Sometimes 3D Construction Scans Have Be Done Without Downtime…

The action at a gambling casino never stops, not even for major renovation.

That means construction has to be carried out on a precise schedule. Each contractor must arrive on time – usually on short notice – and get their part of the job completed as promised.

Such was the case when the Stiles Company asked PrecisionPoint to perform 3D surveying and scanning work at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

The Hard Rock recently had three construction projects going on in succession. We were involved in all three.

The first was a complete renovation of the hotel’s 16,000-square-foot 12th floor.

Existing ‘High Roller’ Suites were gutted so that bigger, more opulent suites could be built for the hotel’s favored guests and celebrities.

The interior was completely demolished so that only the weight-bearing walls and MEP features were exposed. Our crew then arrived with a FARO Focus3D X-330 laser scanner to capture 50 3D construction scans of the space.

We supplied the point clouds directly to the Stiles designers who dropped the cloud into their Revit 3D software to design the new suites. Stiles needed the point cloud models for verification and clash detection as it planned where each new HVAC duct and plumbing pipe would connect into the existing MEP features during construction.

A precise design based on our 3D construction models ensured the construction on floor 12 could be carried out with minimal disruption to the guest floor below.

Collaborating with the Contractors…

Next came construction of a new restaurant adjacent to the main casino on the first floor.

The restaurant would occupy what was an open hallway area with 18-foot-tall ceilings. Again, the project designers needed an accurate as-built 3D survey of the existing structural steel where framing for the new restaurant would tie in. Most of the steel was hidden in the ceiling plenum above heavy architectural tiles.

More than just providing the 3D construction scans, the PrecisionPoint team collaborated with the contractor’s personnel to pull off the job in one day.

The contractors carefully removed each tile while our team used a scissor lift to raise the X-330 into the plenum space. Targets were placed in each opening, and the scanning commenced in the cramped dark space. We delivered the point cloud to the architects who designed the fancy new restaurant.

Our crew was on standby six weeks later when the walls, windows and doorways of the new eating space had been erected. Stiles called us in on less than 24-hour notice to scan these as-built structural features before the sheet rock was brought in. This gave the architect an accurate structural model for use in the future.

The final project at Hard Rock was the toughest. The centerpiece of the facility is a faux rock outcrop that is surrounded by a large pool.

The rock outcrop itself is about 25 feet tall and 50 feet across. It’s hollow inside and hides the heaters and chlorine pumps for the pool. Years of exposure to chemicals in the humid environment have corroded the steel beams that form the internal skeleton of the rock edifice. Our team was brought in to scan and provide 3D construction models of the skeletal frame so restoration work could be planned.

We had never faced such humid conditions. They prompted our crew to set up the X-330 scanner and let it sit for an hour to acclimate to the conditions. During the collection of 30 scans inside the structure, crews had to continuously wipe condensation off the laser mirror and other critical parts.

Once we had the point cloud model in hand, our team in Indiana used the recently released EdgeWise Structure module within the EdgeWise Plant suite to automatically extract the I-beam and steel braces that comprised the internal skeleton. This allowed us to deliver a 3D construction model with enough detail for designers to determine which features had to be replaced.

“These jobs were fast-paced, and we relied on our years of experience working in an active construction environment to pull them off quickly and safely without disrupting the work schedule,” Mark Hanna, CEO and Founder, PrecisionPoint.