Laser scanning has transformed efficiency for Faithful Registered Surveying in Japan

Author: Yoshie Katagiri

“有了BLK360，基本上没有任何地方无法调查，”

Faithful Registered Surveying(FRS) is a land surveying company based in Osaka City, Japan. The company’s work ensures an accurate record of property in the area, and is essential for the smooth running of the property market, validating corporate and individual property rights. The company recently increased the speed and efficiency of its on-site survey work by introducing Leica Geosystems' imaging laser scanner, theLeica BLK360。

目的：减少现场花费的时间

FRS的土地和房屋测量师Takashi Nakata解释了检查过程。“通过土地检查，我们对地面进行调查，以定义财产的确切边界，澄清土地使用澄清，并注册到法律事务局。对于建筑物检查，我们对建筑物的类别进行了分类，定义结构并调查了地面区域空间，还将结果记录到法律事务局。我们测量并评估称为“边界”的看不见的东西。

The business’ customers are mainly real estate companies that handle custom construction as well as construction companies and design offices. Speed and price are important factors for clients, so the more quickly that FRS surveyors can work, the more competitive the business is. It was with this in mind that that company introduced 3D laser scanning. “I felt that it is significant to reduce the time of on-site work reliably,” Explains Nakata.

Nakata researched various laser scanners before choosing the BLK360. The deciding factors were fast performance and mobility, with some other products considered weighing up to four times more than the BLK360. “I liked the BLK360's extremely compact size and high performance. Its vertical orientation makes it convenient for measuring in tight spaces. We decided that being lightweight and highly manoeuvrable means that you can easily use it for everyday use, which is a significant advantage in terms of investment effect.”

快速测量可见度不佳的站点

3D激光扫描的主要好处是能够快速测量困难空间。通过使用Total Station进行遍历测量，您只能在两个或更多点的视线之间进行测量。如果您需要在一个角落或被树木阻塞的墙壁上进行测量，则需要移动总站以测量更多点以在屏障周围建立一连串的视线。

激光扫描仪的工作原理完全不同。它captures physical objects in 3D, producing a comprehensive set of measurement points known as a point cloud. Nakata explains, “In places with poor visibility, such as climbing stairs between high fences, it is very difficult to measure with a total station, and I feel stress. If you set BLK360 at multiple places in the survey site and acquire point clouds, you can register point clouds by using [a point of reference], for example, a utility pole that is visible on the side without walls. Even in a complex site where the visibility is blocked , the measurement data can be obtained with the minimum number of scans without any worries, which is a great advantage in reducing the time required for on-site work.”

Comprehensive datasets save time and prevent re-work

Laser scanner captures the entire site in a point cloud, so if you are asked by a client for more detail than was in the original brief, you don’t need to go back on-site to take more measurements.

“Before, when I made a cross-section of a position and presented it, I was often suddenly told, ‘I want a cross-section of this position.’ In the past, we had to go to the site again and repeat the measurement each time. Not only revisiting the site but also measuring extra points just in case is an extra and wasteful task, which will increase the on-site work hours. With BLK360, the problem of redoing on-site work has been resolved. Since we have 3D data, we can handle level measurement and cross-sectional views immediately by processing point cloud data stored in office PC if we receive an additional request,” says Nakata.

Reduction of work man-hours by 30%

As initially expected, the BLK360 delivered significant results in reducing fieldwork time. “It took three hours for one person to use the BLK360 to measure a site, which would take three hours for two people with a total station. The number of man-hours has been halved to three man-hours," explains Nakata. Adding in the time taken to process and edit the point cloud and the time for projects, which still require using a total station, has saved the business about 30% in man hours since the 3D laser scanner was introduced.

“除了简单地减少工时的数量外，两个人还可以并行做其他事情，例如一个人可以去政府办公室并要求在一个人与BLK360进行调查的同时请求必要的文件。同样重要的是，一个人可以完成的任务数量有所增加。工作自由度增加了。” Nakata解释说。

Growing the business with laser scanning

能够提供3D激光扫描作为一项服务，正在帮助FRS区分和发展其业务。该公司目前正在向客户和潜在公司教育激光扫描的优势和潜在用途。

Nakata说：“我们已经制作了一个视频，解释了点云数据的点，并将3D图像附加了带有边界点和边界突出显示的3D图像，从而使客户和相关方易于欣赏。一些客户正在考虑在预建房屋的设计中使用它。”Nakata也正在研究组合Unmanned Aerial Vehicle(UAV)数据获取与BLK360扩大range of work that the company can undertake. “With BLK360, there is basically no place that cannot be surveyed.”