3D Scanning Services — LiDAR, Photogrammetry & Drone-Based Reality Capture

We mobilise LiDAR, photogrammetry and drone crews globally — across every region we serve.

What this page covers

Our 3D Scanning Modalities
What We Use 3D Scanning For
Need a 3D scan, point cloud or as-built model?

Key points covered

Survey-grade terrestrial and mobile LiDAR capture for plants, tanks, pressure vessels, pipe racks and structures. Millimetre-accurate point clouds for as-built models, clash detection, deformation monitoring and dimensional control — registered to plant coordinates and ready for CAD, BIM and digital-twin workflows.
High-resolution photogrammetric reconstruction for surface mapping, corrosion and coating documentation, weld profiling and reverse engineering. Colourised, texture-rich meshes and orthomosaics that pair with NDT data for traceable, geo-referenced inspection records.
Drone-mounted LiDAR and photogrammetry for confined, elevated and hard-to-access assets — flare stacks, storage-tank roofs, bridges, jetties, cooling towers and offshore structures. Reduces rope-access and scaffolding cost while improving inspector safety and coverage.
Tank & pressure-vessel deformation / settlement surveys (API 653, API 510)

What reality capture delivers, and what it does not

3D laser scanning, photogrammetry and drone survey produce an accurate, measurable record of an asset as it exists today. That record is the input to as-built engineering, dimensional control, clash detection, turnaround planning and digital twin construction — but it is geometry, and geometry alone answers none of the questions an integrity team is asking.

Capture methods and when each applies

Terrestrial laser scanning — survey-grade accuracy for process plant, structures and confined spaces where dimensional precision drives the deliverable.
Photogrammetry — high-resolution texture and colour, useful where surface condition and coating state matter as much as dimension.
Drone and UAV capture — elevated structures, tank roofs, flare stacks, tailings facilities and anything where access would otherwise mean scaffold or rope access.
Existing BIM, CAD and isometrics — frequently the cheapest starting point. If as-builts are trustworthy, re-scanning may add nothing that changes a decision.

Deliverables

Registered point clouds in LAS, E57, RCP or RCS with stated registration accuracy.
As-built models in Revit, IFC, AutoCAD or MicroStation, at a level of detail agreed against the use case rather than maximised by default.
Deformation and dimensional comparison against design or against a previous scan.
Geometry prepared for ingestion into a digital twin, where inspection data is then bound to locations on the model.

The decision worth making before you commission a scan

Decide first what condition data will be attached to the geometry, and at what resolution it needs to be located. Scanning an entire plant at high density before that decision is the most common way to overspend on reality capture: the constraint on a digital twin programme is almost always reconciling the corrosion monitoring location register, not capturing geometry. Scope the scan to the units where the condition data justifies it.

What 3D scanning actually delivers on an industrial site

Laser scanning and photogrammetry produce a measured record of what is physically there — as opposed to what the drawings say is there, which on a plant more than a few years old are two different things. The deliverable is a point cloud, and its value depends entirely on what you intend to do with it: a walkthrough model, a clash check against a proposed tie-in, an as-built drawing set, or dimensional verification against design tolerance are four different jobs with four different accuracy requirements.

Where it earns its keep

Brownfield tie-ins. The classic failure is a fabricated spool that does not fit because the existing pipework moved during a modification nobody recorded. Scanning the connection area before fabrication converts a site rework into a shop dimension.

Turnaround planning. Scanning before a shutdown lets scaffolding, access and lift plans be built against measured reality, which is where most turnaround schedule slip originates.

Tank and vessel geometry. Shell distortion, settlement profiles and out-of-roundness are measurable from a scan far faster than by manual survey, and the result is comparable campaign to campaign — which is what makes it evidence rather than an observation.

As-built records where none exist. Older facilities frequently have no reliable drawing set. A scan is the cheapest route to one.

What it does not do

A scan records surfaces. It does not tell you wall thickness, it does not find cracks, and it cannot see inside anything. Reality capture and NDT answer different questions and are complementary rather than alternative — the scan tells you the geometry, the examination tells you the condition. Anyone selling scanning as a substitute for inspection is selling past the physics.

Accuracy is also a specification, not a property: register the survey properly and control the target network, or the point cloud is precise and wrong. Ask any provider what registration error they achieved, not just what the scanner is rated for.

3D Scanning Services — LiDAR, Photogrammetry &amp; Drone-Based Reality Capture