Stories

Field Review: A Case Study in Laser Scanning

Overall scan of the entire building using raw scan.
Deviations between the design and the as-builts conditions.
Overall scan of the entire building using raw scan.
Deviations between the design and the as-builts conditions.

Following are the project challenges and DPR solutions that arose on a recent project for a confidential Southern California attraction client.

Modeling a Complex Web of Wood Trusses

Innovation and time-saving. DPR has performed multiple laser scan surveys at a Southern California attraction for a variety of projects and purposes. For the remodel of a highly themed facility, a scan of the interior was done to capture all of the existing building structure that was to remain and to coordinate with the new building features, including all exposed ductwork for mechanical systems and Solatube ducts for bringing natural daylight into the space. The existing structure was a complex web of wood trusses that would take a long time to model by traditional measuring and modeling techniques. A laser scan was done to bring that geometry into the model environment without having to model each individual stick of wood.

Infringements on Required Clearances

Creativity and validation. A scan was also performed on an existing ride renovation. New structural members and theming elements needed to be added within the ride area without infringing on the ride envelope clearances. The ride was scanned and then the new elements were modeled and compared to the laser scan to ensure that there would be no infringement of the required ride clearances.

Steel Deviation from Shop Drawings

Persistent and proactive. In another facility remodel, DPR scanned the ornamental iron elements as they were installed in order to compare them to what was designed in the model. There were extremely tight tolerances between the custom light fixtures and the radiused ornamental iron that they were to attach to. The scan quickly showed where the installed steel deviated from what was on shop drawings, allowing the steel to begin prior to the arrival of the light fixtures just days before a major opening. The use of traditional measuring methods would have taken longer to gather the data and even longer to compare to the shop drawings in a way that was easy to convey.