Is 3D Scanning a Real As-Built

YOUSSRY SALMAN: Good afternoon, everybody. Last session in the AU. I hope you enjoy your AU this year. Who has attended AU for first time this year? OK. So have a quite good experience first in AU. OK. Very good. I hope my last session will not be boring. You like it, hopefully. OK. So thank you for joining me again.

My name is Youssry Salman. I'm a Senior BIM Manager from SBG group. I'm working in BIM with a Giga contractor company. So our session mainly focus about our experience with the 3D scanning to achieve the as-built. We had two years of struggling how to do a proper as-built, an accurate as-built. We have a company with a long-legacy heritage, 70 years plus as a contractor. So we know how to deliver our document in 2D very well.

We start the BIM implementation five years ago. And successfully there, we have project fully BIM, project partially BIM. But it was crazy thinking how we can make the 3D scan our way for as-built. So, hopefully, in this class we have some point to cover what is happening in the BIM innovation in Giga Concept project for as-built, 3D scanning and as-built workflow, which we addressed and applied inside our project, how to address the challenges you have in your traditional or conventional as-built process, then the pros and cons of what we did. In each step, we had the pros and cons. So maybe you can find the good path to achieve a proper as-built.

Introduction here about SBG. Very quickly, it's a company established 1931 and converted recently to be corporate with a group and set up. So with this legacy process and legacy heritage, and what has happened in BIM in Saudi Arabia-- as it's still very young as a process-- to be converted, this is a study by [INAUDIBLE] confirming that there are some improvement happen in BIM in last five years and expecting more and more improvement in coming two years to have a big, ready country for BIM.

As I told you, SBG had been converted to BIM in year 2012, and we have very huge, massive project running. One, which is our case study, it's a public building, 260,000 square meter. We have a utility facility partially working BIM as well. We have a complete health care facility, for 400 plus beds already fully in BIM. And we have a new building terminal. It's smaller compared to other building, but also it's fully in BIM.

So by this, SBG had to develop their own in-core team. We have a massive number of people working in BIM, different trades and different layers. I'll jump quickly to our session. What is definition of as-built? OK? I need to hear from you and you as what is your definition about as-built? Maybe it's different than what we have in region. So someone can give quickly what is a definition of as-built here?

AUDIENCE: As-built [INAUDIBLE] set of drawings that have been marked up.

YOUSSRY SALMAN: Don't read.

AUDIENCE: Yeah.

YOUSSRY SALMAN: Please.

AUDIENCE: [INAUDIBLE] lines on [INAUDIBLE] set, as opposed to exact build, which is what [INAUDIBLE] process after [INAUDIBLE]

YOUSSRY SALMAN: Also. Someone has different definition? Someone can give different definition? So we can agree the one in the board-- what the gentleman expressed-- this is as-built. We go to the field, start taking red marks, inspections, whatever, whatever, gather these all information and the original shop drawing, and take it to approval to be, this is our as-built. This process, traditionally, it's a huge process, required a massive interfere from different parties-- from contractor, client representative, a massive number of surveyors. So this is a definition of as-built.

So technology enhanced. We have, currently, a massive tool which called a single point-to-point survey tool, which is the total station where the surveyor take the measurements and go to do this one by one. It's a very quick tool, but still limited. And maybe it's fancy for structure, fancy for [INAUDIBLE], but what about MEP?

And this is-- where we find in SBG the advantage of using this 3D scan. How can I do the MEP connection one by one? How can I count down the things that here and there, changes happen here and there? So we have to think that through the survey, it's very good. We have a lot of stuff ready to help you to do it. It's easy out-of-shelf [INAUDIBLE] sources, equipment and people. But is it helpful? Is it helpful when you have projects like an airport, projects like a hospital, project have a multilayer of systems? This is a question we ask ourself in SBG.

What we call it, 3D Scan or High Definition Surveying. Someone is using 3D Scan? OK. Few number of people. 3D scanning, it's an idea of how to use a technology to make a massive number of captures in the same moment. So by one station scanning, you can receive 1 million plus xyz point. So it's very dense. You can get a lot of details. You need it. You don't need it. The camera will keep revolving and capture information for you.

So this advantage, that was five years ago very limited. You have to have these bigger scanners, very old-fashioned process. Now you have very light scanners. You have flying drones. You have mobile scanners. You have a lot of devices. So this, we talk about technology. So you talk of BIM as a technology, a 3D Scan technology. And [INAUDIBLE], you'll find very fancy ideas out of the box. So whatever you can imagine or you cannot imagine, 3D Scan can help you.

I can scan this room, and I can count the light fixtures. I can read digital all this room. I have a lot of ability. 3D scan give it to me. You can make 3D scan for heritage or historical building and remodel it. If you remodel it, you can rebuild it. So 3d scan open for you a wide range of possibility in your business to move from normal point-to-point 2D scan to various way of thinking in how to innovate and develop your technology.

Here is a point I invite my cospeaker Mohammad to give you an idea how we did the implementation of 3D Scan of one of our critical structural bridge. Please, Mohammad.

MOHAMMAD SALEH: Hi, everyone. Are still awake? (LAUGHING) OK. My name is Mohammad Saleh. I'm the BIM coordinator for this project. The first thing that we had to do is to convince our stakeholders and our managers that we have to shift to 3D Scan. The project is huge. It's 260,000 square meter. This is over-- about 2,800,000 square feet. So it's pretty huge.

And we had to develop our own workflow, and we had to inspect the technologies that we have to-- it's all new for us-- and to convince them is 3D scan is actually as-built, will it work for the as-built process or not. So this is a sample. We invited an outsource company to do a sample 3D scan. We showed it to our stakeholders to give them an idea about the potential that this is how it looks. We can measure stuff. We can measure stuff of the ceiling. We can measure altitude, and we can measure stuff like that. So there is potential in this technology.

We also made a sample survey for a portion of our project. OK. It's a small portion, mock up area. And we did an exercise that we took 3D laser scan, and we also did a traditional survey as-built.

YOUSSRY SALMAN: We took one bay. We take the surveyor, and we took the scanner, and we told them, please give me a record about what we had installed in this area, just record what had been installed in this area. So Mohamed lead this exercise for three days, and he would show you the output.

MOHAMMAD SALEH: Yeah. So the point survey, the traditional 2D survey, this is scanner with a normal [INAUDIBLE] and meters, and stuff like that, they only took lines, measurements, xy measurements. As for the 3D scan, as you can see, there is a full image-- 3D image-- of the project. So we showed this to our managers. This is the thing that we are looking at.

YOUSSRY SALMAN: I did ask question, who is using 2D traditional survey. OK? How can you imagine, in this 50-feet distance, if I ask you to measure something in the middle, how you can capture properly? What you need to do to capture something in the middle, or 10 feet far from your 2D grid? So, fine. Somebody have to go, and go, and go, oh, 10 feet, OK. Here, OK, measure. Then here, measure. Then here, measure, measure. So the guy, he will be disturbed. This exercise cost us three days.

We asked the surveyor to go and roam in the three bays to give the readings, and convert it to CAD, and give something readable to us, while Mohammad take the team and go and make the 3D scanning and take it back to Revit.

MOHAMMAD SALEH: Yeah. So here we can see a comparison table between the two different methods. OK. It's the same flow, the same area. Of course, for the traditional, we had to use some scissor lifts to take measurements of the high places, and the pipes, and the equipments hanged from the ceiling. The manpower is almost the same, but that the data acquisition time, this took three days. This took three hours.

The survey frequency, we had to ask the survey team, go by request, go survey this area or the other one. As for the 3D scan, because it's much quicker, we can do it by week. OK? And the output results, of course, from the traditional way is 2D sheets. As from the 3D scan, the 3D models. And we can extract from the 3D models the 2D sheets. [INAUDIBLE]

YOUSSRY SALMAN: OK. So now we easily convert the result by the experts-- well, not the experts. We are just bringing technology for them. We are BIM guys. We bring technology. We show it to the expert, and we asked them, can you define the results? Can you feel the possible result of measurements? You can do the measurement and see the scan ultimately. There are no human factor entry. And this is very important.

I don't have a surveyor, and after surveyor, draftsman, and after draftsman, engineer. No. The point cloud has been defined as station which is the located location. And then we capture the photo, and capture as is, so no human entry. The other important-- we had it is for a normal as-built process, we have to invite the client representative. The client rep come. He bring his surveyor by his tools to investigate what we had did. Now, there are a metadata accessible. So no need to move from his desk.

He come once, approve it, and after that, he never show to this field. So this is very important. Second importance is we are working dynamic project. So you capture and go. Take your data to your desk. No need to bother the work process by your keep your station and capture point-by-point costing hours. We did not close the site. We bought the scanner. We know the station of the scanner. We scan and go.

So we have a project, have 10 layers of MEP. And we have to install the ceiling. So you can imagine inspection time can delay installing the ceiling. In the end result, we convince the management. We buy two machines back to back, two from Leica, two from Trimble. We're not here to mark for the two brands, but this is the brands available in our market. OK? So we buy one for medium range, which is Leica, one for long range. Leica, preferable range between 0 to 50 meter, Trimble can give up to 120 meters without big diversion, so this allows us to make various scanning very quickly according to the nature of the work installed.

You can assess the product that may help you. May it's required for you 20-meter range. Don't go for massive range. Don't believe the seller say, OK, I have this machine very, very good. No, no. Don't go for this. Go for something adequate to your process. As we success in BIM implementation, we learned that we should have a proper consultant, a proper subject matter expert. So we search around, and luckily we have 60 miles far one of the largest research facility, which is King Abdullah University for Science and Technology where it's full of scientists. They are not people, you know, selling their experience.

We acquire their service to help us to test several workflows and several types to make our best practice workflow. And this is very important. Don't copy others' workflow. OK? Tailor the workflow, tweak it here and there until it suits you, until it help you to do your subject better. OK? So we acquired FalconVIZ service to do the assessment between different software.

They are-- as a scientist lab-- they are developing their own algorithm help us to do some good exercise, train our team, because they are software expert. They know the machines. They know better than us. So they train people. In the same time while we build our team, we start making the modeling on behalf of them. So the workflow did not stop. We are working very quickly.

What we did in the job-- the job is massive. It's not closed boundary rooms. So what we did, we create our zone-working area. So we take our building and divide it into small portions. This small portion had been marked with different color to allow us to know which room, which area, which station. We have more than 600 station with more than 8,000 targets. So you can imagine how to control this number.

And what we did is we segregate everyone with different color. By this segregation of different color, we develop you can see now. This is small area called s-c-3. This is this room size. What we did, we defined three proper location called scanner station. Scanner station is the place you're going to place your scanner every time you need to capture. And what you see here, small, white dot with red information, this is a list of XYZ location of the My-targets. Who can explain what this target is? Yes, please.

AUDIENCE: [INAUDIBLE] targets [INAUDIBLE] wall? Is that what you are referring to [INAUDIBLE] aerial targets?

YOUSSRY SALMAN: OK.

AUDIENCE: [INAUDIBLE]

YOUSSRY SALMAN: OK.

AUDIENCE: [INAUDIBLE] points and you align these areas.

YOUSSRY SALMAN: You did not get quite good lunch? OK, gentleman. Target is very easy. From [INAUDIBLE] target, it's a place you are going to focus your scanner to. Scanner is making 360-degree capture with 310 or 290, depend on different scanners. So it makes hologrammatic points. The use of the target is you are captured from different positions. So when you need to stitch this all together to be one model, you need a reference guide to allow the software to understand what you have. So this is the usage of the target, as explained by the gentleman.

So now I need different targets. I may use a sphere, a physical target, or I can use a paper target. For projects like our site, we are preferring to use a paper target. So we print this 8,000 targets. Because if you buy this 8,000 targets, it will cost you a million dollars. And you would lose it from first time. People find this stuff and start playing with it. It's very funny and very weird. So we print the stickers of the targets.

And this information had been recorded in one CAD file. So every time we miss a target, we send our surveyor to stick a new one. By this one, we start making the capture of the points. Every room have 13-- I'm talking about 13 gig of data. It's a huge data. It's a huge data. So this is the important issue you should know. 3D scan resulted in huge number of data.

So you need to deal with this data. You need to deal with it. You have a proper storage. You need to have a proper workflow of how to deal with this storage. As we are using Leica, Leica has its own software called Cyclone. It comes with a scanner. They use software to attach-- or stitch-- these targets captured together and make it one hologrammatic sphere of point cloud and eliminate the extra points.

We are using-- and we are referring-- if you have a massive project, to marry Cyclone with Autodesk ReCap 360. Who is using the scanner can tell me what is the advantage of ReCap? The advantage of ReCap is it allow me to stitch more stations, and more stations, and more stations together. Cyclone can not help me to do this exercise. In ReCap, I can attach building this size together to be one hologrammatic point cloud with very small margin of error.

This is two models. The one in the left, this is a point cloud capture from field. The one on the right, this is a model we do it in design lab. So the exercise here is-- this is a design model. Sorry. This is design model. This is capture model. You can notice some difference here and there, but how we can make this move from model-- design model-- to be as-built? There are two ways. Either you bring your point cloud into Revit, and we'll talk about one by one, method by method. And that time, you can tweak your original model. Or you deny you have Revit model and start modeling from point cloud directly from scratch.

Both ways are very fine and very usable, but depend on your resources and the goal of this exercise. If you have a very good model and no big diversion, it's better to use this method, coordinate direct from point cloud. Because this mean you don't need to buy a software or acquire [INAUDIBLE] service or anything. If you have a serious diversion like what you see here, something happened that make a diversion, you can model direct from point cloud.

I have here--

[VIDEO PLAYBACK]

YOUSSRY SALMAN: A very small movie show you what's happening. You can see this is a point cloud after gathered by ReCap. And you can see floors-- different floors-- but this point cloud still have noise, still have a lot of noise. So they use Cyclone and ReCap to remove the noise, to focus only on the layers or elements you need to keep for your exercise [INAUDIBLE].

And what you can see here, how I can Select, Remove, and Segregate the elements with new views. You can do this in ReCap very easily. You can do this in Cyclone. And reworks are easy. This is just by cropping your view and start highlight the elements. Software realize the things you need to eliminate.

So by this way, you have a light point cloud for your [INAUDIBLE].

[MUSIC PLAYING]

This is-- we did some reference measure from ReCap and start develop artificial levels in Revit. So now I can use ReCap and Revit to create my model. OK? So this is manual way of creating my model. So as you see you, we generate a level. We use that to trace over the dots manually. It was referenced from the information we received from ReCap. So you can make your measurement really quickly. It's not a difficult exercise.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

This is by using third-party software, we just make tracing automatically for your systems. So you have both ways. Either you could trace it manually using Revit or select other software. Third-party can help you to trace.

[END PLAYBACK]

YOUSSRY SALMAN: The clue here is I am no more using this 2D survey to make my evidence of as-built. Now I have a different source of data. By dealing with this data, I can make better, and better, and better documented for my as-built. Mohammad will explain you quickly what we had at SBG as workflow. It's a typical workflow. You'll find it where you have it mostly, maybe a slight difference here and there.

MOHAMMAD SALEH: OK. We made this slide also for the people who don't know the traditional workflow for the as-built so you'll all be familiar with it. We get all the approved shop drawing, and we collect all the Work At Site Inspection form-- it's called WIR-- for each system, individually, and create a Snag List, collect site changes, all this to make sure that the site team actually constructed what they are supposed to construct in the same location. Because, of course, we know during the construction, nothing goes according to the drawings.

And we collect all this data and create Existing Condition drawings. And these Existing Condition drawings must go--

YOUSSRY SALMAN: Which is what you call Red Marks.

MOHAMMAD SALEH: Yes-- and must go to the consultant engineer. And the consultant engineer must approve it that we actually made the correct changes in the drawings. And after we get the approved-- it's called the As-built Drawing. And then after that, it can go through the process for the Bill of Quantities, and final approval, and stuff like that.

YOUSSRY SALMAN: So you can imagine, this is how the data have to be gathered and snapped from station, to station, to station to be approved.

MOHAMMAD SALEH: Yeah. This is the same thing, the same slide. This is all the data that we have to collect. The most critical part is here. If, after we collect all the data and put it in the drawings and the consultant doesn't approve it, we have to go through again, and change it again, and go through this process again to finally produce the As-built Drawings

This is a sample of a sample of the traditional drawings. And these are a sample of how the comments are written. Of course, it's not clear. They are referenced to other drawings. We have to jump through all the different drawings for all different systems. As you can see, it's like that. It's handwritten. It's not always clear. We have to go and contact the consultant. Why did you change it? This is--

YOUSSRY SALMAN: This project is 17,000 [INAUDIBLE] sheets. So you can imagine you receive marks like that. Regardless this is done manually or BDF, how can you go, and gather all this information, and verify it, and take it? It's a matter of time. It's doable. No doubt it's doable. But it's seriously a matter of time.

MOHAMMAD SALEH: Yeah. Especially doing this for every system in the project, especially the MEP systems. OK. So now we'll talk about the 3D Scan part.

YOUSSRY SALMAN: OK. So what we proposed as a BIM team, let's convince the client rep there are something better and different than this. We cannot have this luxury of every time block the site for day or week or one hour, even, to go and verify something. Because we deliver things. He come to verify it. Maybe we are doing something else. We have to stop work and start this show of capturing [INAUDIBLE] data. So we are proposing him some point cloud and tell him, OK, we'll change the workflow like that. We are proposing this one.

We'll collect the data. We'll create the model. We'll give you the model without it. So you will have the point sphere come from the laser scan. You have the 3D-digital model, and you have the drawings. And make your composite at house. Don't come to the field. The first benefit-- myself, Mohammad never go to the site. Because every inspection we have issue. We have to come, see the changes, take it, go and tell your team how to make the model.

The second benefit-- client, they never show to the site anymore. Because the evidence of our point cloud, it's there. So again, as we said earlier, no human interferes. We cannot draw in point cloud. Maybe you can erase. But we cannot draw. So as a contractor, we will not be happy to erase anything we installed, because it's our money. OK? So we propose this workflow. And what we did, we try to approve it during the common proposals.

To make, from our perspective, a very good workflow, there are three loops. Through these three loops, you're going to utilize your as-built team in different set up. No more 2D draftsmen. No more fleet of scanning. But don't make things like you are going to eat your elephant one shot. So do things slowly and don't be rushed. OK? So we have to make data scanning, which acquires the information, or Capture Reality. You have to make your data culling, which is Registration, and then develop your model. OK. So we agreed that-- don't take your project and your project team. Start slightly with the things so it will be very easy.

In data capturing, we talk about the scanners and this one. What are the good things to do with a scanner? It's a 360-degree scanner. And they have many stations. So how to do every time? I need the surveyor to come with me to the field to define the station point and not this one? No. We come with the scanners 360 Polaroids. We use these Polaroids for the scanner so scanner can realize this is the next station for him. So we do it once and ever. So you can do it once so it's recorded in your scanner how the scanner will be stationed. And until you format your scanner, the data is saved there, so you don't need to do this anymore.

Second, we recommend you use paper targets. As you can see, this paper target, it's one little sheet-- nothing. You can print it 1,000 times and stick it to the location. And you can see here in the picture, this is a target point. We use it to merge every scan station together, to stitch it together to be one complete file. And this is shown in the photo. It's a software where the station has been sorted and it will be in the process.

After that, you will receive a hologrammatic point cloud for your space. Earlier, it was different, separate [INAUDIBLE]. Now these [INAUDIBLE] stitch together and become one space. And you can see this space when you make a crop to the area you need. You can use a Cropping command to move between your point cloud like you are doing cropping in your Revit model, up and down, right and left to specify what the area you need to focus with.

So as we talk about it, we have three loops. Now most important loop now, I need to do my as-built. As-built to be done, there are four methods. Method number 1, as shown in early video, is bring your point cloud from the scanner to ReCap to Revit. And now I start make a tweaking and conversion between a design model with a Revit point cloud model. This exercise needs me to be a little bit smart using Revit, but it cost time. It cost very, very long time, because if you have a complicated process, you have to do this. But it's cheap anyhow.

Second process is to bring a point cloud and model it. And this video--

[VIDEO PLAYBACK]

YOUSSRY SALMAN: It very quickly take the lifecycle of taking the point cloud and generating a surface automatic. OK. What we did here, we take the three base, which is 150 feet together, which is about 500 square meter area, and we stitch it together. You can see they have different stations, different spheres. And we bring it all to ReCap, and let ReCap recognize it and merge it in one file. This indexing is very important in first time you do, because next time when you update your station, ReCap will do it very quickly. So you need to do it carefully first time. OK?

ReCap is not a modeling tool. So don't expect from ReCap much. But the usage of ReCap, it take the terra size of data, make it giga size. So it [INAUDIBLE] it to 1,000, 1 of 1,000. So you have a lighter file accessible. You can make your main measurements. And you can use it to help you to guide your Revit or other tools to do the modeling prints.

Now I'm importing my point cloud to Revit. The good thing here is Revit has another point cloud processor. It takes this massive file to be very, very light file.

This is a manual way. We are making a virtual-- detecting the difference between what happened in field, what happened in site. Again, we show you what we did. We did all possible ways. We did all possible ways. We come out from all possible ways with our own metrics, what could be manual, what have to be, automatic, what have to be semi-automatic.

You see? This is another model which is generated from the point cloud. So now I have three source of data-- the one which is designed when we use it to develop shop drawings, the point cloud itself, and the model come generated from point cloud. So now I can make the comparison to achieve the as-built. This is what we tell our client rep. Take this. And this is what we did for him. Try, try, try, try to-- what we tried, the method is here. It's easy. It's easy to do. Once you do the station once and do this exercise once, it's easy for you to replicate and update it several times.

And as you see, there are some significant difference that need to be recorded as a difference in view queue by adding extra ducts and extra elbows to satisfy the site changes.

As you can see here, clearly, the difference between the red one is as-built. The gray one is a design model. So you can see some changes happen here and there.

[END PLAYBACK]

YOUSSRY SALMAN: OK. So this is method number 1. We're comparing the point cloud or using point cloud to trace over and do things. The method 1, it just use point clouds you reference, tweak your Revit. Method 2, you forget the model and start to generate your own model. And this is very helpful if you have massive or heavy changes or some demolish happened. Third way is use a tool. Use a tool to create for you automatic surfacing from point cloud.

We test several tools. We test EdgeWise. We test RealWorks. We test Scan2BIM There are several tools. Every tool good in something, bad in something. So don't fed up when you try to use the third-party tools. You have to be patient, because it's not designed custom for you. It's custom to be applicable for everybody. By reaching the third method, we already achieved the most of workflows to make a model from point cloud, either adjusting the [INAUDIBLE] model, tracing, or use a software.

What resulted was method number 4. We start mix things together. And Mohammad had three months with this exercise to achieve a proper setup to make what will be modelled automatically, what will be modelled semi-automatic, what will have to be modelled manually. Please, Mohammad.

MOHAMMAD SALEH: Yeah. So the previous methods, they are a little bit time consuming and either they required more time, or they required more people to work in more areas at the same time. And we had shortage in both things. We had little time, and we had smaller resources. So the fourth method that we that we reached was using a tool called EdgeWise. This tool can actually recognize some of the MEP systems and model them directly.

We just pick the point cloud areas, and they can automatically detect the flow or the trays, the ducts, and the cable trays, and stuff like that. We even had some problems with some MEP systems. We contacted EdgeWise, and they helped us to achieve solutions for these problems. But, of course, this is our solution because this was our requirements. For you, you can use one of the previous methods, which may be cheaper for you if you don't have a problem with the time or with the people.

YOUSSRY SALMAN: One advantage we had in EdgeWise is EdgeWise, you can load your Revit families to it. So this save us by taking the geometry and, again, make a family in Revit and this one. So this give us a good advantage if we are going to model from scratch.

MOHAMMAD SALEH: So we do the reality capture. We do the data registration by ReCap. And then we generate the as-built model and extract 2D drawings and the as-built model, and we use it after that as we want. OK? So we previously saw the workflow for the traditional as-built process. So now this is the workflow for the new 3D scanning process.

So we capture reality 3D scan. We do registration. We do surface generation by EdgeWise. This generate the as-built model. We just double check with these items. And we extract as-built drawing, and we send them directly to the consultant for approval. We don't expect them to say anything. Because if they say anything, we have the image 3D scan from the site. How can you say it's not true?

YOUSSRY SALMAN: So this cost us three months of struggling till we achieve this one. You can see different type of software has been listed in this one, some of it already out of the box from Autodesk, some of it come with a scanner. Some, we bought it, like EdgeWise. But in the end, we already have a formulated workflow and sort of software. As you see, the consultant, which is a client, he don't need to use any of these softwares. He don't need to use EdgeWise. He will use Revit Viewer and Trueview from scanner-- it's free of charge-- to make his comparison. So it not add burden to the client.

So when we tried this workflow, we wish to give something no obligations. There's, OK, I have to go to buy EdgeWise. No. You don't need it. You need Revit View, Revit Compare. All these are free of charge and available. OK. So this is very quickly the pros and cons for each stage. In scanning, when you make the data acquisition for a single scan, we talk about it all the time. It's faster. OK? It's very adaptive [INAUDIBLE] technology.

So you can mix rescan from indoor drawn from outdoor. There are a lot of ways to make your scanning enriched. And I think we already see some examples in the keynotes and something like that. OK. It's zero human interface. We talk about it's OK. No entries. It's capture and reserve the actual scene. So when you do the exercise, you can do it in one day and open it later any time, and verify your data. So you don't need to go and visit the site for time to time.

What is the cons in this exercise? It's very large data. So what you need to do? You need to plan your storage, what you need to store permanently, what you need to store temporary. A lot of noise come with the scanner. And this is a natural subject. Normally, when we draw the surface, we draw it as one line. But when we scan it, the scanner realize the difference in millimeters tolerance. So this surface may come with million point [INAUDIBLE]

So this kind of noise you need to deal with, either by automatic software, or some algorithm, or you are tracing away in Revit. So this is one of the issues. What we recommend for you, first, you have to prepare your site. Preparing site is very important because this is having to do it once and last. So prepare your site. Arrange your targets. Arrange your station for a scanner.

This is very important. If I need to capture this room, one scan station can do. But if I need to show the depths of this door, the depths of this ceiling, I need to have 2 3 stations. Because the scanner will capture the things from first time looks like 2D, so no dips at all. When I put another target, another station, it will start generating the 3D exercise. So as much you need detail, you need to add more stations, maybe with the same [INAUDIBLE]. So this is very important.

AUDIENCE: [INAUDIBLE] How many scans-- how many stations did you put here? And how many targets you put in this room? How many--

YOUSSRY SALMAN: In this room, two targets is enough.

AUDIENCE: Two targets?

YOUSSRY SALMAN: Yes. But maybe you need two or three stations. Depends on how you need to show the depths of the entrance and things. But two targets is enough. Because the use of target, it's to stitch station to each other. So target here, 26, the other side, target 28. So you know from your plan 26 and 28 is the same wall. So you will bring it close to each other. So the worry of target is if I have column like this one and I need to show some serious details [INAUDIBLE].

So this is the most important-- this is our recommendation. Do your exercise. Don't do it alone. You have to do it with a field-- the survey team, how to do the things, how to connect things together. You are for some difficulty in the beginning until you be in the good understanding of the point cloud software and data calling, or registration-- as we call it, registration.

[INAUDIBLE], it merge points, give you a clean, better data, no more sphere. It reduced the terras to gigas. It's nice. Some software like Cyclone, RealWorks has a feature to model, to create surfaces. So this will help you to create your walls, your floors. This can help you, as we explain in method 2 and method 3, to take a halfway to have your model. OK. But still, it's not that much good.

What is the cons? It needs specific training with this kind of software. Your surveyors, some of them will grasp it very quickly, some not. So you have to be patient. You have to select the right candidates.

AUDIENCE: Like Mohammad.

YOUSSRY SALMAN: OK. Mohammad is my horse-- winning horse-- in many subjects, OK?

[LAUGHTER]

YOUSSRY SALMAN: OK? Another con, it's a hardware killer. The exercises need massive, huge workstations. And this definitely will interfere your IT infrastructure, and your IT manager will be happy. So he will report negative about you. Don't worry. OK. Again, it's because you have to do things with the software. Processes need time. The movie, you see it in two minutes. It cost me two days just to record.

But again, if you do it properly, and when I talk properly, you need to practice a lot how to make the stitches properly. When you do it, what you are going to do is if change happens in this room, you will update this station only. So you will not go through this drama again and again.

So what I recommend you, you can use the cloud. Don't buy the software. You can use the cloud. I'm not a cloud fan, but I tell you this is one of the possibilities. You can use the cloud. So we can save. No need to buy the Cyclone software itself. If you need additional [INAUDIBLE], it may cost you $33,000. The cloud is $80 a month. So it's up to you.

Second, select right outsources. Don't go for BIM company and say, OK, this is outsource. Select people that have knowledge with modeling things till you have your team. And my advice, build your team. Don't wait. And once you've decided, start select your people. Select the good modelers, good engineers. Surveyors are very passionate to use a scanner, but the steps after a scanner need experts.

This is what we have. We have a comparison of many types of software. We have things. We segregate our elements and each element how much it costs and which one is better. We end up with this formula. This is SBG formula. You can end up with your different formula. No worry. OK. And we select some items to do it in Revit.

And our project, it wasn't a serious or critical demand for architecture stuff to be detailed up to the edge. So we use Revit. So [INAUDIBLE] either tweak it or model it from Revit. OK? We use EdgeWise for some stuff. We don't use EdgeWise for all stuff. So we highlighted the things we see it's valuable. You can use this matrix and make your own formula to find, according to your resources, which is better for your resources and also the availability. Maybe you are not doing the modeling yourself, but you have a modeling team.

So we'll go back again to our question of our decision. Is the 3D Scan the real as-built? We have reduced our as-built workflow with a drastic saving. We have a very drastic saving. Now our as-built, it's influenced, and it's going very fast. But still 3D scan is not a live data. It cannot tell you which one is a duct. It cannot tell you which one is a pipe, which one is a fire, which one is a shelled waterpipe, which one is domestic water, which one is a fire water, which one is the cable tray, which one is a cable truck, which cable tray carries which cables.

Still, laser scan did not give you this information. But laser scan give you what I prefer to name it existing condition. This is what you have as existing condition. I'm conflict with Leica and Autodesk and everybody when they named 3D scans as-built. No. It's an existing condition-- give you a condition, regardless. And this is the beauty of it.

You leave your scene. Like, imagine that you are CIA, or Miami CIA, or wherever this-- you know this is, you capture your scene, and go to the lab, and start doing exercises away from interfere from public. This is what happened with us. Project is life. So we cannot demolish more than a portion, and then portions, and portion. So bringing 3D scan to your as-built, it will make a drastic saving and will make a very good improvement for your [INAUDIBLE]. But it's not still to shop out or eliminate the traditional as-built process 100% still.

By coming future, by near future, we're expecting more smart algorithms. We're working with our partner, or our research center, and we're expecting from Autodesk and other companies to do more and more about this kind of a smart recognizing the point cloud reference to Revit model. So here is the definition. When you are talking about hologrammatic and everything recorded, yes, 3D scan is as-built. But when you talk about contractor official submitted document and receive your billing invoices, still, 3D scan is not the one.

So this is my conclusion. I hope you find some useful information in the session. And I try to meet the target in three, four questions. Yes, please?

AUDIENCE: That's excellent. Because what you did was, the consultant still said, no, I want 2D drawings. So officially, you have to go out and do all the hard labor to get those drawings. But you just said, OK, [INAUDIBLE] scanning process. So it's an identical scan. And then you just printed out the drawings. So you just gave him what he wanted, but you still [INAUDIBLE] the build the way you wanted to do it.