The July 23 Plant Engineering Webcast, "3D Laser Scanning: Revolutionizing Facility Management" was presented by Brian Ely, Project Director, and Kurt Yeghian, Founding President of Existing Conditions Surveys, Inc. The presentation was sponsored by FARO. There were a number of additional questions from viewers that were answered by Ely and Yeghian. The full archive version of the Webcast can be found here.

Q: What is the feasibility of this technology for small industrial plants?

A: Laser scanning can be used on projects of all sizes.

Q: In healthcare: What about concealed conditions — behind a layer of gypsum board?

A: The 3D laser scanner is a line-of-sight only tool. We can only capture what is visible and accessible at the time of the survey.

Q: What is the easiest way to capture the square footage of a space?

A: The space can be scanned down to an accuracy of 2mm and we can then calculate the square footage based upon that.

Q: I’ve seen a lot of point cloud scans and I don’t think I’ve seen them as clear as the ones you presented. What type of scanner was used?

A: The Faro Focus X330.

Q: What would be a typical cost for scanning say a 20’x20′ mechanical room?

A: Each survey is customized and is dependent on your scope of work and what you need as a deliverable.

Q: Can the scanner be used in a class 1, division 1 area?

A: Yes it can be used in a class 1, division 1 area.

Q: How does image determine light and shadows? How/why do you see details on opposite side of solid objects? For example, windows on opposite wall inside building normally obscured by solid front wall or roof.

A: We do multiple set-ups with the scanner to capture details of all sides of objects and stitch all those scans together to create one overall point cloud image which is then exported into Revit.

Q: What is the accuracy of the dimensions derived from the point cloud?

A: Two millimeters over a thousand foot span.

Q: After a complete scan of an entire process building is completed, can you re-scan just one part of the building, and then re-stitch the scan into the previous registered scan?

A: Yes, this is something that we do routinely for our clients.

Q: Is the equipment sensitive to extreme climates, such as freezers or ovens

A: The nominal operating temperature is between 20 and 120 F.

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