application of terrestrial 3d laser scanning in building information modelling from tianji ma

Griffith School of Engineering

Griffith University

4006ENG– Industry Affiliates Program

Application of terrestrial 3D laser scanning

in building information modelling

Tianji Ma S 2807824

10th June 2014 Semester1

Dr Kriengsak Panuwatwanich

A report submitted in partial fulfillment of the degree of Bachelor degree

The copyright on this report is held by the author and/or the IAP Industry Partner. Permission has been granted to Griffith University to keep

a reference copy of this report.

4006ENG – Industry Affiliates Program, Semester 1, 2014

i

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

This project analyses the future development of laser scanning and building information

modelling technology using in the construction industry. As new innovations in building

industry, whether to use those new technologies instead of traditional as-build method is now

becoming a controversial topic globally. My IAP project is used to analysis and predicts the

future developments and opportunities of using new technologies. The project can be

consisted as two parts research process and case study. Both parts are essential for proving

that the new technologies have more opportunities than traditional construction method

during whole project life cycle.

At the beginning of the project, some research about working principle of laser scanning

technology and creating steps of building information models will be known firstly. In this

step, the drawbacks and technical limitations should also be search form articles and online

information. Meanwhile, the working process and beneficial outcomes of using new

technologies should also be known in order to analysis the future developments by comparing

with traditional methods.

In order to prove that new technology can dramatically save human resources and economic

funds in construction process, a case study is important to provide a working experience for

whole project life cycle. In this project, not only the laser scanning process but also the

creating 3D building information process will be done to get the models of target building.

Also, the data from building information modelling technology will be compared with the

data which collected by manual measurement process to test its accurate and reliability of new

methods.


ii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I appreciate the following persons and groups for their generous contribution in providing

assistance to finish this IAP project.

Dr Kriengsak Panuwatwanich: As my industry and academic supervisor, he provides me a lot

of useful information and suggestions during my IAP project.

With his advices and suggestions of reading professional paper

and general article, I have got deeply understanding with my

project background and the methodology of my project. He

also widens my horizon and inspiration to help me solve issues

in my project.

Mr Francois Du Bois: As a training officer form C.R Kennedy Survey Solution

Company, he present and teach me the methods to control

needed software and equipment.

Mr Andrew: As a training officer from Griffith University, he presents

safety training class before my IAP project.

YunShan Wang: One of my friends who always discuss with me to master the

Software named Autodesk Revit and figure out problems of

Software.


iii

TABLE OF CONTENTS

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ....................................................................................................... I

1 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................. 4

2 LITERATURE REVIEW ................................................................................................. 5

2.1 Laser scanning technology ............................................................................................. 5

3 MATERIAL AND METHODS ...................................................................................... 17

3.1 Materials and equipment.............................................................................................. 17

3.2 Methods .......................................................................................................................... 20

4 RESULT AND DISCUSSION ........................................................................................ 22

4.1 Laser scanning process ................................................................................................. 22

5 WIDER PROFESSIONAL ISSUES .......................................................................... 26

6 REPORT ON PROJECT PLANNING REPORT AND SCHEDULE ....................... 27

7 CONCLUSION ................................................................................................................ 28

8 REFERENCE .................................................................................................................. 30


4

1 INTRODUCTION

Recently, a new methodology called application of terrestrial 3D laser scanning in building

information modelling is being widely used in the construction industry. The beneficial

outcomes of this methodology offer additional benefits to the professional measurement

process in construction and effectively supply accurate feedback of building information

during a project (Rapid 3D laser scanning of a street scene，n.d). The method consists of

three separate technical innovations such as building information models, laser scanning and

point cloud technology.

Actually, human resources and economic funds during construction process can be

dramatically saved by using the laser scanning technology (Wicker, 2005). Because it can be

set up in a safety position, the potential threats in measurement process can also be avoided

(Laser Scanning: Chapter 1 of 3 - The Basics, n.d).

Moreover, point cloud technology is essential for creating 3D models of target buildings.

When the scanning machine capture the buildings’ information, the three dimensional point

cloud which can be identified as specific models, will be up loaded and registered on

computers even internet(Kim, et al, 2013). In this stage, data can be modified and combined

in special software in order to create building information models on Autodesk Revit. The

advantages of these methods are minimizing the consumption of human resources and getting

models of target building more effectively.

Although there are a lot of advantages from using the new construction planning design

method, there are still some limitations which can restrict future development in the building

industry. First of all the accuracy of scanning data depends on many conditions, such as

weather, sound or even the reflection of targets. Beside, to get the accurate internal structure

models, we also need to repeat the scanning process many times in different positions. It is

also difficult to transform the format of raw data.

For this project, 3D building information model was created by using the new technology.

Compared with traditional construction methods such as the manual measurement process and

drawing architectural blueprints, the new method still has more potential developments and

opportunities in the future.


Application of terrestrial 3D laser scanning in building information modelling 5

2 LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Laser scanning technology

2.1.1 Background of laser scanning technology

Laser scanning technology, a radical technology of the 21st century, brings a myriad of

beneficial outcomes to industrial development; far greater than mankind’s expectation.

Especially in construction area, it effectively and efficiently measures and projects a model of

the target building; dramatically decreasing the human resources required as well as reducing

expenses of the project. Recently, the suggestion of widely using this new technology in

construction instead of the traditional method of manual blueprints is becoming controversial.

The disagreement centres on both the construction process and project management system as

it affects surveying elevations, topography, as-built system and structure designing process.

While the new technology has more advantages and greater potential to be developed than

manual measurement method, it also has some drawbacks and limitations during scanning

process.

Generally, laser scanning technology remarkably provides survey technology data as it

effectively documents highly accurate measurements, thus saving expenditure, time and

human labour involved in a project, benefitting both stakeholders and participants.

Furthermore, its intricate feedback mechanism offers a platform that aids engineers and

project designers to create better retrofit designs which may minimise potential threat during

the construction process (Deng, et al, 2007).

2.1.2 The working principle of laser scans station

The working principle of laser scan station is quite simple. During working process, the scan

station releases high frequency laser beams to the surfaces of the target building, interprets the

feedback it receives and translates this data into a three-dimensional model on a computer.

With a rate of more than 50,000 points per second, the scan station has the ability to cover a

large angle of view in less time and with more detail and accuracy compared to manual

measurement methods (Park, et al, 2007). Since each material has its own reflection


6

properties, when the laser light arrives to the surface of target area, it will be reflected by

different materials. Because of the speed of light is known, we can calculate the different

distance from features of the target surface as a result of different round-trip time

measurements (Brilakis, et al, 2011). The delays in the round-trip time are processed in the

centre control system which determines the three-dimensional location and also the material

used in the composition of the surface according to reflective properties. Because the scan

station can measure 10000-100000 point per second, all these point which contain different

distance information can be combined to smooth 3D point cloud image of target building

surface.

Figure 2.1shows the principle of a CCD line scanner ("NDT-Scan II", DBA Systems, n. d.).

As the working principle of laser scanning has been described, the limitations and drawbacks

of this technology can also be recognized during scanning process. For instance, the accuracy

of laser scanning result can be influenced by many conditions such as the surface reflection

rate, weather conditions, human error and even interference of sound waves. Although these

limitations will be addressed through future development of this technology, there are still

some methods which can dramatically minimize the errors and limitation of scanning process

so that the technology may be more efficient and error-accommodating.

2.1.3 The main scanning methods

The scanning methods can be consisted of two different kinds of static laser scanning and

kinematic laser scanning. Again, each method of scanning has its own advantages in

increasing the accuracy of scanning result.



First of all, the method of static laser scanning requires the installation of the scanner in a

fixed position during the data collection process. The scan station will continuously scan the

surface of target area many times until it achieves a highly accurate and reliable feedback.

Specifically, this method can provide maximal temporal resolution in a minimal limited

dimension. In this case, scanner will repeatedly observe the distance between scanner and

object in a particular area by limiting the scanning angel of high frequency laser light releaser

(the rate of laser light is around 500000 slope distances per second) (Lepădatu, 2011). The

advantage of using this method is its high accuracy and that the density of point cloud can be

found on target area.

Another method called kinematic laser scanning which means the distance and situation

between scanners and target surface constantly changes during scanning process. Generally,

the scanner will be set up on a moving platform such as plane or a moving vehicle. It uses a

similar technique where the high frequency laser beam releaser is rotated on its vertical axis

and scanning angel can be widened up to 360 degrees (Rio, 2013). With the scanning area no

longer limited to a minimal dimension, this technique is considered quite advantageous. As

the rotatable laser scanner works, the point cloud information from any perspective can be

memorised in an assumed 3D space. Because of the moving platform of scanner, the

technology is often portable and can be conveniently used to scan a large target area such as a

tunnel, road and even skyscrapers from an aerial view.

Figure 2.2 Static laser scanning and kinematic laser scanning (3D laser scanning, helping

bring games and movies to life, n.d)

2.1.4 Method can minimize the limitations of laser scanning technology


8

Meanwhile, there are also some methods which can minimise the influence from whether

condition such as noise interference. Noise interference is a common negative influence as

decreases accuracy of registration result during both scanning process and point cloud

representation process especially of scanning the internal structure of building (El-Omari &

Moselhi, 2008). In order to minimize its drawbacks and negative effects on the scanning

result, a noise filtering process is essential to solve this problem. Tensor voting algorithm is a

method that reduces noise and is widely used in the construction industry today. The working

principle and related equation is as follows;

The saliency decay function DF:

DF(s, ρ, σ) = , s= , ρ=

(Kim, et al, 2013)

In this equation, s is the distance between origin and coordinate system, ρ is the curvature of

arc, σ is the scale factor, c is the relative effect on saliency, is the angle between horizontal

direction and segment line and l is the length of segment.

This equation determines the tensor voting algorithm which has been used to determine as a

saliency decay function. By using this method, the negative effect from noise can be

minimised (Kim, et al, 2013).

Moreover, focal length error can also influence the accuracy of scanning result. During the as-

build process, the site image which has collected by laser scanner will automatically match a

subset of images of target area. However, some error will dramatically influence accuracy of

image matching process. At this time, the method of fitting different image pair can help

remove false match and enforce corresponding feature of seeking the correct matching data at

the same time. By using this method, the reproject errors caused by scanning distance and

scanning angel, can be minimized. And also each subset image and point cloud data will be

matched in a high accuracy rate (Golparvar-Fard, et al, 2011).



In order to avoid drawbacks and limitations effectively, another method called Automated

Recognition of Model Object is used in addition to aforementioned methods during the

scanning and measuring processes. The method named automated recognition of project 3D

model in laser scan refers the result of 3D CAD Model to revise the error during the scanning

process (Bosché, 2010). The methodology can be shown as flow chart as follows.

Chart 2.1 Flow chart of automated recognition of project 3D model in laser scan

The characteristic of this methodology has been obviously demonstrated by this flow chart. In

this method life cycle, the result 3D model will be re-uploaded to those three separated parts

during the life cycle. Again, this method aims to increase the accuracy of the re-uploaded data

through eliminating the errors during the scanning process.

The final step of laser scanning process is analysing and modifying raw data with techniques

such as automatic cut and fill surfaces. This step is essential for getting high accuracy 3D

point cloud data because each raw data may only cover one view of target surface. It is also

made up by two parts such as scanning from one location and scanning surface from several

locations. Scanning our target area from one location will be increase the density of point

cloud assuming on target surface. The higher density of point cloud on surface, the more

accuracy surface detail can be shown on the screen of scan station. Meanwhile, another part of

this step is scanning surface from several locations. In this step, scanning target surface in

different locations can cover whole views of target surface in 3D space. With different views

of scanning data, the repeated point cloud data can be replaced and revised to increase the

accuracy of scanning views. Moreover, different views of point cloud data can be combined

as one 3D point cloud image which it can ensure each specific point position in 3D space. As

Lasers scan Model Coarse Registration Model Fine Registration

3D Object Detection

Building Information

Models

3D CAD Model

Manual Input


10

a consequence, the process of modifying and analysis raw scanning data can minimize the

error during scanning process.

Figure 2.3 meshed surface of scanned terrain on NIST, n. d.

Above all these methods which I have mention about, will make a contribution to minimize

the limitation of laser scanning technology and increase the accuracy and stability of its

scanning result. There are also some beneficial outcomes and positive effects in this

innovation technology to effectively finish construction process and measurement process.

2.1.5 Beneficial outcomes form laser scanning and point cloud technology

One of the most essential positive outcomes is its shearing-information abilities. Generally,

the traditional measurement process required in architectural blueprints cannot be shown to

designer, engineering group and stakeholders in time, thus extending the duration of the

project and may influence the execution of the project plan. Since the laser scanning data can

be saved and modified, the data is very conveniently accessible and may be shared with

individuals and groups involved with the project. Not only the designers and engineers but

also stakeholders and builder can also see this point cloud data on an electronic platform. And

also, the laser scanning and point cloud technology can also be recorded slightly changing of



target surface and predict the directional trends of project. Specifically, the scanning data will

provide different colour on target surface in order to highlight the essential information of

target area such as potential threats, unbalanced or weak structures, or even rock fractures. For

example, a slow-moving failure of the rock mass and property in an open- pit mine can be

illustrated on scanner only by several times scanning. The property of rock can be identified

by different colour levels which the red colour means unstable while the green colour means

stable. Also, the surfaces can be referred with the changes from previous surfaces and

scanning data will be transformed to other software platform in order to measure distances

between previous and base surface measurements (Persson, et al, 2006).

Figure 2.4 Laser-scanning Software Adds Features and Functionality n.d.

2.1.6 Summary of laser scanning and point cloud technology

Nowadays, with the construction industry development, the traditional measurement process

cannot satisfy the requirement of high accuracy result, a reduced expenditure in human labour,

money and time. Conversely, the typical measurement method of using conventional tools

such as tape measures, plumb bobs, and notepads are considered time-consuming and

involves unnecessary human labour if it can be done with the laser scanning technology.

(Olsen, et al, 2009). However, all these problems can be solved by using laser scanning

technology. The laser scanning image can be seen as a digitized plant which means each part

of laser scanning result can be change, plan and rebuild to integrate the resources to maximize

the value of working process. Because the laser scanning results provide high accuracy point

cloud image of target surface, the times of field trips to gather as-built information will be

reduced. This advantage will provide tighter scheduling and high quality design before


12

construction process which those advantages can lead to reduce costs and avoid human

resource consumption (Wicker, 2005).

2.2 Building information modelling

2.2.1 Basic information of BIM

Building information modelling (BIM), as a new method in construction industry, can instead

of traditional method such as draw architectural blueprints during construction process. It

represents a methodology to manage the building design and project data in digital format

throughout a building’s lifecycle (Succar, 2009). BIM technology bases on some special

software such as Autodesk Revit, Autodesk CAD which they all can create 3D models of

building. In such software, the basic platform of environment around building can be

uploaded from external devices such as a professional camera, blueprint and laser scan station.

The basic platform is the original building area which has been completely represented by

software. It can cover nearly every environmental element around target area such as soil

mechanics conditions, hydrology conditions and even vegetation coverage area. When the

basic platform has been set up on software, the 3D building information models can be

created on that platform.

The creating process is similar with construction process. First of all, the basement structure

of building should be built on the ground level. In this step, more than thousands kinds of

columns and walls can be chosen as the structure of target building. After creating the

basement of building, another floor or roof can be created by adding another layer on the first

floor. During the creating process, all elements of construction can be changed and modified

by switching the new material with the original one.



Figure 2.5 A sample of creating building information models

2.2.2 BIM in project life cycle

The building information models also can be used during whole project life cycle which the

details can be shown in the flow chart as follows.

Chart 2.2 the Daily Life of Building Information Modelling, n. d.


14

The flow chart demonstrates the BIM model act on whole project life cycle. At the beginning

of the project life cycle, the programming of the construction will be planned by project

coordinators. The programming may include the requirement of the buildings, total project

cost and period of the project which they all can be the condition during construction process.

Conceptual design is using special software to creating building information models in order

to predict the project schedule. In this part, the simple building information will be created

base on those programming conditions. When the basic building information model is

acceptable, the detail design will be created on this model. Typically, the detail design always

includes the internal structure of buildings, floor layout and even external infrastructure.

Analysis process is essential for the quality of building and feasibility of the whole

construction process. The load-carrying capability of internal structure will be analysis by

using software and 3D building models. Because the building model has been built already,

there will be a lot of load assumed on the building models such as wind load, dead load, etc.

The different force condition will be shown on the model by different colour level, the red

area means large loaded force while the blue area means small loaded force in that area.

Documentation design is a process which design the inside layout of building which include

furniture design, electrical system design and water supply system design. After the

construction materials have been fabricated, the construction will be built by following the

working time schedule. Above all mentioned steps, the BIM can influence every step during

whole project life cycle and bring a lot of beneficial outcomes in construction process.

Creating as-build BIM, as an important method of construction industry, can bring a lot of

beneficial outcomes during construction process such as effectively finish project schedule,

appropriate time management and avoid money consumption. Generally, laser scanning

technology is widely used in creating as-build BIM because it can rapidly and accurately scan

the surface of environment. By using this technology, creating an as-build BIM can be

divided into three steps such as data collection process, data pre-processing process and

creating as-build BIM process (Tang, et al, 2010).

2.2.3 Steps of creating BIM

The first step is data collection process which laser scanning will collect basement data of as-

build BIMs tractable. The scanner will be set up around the target area and finished the whole



scanning process for several times in order to get the 3D point clout images of target building.

Sometimes, not only the laser scan station but also a digital camera is used to capture 3D

images of target area which can supply the basic platform of as-build BIM (Kim, et al, 2013).

Moreover, data pre-process is a semi-automated process which can be used to analysis and

modify raw data from scanning process. Typically, the customers should manually identify

the useful data form the scanning result and filter to remove unwanted data such as

environment data and interference data. By going through this filtering process, the raw data

will become more intuitive and easy to transport those data to other software format.

Modelling the BIM is the final step of this process. In this step, the material and element of

the target building should be identified by using the analysed raw data and project

requirement. For instance, a simple wood wall can be model as a planar patch while the think

concrete wall can only be assumed as a rectangular box. By using this principle, each part of a

building can be modelled as the combination of different geometrical images (Son & Kim,

2010). Generally, the standard BIM elements include wall, roof, slab, beam, and column

which are all commonly used in creating as-build BIM. The users can also create their own

models such as internal decorations, furniture and even specifications during as-build BIM

process (Tang, et al, 2010).


16

Figure 2.6 the image of using BIM in as-build process

2.2.4 Beneficial outcomes of using BIM

Using BIM in construction process can create a lot of beneficial outcomes to all project

participators. Because the BIM is created on software, not only the elements of the building

but also the internal structure of building can be modified and changed easily. The BIM also

provides opportunity for building designers to test the properties of their creations.

Additionally, each kind of environmental condition can be modeled on the digital building.

Through this, we are able to predict the potential threats and risk factors to help engineers to

improve the design of the building and to prevent future complications.

Hence, using BIM technology has more advantages than traditional method. Without BIM

technology, there are some problems on project management process which those issues such

as delaying working schedule, inefficient project management and accidents during

construction process will dramatically consume the economic and human resources. During

the BIM process, the project schedule and methods can be added into each part of

construction process so that all these drawbacks form traditional building methodology can be

greatly avoided. Commonly, a Gantt chart can be added in a BIM to help people manage the

project schedule during the whole project. By adding Gantt chart into BIM, when each

particular part of 3D BIM has been selected, the detail information and finishing time of this

part can be illustrated on digital platform.

Figure 2.7 The support for scheduling using Gantt charts in Navisworks 2011, n.d.



2.3 The example of using laser scanning technology in Building information modelling

There are some successful case study of engineering which can prove the laser scanning

technology and BIM providing more beneficial outcomes than traditional construction

methodology. By using all those methodologies, those engineering project have achieved

great success while minimized the economic and human resource consumption at the same

time.

The first example of successfully engineering project is a refinery project of Shell Oil which

needs to upgrade the diesel generating units and refining unit in order to limit the emissions of

SO2 (Wicker, 2005). Because of the requirement of replacing new facilities and electrical

system, the internal structure and infrastructure will be totally changed. In this project, laser

scan station measure the surface of inside area in order to get the 3D point cloud image of

target area. When the point cloud image is uploaded to special software, the BIM model of

this internal structure can be created at that moment. Based on its building information

models, each element of the target building can be conveniently replaced and modified during

project planning process. With the cooperation form each project participators, the project

finished successfully with minimal coats of time and economic resource (Goedert & Meadati,

2008).

3 MATERIAL AND METHODS

3.1 Materials and equipment

There are three main technologies used in my IAP project; laser scanning technology,

combining point cloud data image, and creating 3D building information models. Each of

them has its own special method which it will be mentioned and presented as follows.


18

Figure 3.11 the synopsis of C10 Leica Scan station

For the laser scanning process, the equipment was a scan station called C10 Leica Scan

station, which can be widely used in many areas such as the construction industry,

manufacturing industry or even the measurement process. C10 Leica Scan Station is a new

high-definition Surveying scan station which is designed to increase surveying productivity

and accuracy in both routine surveys and large, complex projects. The Scan Station is

consisted of three different parts; laser transmitter, Leica camera and central controller system.

During the scanning process, the laser transmitter releases high frequency laser light to the

area of target building. The reflected laser light will contain accurate point cloud positions of

the building in 3D space (Bosche & Haas, 2008). This information will be collected by central

controller system to combine one view of the target building. Moreover, the Leica camera is

used to photograph a real image of the target building in order to compare with point cloud

data to achieve a correct result. This scan station is very convenient the scanner needs to be

placed in the right position and select the target building and then it will catch the point cloud

data automatically.



Figure 3.12 an example of combining 3D views by using Cyclone

Cyclone Software is software which is used to combine point cloud data with 3D building

information models. During the combining process, point cloud data of different angles will

be uploaded to Cyclone. Because each uploaded data covers a 130 degree view, this data can

be modified and combined into a 3D image. Moreover, the 3D image can be saved in a

different format so that it can be opened by Autodesk Revit.

Figure 3.13 a sample of creating 3D models by Autodesk Revit.


20

The third technology for creating 3D building information models depends on point cloud

data by Autodesk Revit. Autodesk Revit is a building information modeling software which is

widely used in designing architecture and structure during a building’s life cycle. It can also

empower both designers’ and builders’ ideas to modify the constructions with a coordinated

model-based approach (Schlueter & Thesseling, 2009). During the process of creating 3D

models, nearly every kinds of material of each part of a building can be downloaded from the

internet. With these materials, each part of the building can be created. All these positions of

each part are specific and identical to the data already scanned. At this stage, not only the 3D

view but also the information of the buildings are already obtained without any manual

measurement process.

3.2 Methods

The methods in this project can be summarized in a flow chart as follows.

Chart 3.21 the flow chart of method in project.

The flow chart demonstrates that there are two essential methods during the whole project.

One of them is the scanning and data collection process. In the pilot study, the target building

is the internal steel structure of the ship garage roof of the Smart Water research Center. At

the beginning of the scanning process, the Scan station should be horizontally set up in a

shady area in order to increase the accuracy of reflected laser light. After we setting up target

dot in internal structure, the scan model can be selected from the center control system. The

machine will scan the target building automatically and the point cloud data can be straightly

shown on screen.



During the analytical process, the raw data which has been collected by the C10 Scan Station

should be uploaded to Cyclone Software. Because the scanning result can only cover a 90 to

130 degree view, this uploaded data should be combined into one 3D point cloud image. With

the combining process, the overlapping point cloud data will be replaced to a whole smooth

3D point cloud image of the target building. Meanwhile, the Cyclone Software can also

modify the 3D point cloud image such by cutting useless images, analyzing point cloud data,

and even transforming the data into other formats.

Figure 3.2.2 Sample of combining point cloud data by using Cyclone

Creating 3D building information is the final step of this project. In this section, the point data

which has been modified by Cyclone Software should transform the format to .e57. The data

on this format could be analyzed and shown by Autodesk Revit. Creating 3D building

information models has a few steps which can be shown as follows. First of all, the basement

model should be created to ensure the direction and basic conditions of the 3D models. Then

the 3D point cloud data into this basement model. It is important to set up the basic layer of

building before building information models are created. By using Autodesk Revit, each

building methods as well as its construction materials and elements downloaded from the

database, can replace the position of point cloud data. In this step, not only the size of material

but also the kinds of material can also be changed and assumed on the building information

models. It is very convenient that we can change our structure, construction material and even


22

project schedule through software instead of paper work such as architectural blueprints and

project plans.

4 RESULT AND DISCUSSION

The name of my project is the Application of Terrestrial 3D Laser Scanning in Building

Information Modelling. According to what I have done in my project, overall I have come to a

greater understanding of its applications, advantages, disadvantages as well as its potential to

be used diversely in the industry. The working process can be consist as three parts such as

laser scanning process, raw data processing and creating 3D building information models and

all these steps will be present as follows.

4.1 Laser scanning process

Laser scanning process is the first step of seeking the point cloud data and measurement result

of target building. In this project the target building is a ship garage in Smart Water Company.

After I attended the safety training class, the task of laser scanning process appeared on

working schedule. C10 Leica Scan station, a high accuracy and friendly control laser scanner,

was chosen as the mainly measurement equipment during this project.

In order to increase the successful rate of scanning and accuracy of measurement result, the

scan station was set up inside the ship garage. Specifically, the Scan station was set up at the

mid-point on the wide line of gate. Set at this point, the scanning result can cover the majority

area of target surface. Moreover, the scan station should be installed on the triangle bracket to

make sure the scanning result in a horizontal position.

At the beginning of scanning process, the target dot should be put on the essential target area

such as column, beams and even trusses. When the target dots have been selected in sequence,

the scan station can be enacted to release high frequency laser light to target surface

automatically. The whole process would continue about five minutes and scanning result of

target area would be saved in the scan station. Because the light can only linearly transport in

air, some internal structure will be shaded by other elements and materials in side of the

building. To solve that problem, the laser scanning process was repeated twice to make sure



that all the internal materials were covered in scanning result. Although, the scanning result

will be saved in the memory system automatically, the scanning data can also be replaced and

covered without exporting the result in time. As a consequence, our scanning result was

downloaded from C10 Leica Scan station at the end of scanning process.

Figure 3 scanning process

4.2 Raw data processing

The next step is modified the raw data by using special software named Cyclone. Since each

point cloud image only covers a part of target area, some views scanned in different positions

were combined into 3D image of target area. In this stage, our scanning data was uploaded

and modified by Cyclone software. Cyclone software, as a professional 3D point cloud image

editing software, was provided by C.R Kennedy Survey Solution Company in order to edit

raw scanning result from scanner. With appending different kinds of registration licences, it

can be a professional software platform to modify and combine the original point cloud image.

In the beginning, the training officer who came from C.R Kennedy Survey Solution Company

bought the special registration licences for us which made us have the right to edit our data.

The modifying process can be consisted as few steps as follows.

First of all, the 3D coordinates system should be created before importing point cloud image.

Creating 3D coordinates system could provide a specific digital platform to combine different

point cloud views into one 3D image of target building. And also, the specific 3D position of


24

target dots could be defined in coordinates system. Moreover, other point cloud data which

scanned in different position could be uploaded into this 3D coordinates system to mix them

together. Specifically, the different point cloud views would be set up in different layers of

coordinates system in order to change the different coordinate of scanning points (one of the

target dot) into the same one. In this stage, all scanning points overlapped each other and

repeated areas were layered and modified by Cyclone. By using cyclone software, the

unnecessary areas of 3D point cloud image could also be cropped. The final step was saving

the point 3D point cloud data into .e57 format so that it could be modified by Autodesk Revit

to create 3D building information models.

Figure 4 the result of combining 3D point cloud image

4.3 Creating 3D building information models

The final step is creating 3D building information models by using Autodesk Revit. When the

point cloud image loaded in Autodesk Revit, the point cloud data can be set up on the first

floor. In the beginning, the basic load-bearing walls were created on the first floor base on the

3D point cloud image. The shapes of our target building’s side face walls were not rectangular

walls, the height of the wall could be modified in different directions. The roof of our target

was a particular composition of steel and therefore its properties were downloaded from the

internet. During the creating process, there was a problem that the roof could not suit for side



face walls. To solve that problem, the roof was set on a slope surface to make sure it could

connect with the walls. When the basic structure of target building was created, the size of

shutter door would suit for the frame of structure automatically. When the 3D BIM have been

created, it could be reviewed upon each scan. The specific data of building can be also

modified and viewed in this software.

Figure 5 The creating process of 3D building information models

4.3 Comparing with Manual Measurement Results

One of proposals in my project involved discussing and predicting the future development of

using these technologies during construction as-build process. Therefore, through comparing

the digital scans with a manually made process is essential for this discussion. In this stage,

the plumb line and tape measure were used to measure and seek the specific building

information such as the length of the columns and the size of internal facilities. Meanwhile,


26

the high-resolution photos were taken by camera in order to compare with building

information models.

As a consequence, the data which was surveyed by manual measurement method was similar

with laser scanning result. It has proved that laser scanning technology and BIM method has

huge potential developments on both construction as-build industry and engineering

management process.

Figure 6 Photograph of the roof in target building during manual measurement process

5 WIDER PROFESSIONAL ISSUES

Although the methods of laser scanning and building information modelling can bring a lot of

convenience on construction industry, they also have some technical limitations and

professional issues during working process. Specifically, technical limitation can dramatically

decrease efficiency and quality in building measurement process. For instance, to get the

accuracy internal structure models, we also need to repeat the scanning process many times in

different positions (Cheok, et al, 2000) and it is also hard to transform the format of raw data

to modify it on other software platform.

There are two professional issues such as the over-cost economic issue and the heritage

management issue of old buildings will limit the future development of new methodologies.

For example, the C10 Leica scan station value nearly 100000 dollars so that it will bring



economic pressure to a construction company. Moreover, the company also need spend extra

money on professional training to control the scan station in order to avoid the damages of

scan station which are caused by illegal operations.

Meanwhile, heritage management issue of old buildings is another professional issue of using

BIM in rebuilding process. Although creating building information models can bring a lot of

convenience in as-build process such as modelling the internal structure of building and

predicting any circumstances with different loading, it also has many limitations on the

models of ancient buildings. Because both as-build methods and construction materials are

totally difference between modern constructions, the characters of old building cannot be

analysed only by creating BIM.

6 REPORT ON PROJECT PLANNING REPORT AND SCHEDULE


28

Chart 2 The Gantt chart of working schedule in my project

This project was started at 3rd March. In this project I have finish my project schedule on

time. The whole project can be consisted as six parts, and each part has been finished by

following time.

1. Search information of these point cloud and laser scanning technic. Trying to know

background, advantages, potential threats, and the future-development of point cloud in

building information modelling. (Week 1-2)

2. Participate in training class of the Leica Scan station C10 and master the software which

could analysis the data of building’s modelling. (Week 3-4)

3. Use the C10 Scan station measurement the engineering lab in Gold Coast Campus. If we

could get the satisfied data, we will upload and start to figure the data follow planned methods.

(Week 5-6)

4. Analysis the data with special software in order to prove the accuracy and try to use

different metrology to find the most economical way. (Week 7-9)

5. Conclude the most economic and effective way to get specific internal and external

information of engineering laboratory. Analyse the scanning information and compare with

original data to prove the rate of accuracy. (Week 10-12)

6. Provide the suggestion about potential opportunities and feasibility development of point

cloud in building information models and finish my final report. (Week 13-14)

7 CONCLUSION

This project was commissioned by Dr Kriengsak Panuwatwanich and is associated as a part of

Griffith University’s industry affiliate program. The main propose of this project is

application of terrestrial 3D laser scanning in building information modelling. Building

information models, as an effective and efficient methodology for storing construction

information, can be the innovation of construction industry. Meanwhile, laser scanning and

point cloud into building information modelling technology are also widely used on this area.

In this project, I experienced the whole process from getting the point cloud data of target

building to cresting 3D models. It can be consisted as three main process scanning process,

creating models process and data analysis process. During the scanning process, the laser



scanning technology had to be used in order to dramatically save the human resources and

economic fund (Wicker, 2005) and also reduce potential threats in measurement process.

Moreover, point cloud technology is essential for creating 3D models of target buildings.

When the scanning machine capture the buildings’ information, those three dimensional point

cloud which can be identified as specific models, will be up loaded and registered on

computers even internet(Kim, et al, 2013). In this stage, we modify and combine our data in

special software in order to create our data on Autodesk Revit. The meaning of this step is

minimizing the consumption of human resources and getting models of target building more

effectively. By the end of the project, the data from 3D building information models will be

compared with the manual measurement result to test and verify the economic advantages and

accuracy of the models.

As a consequence, the laser scanning technology and building information modelling methods

will be widely used in construction industry. Those technologies and methods can bring a lot

of beneficial outcomes on construction industry such as minimizing economic and human

resources consumption, predicting potential threats during building measurement process and

project life cycle. Although the new technologies also have some technical limitations and

drawbacks which can dramatically influence the accuracy and quality of results, those

problems can be solved by using different scanning methods and extra equipment. In

summary, by comparing with traditional as-build method and measurement process, new

technology have more opportunities because of its efficient and effective during whole project

life cycle.


30

8 REFERENCE

Advanced Simulation Technologies, (2007) Ltd Rapid 3D laser scanning of a street scene

[Image]. (n.d). Retrieved from

http://www.advancedsimtech.com/our-services/3d-laser-scanning-services/civil-

engineering/

Succar, B. (2009). Building information modelling framework: A research and delivery

foundation for industry stakeholders.Automation in Construction, 18(3), 357-375.

Bosche, F., & Haas, C. T. (2008). Automated retrieval of 3D CAD model objects in

construction range images. Automation in Construction, 17(4), 499-512.

Golparvar-Fard, M., Bohn, J., Teizer, J., Savarese, S., & Pena-Mora, F. (2011). Evaluation of

image-based modeling and laser scanning accuracy for emerging automated

performance monitoring techniques. Automation in Construction, 20(8), 1143-1155.

Kim, C., Son, H., & Kim, C. (2013). Fully automated registration of 3D data to a 3D CAD

model for project progress monitoring. Automation in Construction, 35, 587-594.

Wicker, K. (2005). Laser scanning yields digital as-builts. Power, 149(3), 56-58.

Advanced Simulation Technologies, (2007) Ltd Rapid 3D laser scanning of a street scene

[Image]. (n.d). Retrieved from

http://www.advancedsimtech.com/our-services/3d-laser-scanning-services/civil-

engineering/

SES, (2013) Laser Scanning: Chapter 1 of 3 - The Basics [Image]. (n.d). Retrieved from

http://www.sesltd.uk.com/laser-scanning.html

DENG, F., ZHANG, Z. X., & ZHANG, J. Q. (2007). 3D reconstruction of old architecture by

laser scanner and digital camera [J]. Science of Surveying and Mapping, 2, 007.

http://www.sesltd.uk.com/laser-scanning.html



Park, H. S., Lee, H. M., Adeli, H., & Lee, I. (2007). A new approach for health monitoring of

structures: terrestrial laser scanning. Computer ‐ Aided Civil and Infrastructure

Engineering, 22(1), 19-30.

Brilakis, I., Fathi, H., & Rashidi, A. (2011). Progressive 3D reconstruction of infrastructure

with videogrammetry. Automation in Construction, 20(7), 884-895.

Lepădatu, A. (2011). KINEMATIC LASER SCANNING FOR STRUCTURAL

DEFORMATION ANALYSIS. Mathematical Modeling in Civil Engineering.

Kim, C., Son, H., & Kim, C. (2013). Fully automated registration of 3D data to a 3D CAD

model for project progress monitoring. Automation in Construction, 35, 587-594.

Bosché, F. (2010). Automated recognition of 3D CAD model objects in laser scans and

calculation of as-built dimensions for dimensional compliance control in construction.

Advanced engineering informatics, 24(1), 107-118.

Tang, P., Huber, D., Akinci, B., Lipman, R., & Lytle, A. (2010). Automatic reconstruction of

as-built building information models from laser-scanned point clouds: A review of

related techniques. Automation in construction, 19(7), 829-843.

Son, H., & Kim, C. (2010). 3D structural component recognition and modeling method using

color and 3D data for construction progress monitoring. Automation in Construction,

19(7), 844-854.

Cheok, G. S., Stone, W. C., Lipman, R. R., & Witzgall, C. (2000). Ladars for construction

assessment and update. Automation in Construction, 9(5), 463-477.

Goedert, J. D., & Meadati, P. (2008). Integrating construction process documentation into

building information modeling. Journal of construction engineering and management,

134(7), 509-516.

El-Omari, S., & Moselhi, O. (2008). Integrating 3D laser scanning and photogrammetry for

progress measurement of construction work. Automation in construction, 18(1), 1-9.


32

Olsen, M. J., Kuester, F., Chang, B. J., & Hutchinson, T. C. (2009). Terrestrial laser scanning-

based structural damage assessment. Journal of Computing in Civil Engineering, 24(3),

264-272.

Rio, R. (2013). 3D laser scanning delivers benefits in hydrocarbon processing facilities.

Schlueter, A., & Thesseling, F. (2009). Building information model based energy/exergy

performance assessment in early design stages. Automation in Construction, 18(2),

153-163.

Persson, A., Andersson, M., Oden, A., & Sandborgh-Englund, G. (2006). A three-

dimensional evaluation of a laser scanner and a touch-probe scanner. The Journal of

prosthetic dentistry, 95(3), 194-200.

Film digitisation systems for DIR : Standards, Requirements, Archiving and Printing [Image]

(n.d). Retrieved from http://www.ndt.net/article/v05n05/zscherp/zscherp.htm

3D laser scanning, helping bring games and movies to life [Image] (n.d). Retrieved from

http://www.renishaw.com/en/3d-laser-scanning-helping-bring-games-and-movies-to-

life--19955

Meshed surface of scanned terrain on NIST [Image] (n.d). Retrieved from

http://www.ssec.wisc.edu/mcidas/doc/mcv_guide/1.4/combine_all.php

Laser-scanning Software Adds Features and Functionality [Image] (n.d). Retrieved from

http://search.proquest.com.libraryproxy.griffith.edu.au/docview/907552980

The Daily Life of Building Information Modelling (BIM) [Image] (n.d). Retrieved from

http://buildipedia.com/aec-pros/design-news/the-daily-life-of-building-information-

modeling-bim?print=1&tmpl=component

The support for scheduling using Gantt charts in Navisworks 2011 [Image] (n.d). Retrieved

from http://www.aecbytes.com/buildingthefuture/2010/AutodeskAECTechDay.html

http://www.ndt.net/article/v05n05/zscherp/zscherp.htm

http://www.renishaw.com/en/3d-laser-scanning-helping-bring-games-and-movies-to-life--19955

http://www.renishaw.com/en/3d-laser-scanning-helping-bring-games-and-movies-to-life--19955

http://www.ssec.wisc.edu/mcidas/doc/mcv_guide/1.4/combine_all.php

http://search.proquest.com.libraryproxy.griffith.edu.au/docview/907552980

http://buildipedia.com/aec-pros/design-news/the-daily-life-of-building-information-modeling-bim?print=1&tmpl=component

http://buildipedia.com/aec-pros/design-news/the-daily-life-of-building-information-modeling-bim?print=1&tmpl=component

http://www.aecbytes.com/buildingthefuture/2010/AutodeskAECTechDay.html

application of terrestrial 3d laser scanning in building information modelling from tianji ma

Documents