Laser Scanning Tasks of Building Refurbishment Project

Laser scanning is quickly becoming a common and beneficial tool in the field of civil engineering. In refurbishment projects, fast data capture, millions of measurement points and high accuracy have marked laser scanners out from conventional measurements as a data acquisition method. By using laser scanning and point clouds in refurbishment projects multiple benefits could be achieved: reduction of mistakes in the design phase and on the building site, more realistic visualizations of existing buildings, and savings in time and costs. The utility of laser scanning and point clouds surfaces especially when renovating old complex buildings without accurate construction drawings, documents or measurements.

However, the process of the procurement of laser scanning is generally unclear and there is very little standardization and regulation in the matter. The roles and assignments of every party in the process are obscure and the lack of knowledge about the use and the limits and the benefits of laser scanning in a building project can reduce clients’ interest toward laser scanning.
This paper presents the different kinds of refurbishment project types where laser scanning has been used in Finland. The study represents the benefits, limits and challenges concerning laser scanning faced in these projects. The results of the study are based on the interviews of the organizations with experience in laser scanning in refurbishment projects. The study reveals that laser scanning is considered a valid and accurate method for data acquisition in refurbishment projects and it has been used also for visualization, piecework, quantity surveying and detail measuring and observing. However, there have been challenges especially with laser scanning operations in buildings in use, on the technical determination of laser scanning and during and after the process from a point cloud into an inventory model.