Reflections and Insights from My Third Month
In my third month at Definition Surveying, I encountered 3D laser scanning for the first time and independently completed my second topographic survey (blog to follow next week). These experiences not only deepened my understanding of surveying technology but also provided me with valuable insights into my professional skills and work attitude. I would like to share these with everyone.
Experiences and Reflections on 3D Laser Scanning
This task involved performing 3D laser scanning for a dairy factory to provide the latest 2D as-built plans and point cloud data for future designs. The interior of the factory was filled with numerous pieces of equipment, and its complex structure required comprehensive scanning of the walls, equipment layout, and occupied area. Faced with this new task, I first carefully studied the client's requirements, then consulted relevant materials, and thoroughly learned the workflow and key considerations of 3D laser scanning.
Given that this was a food factory, the hygiene requirements were extremely strict. We had to undergo entry training to fully understand the factory's health and safety standards. During the training, I learned about cases where companies neglected hygiene, leading to food contamination and serious consequences. This made me realise that the factory's stringent requirements were not only to protect employees and service providers but also to safeguard public health and safety. As service providers, our work must not only meet the client's standards but also strive to exceed their expectations. This pursuit of excellence was a principle I adhered to throughout this task.
Upon entering the factory, I was struck by the density of the equipment and the cleanliness of the environment. Although the factory was large, the equipment occupied nearly all the space, requiring careful movement. What surprised me even more was that despite the extensive use of equipment, there was hardly any oil or dust to be seen, which deepened my trust in the safety of their products.
With multiple devices and complex structures, the requirements for 3d laser scanning work are extremely demanding. There are many things that need to be converted into 3D data points through laser scanning and and images to colourise the point cloud. The retrieved data from the laser scanner may consist of millions, tens of millions, or even billions of points of data. But it must be said that the scanning efficiency of the scanner is very high, and it can complete the scanning work of a station within a few minutes.
During work, David joked with me, 'Look, isn't scanning work very simple?'? I seriously expressed my feelings to him: I don't think it's easy. Firstly, scanning work requires prior familiarity with the conditions of the work site, including the size of the site, the number and layout of buildings, equipment, and environment within the site, and so on; Secondly, the placement of scanners and the number of stations should be determined based on the actual conditions of the site; Thirdly, it is necessary to be familiar with the condition of the equipment and carefully check the scanning results to confirm the quality. I know, David had already completed these preparations in advance.
It must be admitted that the current technology is really advanced. We used a Trimble X7 in this project. There are also newer versions of the scanner available which are the Trimble X9 and Trimble X12. In just a few minutes, everything that the scanner can see of the site can be scanned and loaded into the controller. The integration of scanning and images between each site is automatically completed and extremely accurate. However, even so, due to the complex layout of the factory building, the scanner went on strike during the image docking between stations. These were easily solved with David's manual assistance. In the end, we completed the scanning work by establishing 28 scan sites.
Processing the data
During the subsequent data processing, I once again realised the complexity of the work. On one hand, processing large volumes of data slowed down the computer's performance, sometimes even causing it to crash. On the other hand, when drawing a floor plan, it is particularly difficult to see the layout of the factory building clearly because there are many devices at every height from the ground to the roof, and each level combined together makes it difficult to see clearly. To more clearly reflect the factory’s true layout, we further refined the layering, striving to provide the client with more accurate and comprehensive data.
“I enjoyed learning about laser scanning and am looking forward to utilising the technology on more projects. ”