LASERTECH® Survey System

The “OLD WAY”

Traditionally, as-built data has been collected through a manual note-taking process, in conjunction with tapes, or at most a Laser Disto. Errors in measurement, recording of measurements, sketching of layouts, all resulted in return trips to the field for correction. The end result? Slower turnaround times, more disruption for building occupants and increased costs. When measurements were finally completed, then it was time to draft the results….on paper! Inevitably errors would be found in the field work, requiring additional back and forth, in a never-ending cycle!

The “NEW WAY”

At LASERTECH® Floorplans, we have developed a customized hardware/software solution to solve these problems, the LASERTECH® Survey System.

LTS is a custom software solution, developed by LASERTECH® Floorplans and used only by us! Others have attempted to copy, or use a drafting tool such as AutoCAD® in the field, but only LTS has been designed from the ground up as a building survey software solution. Only LTS has powerful built-in closure routines which guarantee, and record, the survey accuracy and adjustments made for every object in the building. Not only are these adjustments recorded, but they are made available in all our delivered files to our clients. If there is any question as to the accuracy of any Lasertech®, it is all there in the data!

Surveyor taking laser measurement and recording in LTS

The major advantages of the LTS System are:

Ease of Use – new operators can be easily trained on the full system within 1-2 weeks.
Increased efficiency – our operators can typically measure and draw at an average rate of 15-20,000 sq.ft. per day (floorplans only)
Industry standard – data is collected and stored in standard AutoCAD format.
Fully configurable – our clients own CAD layering and blocking standards are easily configured, with all field data mapped to their configuration “on the fly”. The result? Our operators will collect measurements as normal, with all data and symbols stored in a client’s format automatically, with no operator intervention required. Easy, transparent, seamless integration.
No building too complicated – unlike some competitor products on the market, our system has been designed and proven to handle buildings of ANY shape or size. There are no size limitations, no problems with curves or angles, and no problem with inaccessible areas. With an ingenious triangulation methodology implemented, LTS can resolve any layout imaginable.
Powerful Auto-Closure built-in – in any survey of a building, there will always be an adjustment process. LTS has automated this procedure as much as possible. Closed rooms or areas may be auto-adjusted by a trained operator, mathematically ’spreading’ the adjustment around the room on a pro-rated basis. Total adjustment statistics are accumulated floor-by-floor, allowing us to provide an absolutely accurate figure representing the tolerances achieved on every LASERTECH® survey. This forms the basis of our Guarantee.

With the data acquisition complete, the files are electronically transferred to our CAD Center for final processing and preparation of deliverables.

Articles

Need to comply with San Francisco “Soft Story Retrofit” Ordinance?

March 21, 2014/in Interesting articles, News/by Steve Orser

San Francisco recently signed into law an ordinance making retrofitting of thousands of seismically unsafe buildings mandatory. This ordinance applies to wood-frame buildings built before 1978, which are at least three stories tall and have at least five residential units. These apartments are unsafe because an earthquake shakes the bottom floor that supports the weight of […]

The Challenges of Creating BIM on Existing Buildings

October 25, 2012/in Interesting articles/by Steve Orser

Here’s an interesting article outlining the challenges of creating a BIM model on an existing building, for renovations.

One size does not fit all: the new BOMA Standard 2010 for office buildings

January 11, 2011/in BOMA Standards, Interesting articles/by

The Building Owners and Managers Association International (BOMA) recently released: Office Buildings: Standard Methods of Measurement and Calculating Rentable Area (2010) (“BOMA 2010”). This publication is the latest in a succession of BOMA Standards, which have been widely used for the measurement of the rentable area of office premises since 1915.

The new publication contains many revisions and additions to the previous BOMA standard of 1996: Standard Method for Measuring Floor Area in Office Buildings (“BOMA 1996”). We are about to give you a glimpse into what’s new