Case Study

Industrial Facility: Scanning a Live Plant for an MEP Retrofit

3D laser scanning and scan-to-BIM of an operating industrial facility, captured around production so the retrofit was coordinated off the model, not in the field.

Project Overview

A Chicago-area manufacturer was planning an equipment relocation and an MEP retrofit inside an active production facility. The available drawings were decades old and did not reflect years of process changes, and the mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems overhead were densely routed. The engineering team needed an accurate as-built record of the existing conditions before they could design the new equipment layout, and the plant could not stop running to get it.

As-built BIM model of an industrial facility's MEP systems from laser scan data: Laser Scan Chicago
As-built BIM model of the facility's MEP. Modeled from the scan, so the retrofit was coordinated against real conditions.

The Challenge

  • Production could not be interrupted, so scanning had to work around live operations
  • Original drawings were outdated and did not match years of process and piping changes
  • Overhead MEP was dense and tightly routed, requiring high scan density to capture cleanly
  • The new equipment had to thread through existing structure and systems with no room for surprises

The Approach

Laser Scan Chicago scanned the facility with FARO Focus equipment during scheduled access windows, capturing the structure, the process piping, and the mechanical systems without disrupting production. The individual scans were registered into a single georeferenced point cloud, which the modeling team used as the reference layer in Revit to build an as-built model of the existing structure and MEP.

Deliverables

  • Registered point cloud (RCP/RCS) of the production area
  • Revit model of the existing structure and MEP systems
  • 2D references for the equipment-relocation footprint

Results

Because the design team was working from a measured model of the real facility rather than out-of-date drawings, they routed the new equipment and revised MEP and confirmed clearances before anything was fabricated. Conflicts that would otherwise have surfaced during installation, the kind that stop a line and run up overtime, were resolved on screen. The retrofit was coordinated off the model, and the plant kept running throughout documentation.

Zero downtime Captured around live production
Clash-checked New layout coordinated before fabrication
As-built Real conditions, not decades-old drawings

Ready to Document Your Facility?

Laser Scan Chicago captures operating industrial and institutional facilities around live activity, then delivers the point cloud and scan-to-BIM model your team needs to plan retrofits, relocations, and coordination with confidence. As a local Chicago team, we mobilize fast and work to your schedule. Contact us to discuss your facility.