Leica ScanStation P20 is a welcome addition to Formby Surveys

With its ability to present a detailed view of the built environment and provide greater accuracy, 3D laser scanning offers many benefits to users and clients alike over conventional surveying methods.

Our senior surveyor Jeff Davies tells us about what Formby Surveys is doing to meet the demand for 3D laser scan surveys and gives us an insight to the latest edition to their fleet of survey equipment, the Leica ScanStation P20.

“When I first joined Formby Surveys in 2004, the company’s activities were initially limited to just conventional surveying services such as land surveys, building surveys and ground surveys,” said Jeff.

“However, in recent years it was clear that the demand for 3D laser scan surveying in the UK was increasing and the need for conventional surveying was slowly diminishing.”

Whilst Formby Surveys still offer a wide range of conventional surveys, their Managing Director Andy Roberts recognised the need to adapt to this change.

“We were increasingly being asked to process laser scan survey data by other companies who did not have the in-house capabilities that we did to do this,” added Jeff. “But because we were not establishing the survey control, and managing the data capture process it was often difficult to register the data correctly and produce accurate drawings for the client.”

Formby Surveys therefore decided it was time to invest in a 3D laser scanner to provide clients with a complete data capture and processing service.

“We invested in a Leica ScanStation P20 in June last year. It really does set a new standard in laser scan data quality,” said Jeff.

He told us about some of the scanners key features: “It’s renowned for capturing up to 1 million points per second,” said an impressed Jeff, “Even at such speed, it’s still able to capture high quality data for a wide range of applications. It has excellent range of 120m max and 360 degree scanning ability. But as a field surveyor, the feature I like the most is its ability to adapt with ease from site-to-site.”

They have used the Leica ScanStation P20 for a number of projects across the UK including a full laser scan survey of the Old Court House in Wallasey and for a project that they currently have on site at the five star luxury Mandarin Oriental Hotel, Hyde Park in London which involves external scanning of the building and its complex interior.

Jeff explained the benefits 3D laser scan surveying has over conventional surveying techniques: “It gives us a three dimensional view of the built environment with the finest detail, while conventional surveying simply gives you a set of points,” said Jeff.

“Accuracy is another benefit. With conventional surveys, sometimes jobs have to be done two or three times as requirements can change and still do not achieve the same degree of accuracy as a survey using a 3D laser scanner. As you can imagine, this can be costly in terms of time and money.”

Formby Surveys has always been progressive when it comes to adapting to change in the industry and therefore it comes as no surprise that they made the decision to invest in this impressive piece of kit.

“We’ve received some great feedback from our clients about the quality of data we can now provide and as a field surveyor, I have to say, it’s great to use,” concludes Jeff.

With the new Leica ScanStation P20, Formby Surveys now offer a complete 3D laser scan survey service from data capture through to processing to provide you with accurate 2D CAD drawings, 3D point cloud and 3D Models for your land and building projects.

SHARE