Your Jobsite at Your Fingertips: Making Remote Work... Work!
Your Jobsite at Your Fingertips: Making Remote Work... Work!
For over a year, our news feeds have been flooded with articles about how the global pandemic forced everyone to adapt their work lives seemingly overnight. Remote work is now an everyday reality for many. However, with the building industry among those that are least digitized, it is especially difficult to keep projects on track when you're not physically present at a job site. In this article, we'll explore how utilizing Existing Conditions can help bring your job site to your fingertips – wherever you happen to be working from.
In The Dark? You’re Not Alone
During the COVID-19 pandemic, architects, real estate developers, and contractors felt lost as they adjusted to the new reality of remote work conditions over the past year. With no way to get up to date with their projects or to communicate about said progress, they felt distant from the work that was being done. This left them in a state of constant uncertainty, as general contractors scrambled to ensure health and safety while also providing quality service for clients. Without regular updates from the job sites themselves, stakeholders were often left in the dark about what was happening on site, while construction firms found it increasingly difficult to keep up with deadlines. To make things even more challenging, COVID-19 had severely disrupted supply chains, inflating material costs and causing logistics and delivery issues.
Our 3D Laser Scanning Expertise
Believe it or not, we’ve helped firms work through challenges like these for over 27 years. In fact, Existing Conditions has benefitted from a fully-distributed, remote workforce since the very beginning. We know how to work like this and how to work for firms that have remote teams. For the past two and a half decades, we've shown that we can be an excellent supplement to any building project. You can consider our team as your eyes in the field, capturing as much information about the built environment as possible, and then passing that knowledge on to you and your team.
Knowing the exact dimensions and characteristics of space is a "must-have'' in any construction or development project. Without an accurate starting point, it's nearly impossible for teams to effectively manage the uncertainties that come with renovating, improving, or constructing a building. We provide many different services for our clients including laser scan data, BIM models, CAD drawings, and as built drawings.
‘As Builts' are a highly detailed set of measured drawings of a building at a specific moment in time. Accurate as built's serve as a reliable point of departure for all the project's stakeholders. Final as built drawings, created at the completion of a project, will incorporate modifications, design changes, and any alterations that occurred in the construction process. They can even offer a compare-and-contrast view between the building as-designed versus the final product.
We’ve Got You Covered
You can rest assured that the data captured on-site is dependable, as we work with only the most technologically advanced laser scanning technology. We use a range of equipment from top companies including Leica and Faro. One of the great features of 3D laser scanners is the ability to capture information from a distance. This allows us to capture measurements of unsafe areas from a safe location within a line of sight. Just as for our 3D laser scanning services, we have adapted to the newest methods of drone surveying. All of our drone pilots are certified and are registered with the United States government and the FAA. With the use of drones, we are able to capture information about unsafe roofs and other areas that aren't able to be physically accessed with a terrestrial laser scanner.
Our deliverables are driven by your scope and your needs. We customize our level of detail to suit your project’s requirements. With the availability of companies like Existing Conditions, there’s very little justification these days for an architect or developer to put their team at risk to measure sites like this.
Eliminate Wasted Time
Why waste time sending junior architects into the field for just a few basic measurements? Our 3D laser scanning and drone services largely eliminate the need for you to travel to the site (get in a car, go to the site, put on PPE, move through the site, take measurements, take photos, create drawings, travel from the site, and verify drawings in the office) every time a member of your team has a question about site conditions. You could spend a full day going through this exhausting process.
Or you could spend that same amount of time working with the information a 3D laser scanning firm like ours provides - accurate drawings, 3D models, and virtual tours of the space. It's as easy as sending us an email, getting a quote, and having our team of experts come out to your site to 3D laser scan the area and provide you with a full set of drawings that you can navigate through from your desk. With less time wasted, no room for error, and still having your team do what they’re experts at, working with Existing Conditions is a no-brainer.
We’ll travel to and from the site, adhering to COVID protocols, and navigating dangerous site conditions. As a team that routinely measures hundreds of buildings every year, we’re able to get the job done quickly and efficiently, saving you time, money, and hassle. Beyond the convenience factor and cost savings, there are many items you simply cannot measure with traditional tools like a tape measure.
For instance, if you need measurements of complicated structural elements, nothing can replace the accuracy of a 3D laser scan. The same goes for exterior details - if you need to know the size or shape of specific elements, photographs and hand-drawings simply will not do. Our tech-driven approach is better, faster, and more cost-effective than doing it yourself. By bringing in the experts from Existing Conditions, you enable your team to remain available to do the work they do best.
Start Accurate, Stay Accurate
With accurate as-built drawings and models of your building, you can make informed decisions. Whether you’re an architect, designer, construction manager, or any other part of the real estate development process, you can feel confident that you are making smart choices based on the reality of the situation, not based on assumptions or guesswork. Point clouds, as-built drawings and 3D BIM models from Existing Conditions can serve as one of your biggest assets, helping to reduce your risk and add value to any deal.
We deliver full 3D documentation of your building, allowing you to more fully understand a building in the comfort of your own workspace. Knowing that you can rely on our data will give you and your stakeholders peace of mind, empowering you to focus on the work you want to do.
Rely on our equipment, rely on our experience, rely on our expertise. Let us be your eyes in the field.
Connect with us today about how you can get started 3D laser scanning your building or site.
FAQs
How Does Laser Scanning Work?
One primary method is that a laser scanner sends light pulses at high speeds which reflect off objects and return to the scanners’ sensor. For each pulse, the distance between the scanner and object is measured by determining the elapsed time between the sent and received pulses. Each point of the scan will be converted to a pixel with a known x-, y-, and z- coordinate. Laser scans or LiDAR scans are taken in multiple positions around a site from varying viewpoints. Millions of data points are captured and processed into a point cloud, creating an accurate data set of the structure or site.
What are As-Built Drawings?
As-built drawings are the set of accurate record drawings for a project. They reflect all changes made during the construction process and show the exact dimensions, geometry, and location of all building elements and infrastructure. As-built drawings can also be referred to as 2D CAD drawings and deliver site plans, floor plans, interior elevations, exterior elevations, sections, details, isometric drawings, mechanical and electrical MEP drawings, reflected ceiling plans RCPs, and more.
What is a 3D BIM Model?
A building information model (BIM) is a digital representation of the physical and functional characteristics of a building or infrastructure project. BIM stores all the information about a building's life cycle in one place, including design, construction, and operational data, which can be used for planning, renovation, and maintenance. It provides accurate spatial relationships and manufacturer details, as well as geographic information and other pertinent aspects of the building.