Construction complexity, a constrained labor pool, razor-thin margins, a fragile global supply chain and rising owner expectations put general and specialty contractors under pressure like never before.
“Owners have set a very high bar when it comes to delivering projects on time. As an industry, we’re trying to do more with fewer resources,” observes Erin Khan, founder and principal of Erin Khan Consulting, an advisory firm that helps connect contractors with technology partners.
“Rework is a huge risk. Laser scanning helps control risk and delay by helping project leaders better anticipate rather than react to clashes and coordination issues.”
—Erin Khan, Erin Khan Consulting
Threading a scheduling needle in today’s build environment is a challenge. Fortunately, contractors have a powerful tool that helps tame ever-aggressive construction delivery schedules: 3D laser scanning.
Today, nearly every aspect of a project workflow benefits from the insights laser scanning offers through point cloud data, including:
- Survey the construction location for site analysis, accurate measurements and topographic mapping
- Support volume calculations for material takeoff
- Assess the levelness and flatness of concrete placements
- Evaluate the verticality of facades and walls
- Identify and resolve conflicts between various building elements such as MEP systems
- Review jobsite safety conditions on a continuing basis
- Fabricate offsite components with can’t-miss precision and confidence
- Share reality capture data to project stakeholders anytime, anywhere
Taken together, many of these applications work to mitigate a central cause of project delay… rework. Today some studies report that less than 1% of major projects are completed on-time and on-schedule and deliver the benefits promised. Another study concludes that rework can add 4-9% to a project’s total cost, which could damage a contractor’s profit margin.
1. Laser Scanning Helps Eliminate Rework
Laser scanning can help project planners eliminate rework scenarios by documenting as-built conditions and resolving potential clashes with the BIM (building information model) design. Where are the structural and MEP system conflicts? Point cloud data can reveal anomalies and design flaws in a virtual environment, sparing the project needless field delay and cost. Other rework costs can include:
- Litigation Expense. Schedule delays can severely impact owner requirements. Claims, counter-claims and lawsuits can quickly follow.
- Project Delay Penalties. Failing to complete the project within a prescribed time frame can trigger contractual penalties.
- Reputation Damage. A recurring pattern of rework travels fast within the contractor and owner community. Laser scanning helps GCs and subcontractors avoid rework surprises and better meet completion targets.
“Rework is a huge risk,” warns Khan. “Laser scanning helps control risk and delay by helping project leaders better anticipate rather than react to clashes and coordination issues.”
2. Laser Scanning Supports Offsite Fabrication
Offsite fabrication is another way to supercharge project schedules. Allowing important project components like mechanical or cladding systems to proceed concurrently (versus sequentially) offsite allows project leaders to trim weeks, if not months, off the build schedule. The key is precise measurements of as-built conditions so every element syncs perfectly with jobsite reality. No surprises. No rework delays. What’s more, offsite construction quality and speed helps:
- Avoid weather setbacks or waiting on trade availability for your project
- Minimize on-site labor which helps reduce costs and improves safety
- Improve sustainability with components fabricated in a controlled setting that helps minimize material waste
3. Laser Scanning Verifies Progress
Complex projects are well-served by continuous scanning. “You can easily have over a hundred subs working on a large project. How do you make sure all the work is progressing as it should?” asks Khan. “Manual inspections take time. Project leaders need a quick way to verify progress and head-off potential downstream issues that may be costly to coordinate or fix.”
Jennifer Wooles, director of virtual planning & construction at Massachusetts-based Columbia Construction, has a unique appreciation of the “trust but verify” imperative many GCs live by.
“With so much of a project budget and our reputation relying on a key trade partner, it forced us to change how we track progress,” Wooles explains. “We needed a better way to track installation progress properly, answer owners’ questions and feel comfortable about our reports.” Laser scanners help provide irrefutable progress verification and an audit trail that helps keep the project on track and resolve scheduling disputes.
Today few contractors can claim too much project visibility and insight. Khan says larger national and regional contractors understand that and are doubling down on laser scanning investments.
“Tech adoption is increasing rapidly across the board,” reports Khan. “Laser scanning hardware and software helps GCs and specialty contractors bridge the labor gap, simplify project complexity and advance project quality and timelines.”
To learn more, connect with a Leica Geosystems reality capture specialist.
