Data on ROI of Laser Scanning for AEC Industry

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kickstart
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Data on ROI of Laser Scanning for AEC Industry

Post by kickstart »

Hi All,

I'm working on a whitepaper about the ROI and/or cost savings benefits of using laser scanning applications in the fields of architecture, engineering, and construction. With the price laser scanners dropping significantly over the past several years (into 5 figures as opposed to 6 figures), there seems to be growing evidence that despite the relatively high cost of entry, laser scanning equipment can pay for itself pretty quickly.

I've been looking at a couple of good reference articles recently that provide some decent talking points:

- http://lineshapespace.com/how-laser-sca ... and-money/
- http://constructrealityxyz.com/test/ebo ... anning.pdf
- http://rhodes-group.com/newsletter/wint ... nd-beyond/

These articles all provide some good high-level information (i.e. "It’s been reported that 3D scanning can reduce total project costs by as much as 5 – 7% and the schedule by as much as 10% on industrial projects."). However I'd get other first hand accounts of cost savings achieved through the use of laser scanning technology. Alternatively, if you have insights into hidden costs or other negative impacts (cost-wise) of using laser scanning for AEC applications, that would be really useful as well.

Thanks for advance for any input, and thanks for reading!

- Andrew
tbwester
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Re: Data on ROI of Laser Scanning for AEC Industry

Post by tbwester »

Cool project, look forward to reading your findings.

"With the price laser scanners dropping significantly over the past several years"

I guess this is true - but IMO the biggest advance that has reduced the cost is the efficiency of workflows and also support of point clouds into design software packages. It is overlooked, but it is the main driver for sure.

When I started out, we would scan maybe 20 scans a day. Now we can scan 200 scans a day, and register them faster than the 20 we took 8 years ago. that is at least 10x advance, whereas we paid about the same for both scanners.

Just wanted to share.
kickstart
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Re: Data on ROI of Laser Scanning for AEC Industry

Post by kickstart »

Hi tbwester,

Thanks so much for the input. That's a very useful angle to consider, and one that I had not thought of.

Regarding the costs, I've seen it mentioned in a couple of different articles that the cost of laser scanning equipment was in the mid-six-figure range a few years ago, in which case a $50-70k price point seems cheap by comparison. However if that's not really the case, I'd love to get better data on price history if it's available.
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