A scan to as-built building information modeling workflow: a case study in Malaysia

Abstract

Purpose Three dimensional (3 D) laser scanner surveying is widely used in many fields, such as agriculture, mining and heritage documentation and can be of great benefit for as-built documentation in construction and facility management domains. However, there is lack of applied research and use cases integrating 3 D laser scanner surveying with building information modeling (BIM) for existing facilities in Malaysia. This study aims to develop a scan to as-built BIM workflow to use 3 D laser scanner surveying and create as-built building information models of an existing complex facility in Malaysia. Design/methodology/approach A case study approach was followed to develop a scan to as-built BIM workflow through four main steps: 3 D laser scanning, data preprocessing, data registration and building information modeling. Findings This case study proposes a comprehensive scan to as-built BIM workflow which illustrates all the required steps to create a precise 3 D as-built building information model from scans. This workflow was successfully implemented to the Eco-Home facility at the Universiti Teknologi Malaysia. Originality/value Scan to as-built BIM is a digital alternative to manual and tedious process of documentation of as-built condition of a facility and provides a detail process using laser scans to create as-built building information models of facilities.