2D planning documentation for the design team. Working in 3D environments together with other visualisation tools has also created a transparency and understanding of design intent between the Architect, the site team and the client that could not have been achieved with 2D plans, sections, and elevations.

Having utilised the GeoSLAM ZEB Revo RT in-house to identify the many benefits to the business, they plan to collaborate with external Architectural and Design practices undertaking their own digital transformation journey, to build templated 2D documentation of existing buildings, 360° site photos, 3D model and bespoke CAD packages. In closing, Nick emphasised that:

“Delivering a point of difference from the competition will become increasingly essential to remain relevant in the market, requiring new 3D technology adoption to assist in achieving fewer errors and more predictable outcomes for all building projects.“

Words by Nikolaj Miller | LIFA Surveyors

“Billund Airport (BLL) in central Denmark is the second largest airport in the country, processing over 3 million travellers a year. Quite a few of the arriving tourists head to the original LEGOLAND resort which is situated nearby.

Similar to many airports, conveyor belts in the BLL departure terminal carry luggage down to the central baggage room for automated sorting before being loaded onto trolleys for the final few metres out to the waiting aircraft. With a ceiling nearly five metres high, the baggage room is a three-dimensional maze of ascending and descending conveyor belts, support structures, catwalks and HVAC piping.

A 3D model was needed to help determine if new conveyor belts could be threaded through the existing features for the expansion.

“As long as it takes to capture the scan data, that’s how long GeoSLAM Hub takes to process it. That is what is amazing about this technology“

Early in the project planning stage, BLL wasn’t sure how much detail they would need to proceed with the expansion design. We had worked extensively with the GeoSLAM ZEB Revo solution on multiple post-construction quality control jobs and were confident that the handheld device would provide an impressive level of detail in a short amount of time. In fact, it took less than 10 minutes.

After scanning the space, the data was imported into GeoSLAM Hub and the pointcloud was processed in just ten minutes as well.

To further demonstrate the detail of the data collection, LIFA sent a 30m2 section of the point cloud to a subcontractor for feature extraction and modelling. We had quite an amazing set of data, The 3D model included floors, walls, ceiling, conveyor belts, beams, cable trays, lights, railings, pipes, and structural features.

BLL officials were so impressed with the level of detail captured by the ZEB Revo, the information formed part of a more detailed model for a tender to upgrade and expand the belts and sorting for arriving baggage.