Cutting AEC costs down with high definition laser scanning webcast: Your questions answered

Webcast speaker Jon Sever answered additional questions about topics such as technology services, reducing costs, and how detailed a scan needs to be.

By Jon Sever March 21, 2016

A recent Plant Engineering webcast featured Jon Sever from Pennoni, on the topic: "How to cut AEC costs down in a Demanding Market with High Definition Laser Scanning." He responded to Webcast attendee questions that were unable to be answered during the Webcast. Those responses appear below.

An archive of the full webcast can be found here:

Question: What services are available with this technology?

Answer: BIM as-builts, existing conditions surveys, structural monitoring and much more.

Q: How do you reduce costs?

A: HDLS provides 10 times the level of detail of traditional means and reduces cost in man hours.

Q: Are the heat maps infrared technology?

A: No, they are a color representation of elevation in a specific plane. But heat maps can be generated using a thermal camera on a HDLS scanner.

Q: How effective is this technology in providing a good design basis?

A: Very. I have cut survey costs by two-thirds on most projects.

Q: How user-friendly is this technology?

A: If the person is computer and tech-knowledgeable, then it is pretty easy to learn. But the person will also need a very strong 3D background to understand how to capture complex environments because they will understand what they will need for proper mapping of complex 3D objects.

Q: What is the level of training needed for personal to use this technology?

A: It takes me about one year of hands on shadowing and independent study before I turn one of my new hires on their own. But this is due to the variety of work that I cover with HDLS. This time can be reduced if you are focused on one specific type of work.

Q: Did you use black and white inside a tank?

A: No color was used inside the tank. We did not set up any lighting to capture color. Also, color was not required for this particular job.