【3D Panoramic Scanning】How to Simplify As-Built Drawing Processes? The Unmissable Advantages of Space Scanning!

 
Easily Create As-Built Drawings with Digital Twins
As the saying goes, even the most thorough construction management plan can quickly go awry. While your team can spend countless hours designing a structure or planning a renovation, it only takes one day for unexpected challenges to arise, leading to a significant difference between design and as-built. Accurate as-built drawings ensure the entire process, challenges and all, is completed correctly, avoiding confusion later on.

Unfortunately, the difficulties in handling as-built drawings often lead to unfavorable situations. From communication problems to outdated technology, many challenges can result in rushed or incomplete as-built drawings during the construction process.

Whether you're undertaking a renovation or constructing a site from scratch, accurate as-built drawings can not only benefit you in many ways but also be easily put together!

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What are As-Built Drawings?
As-built drawings, or redline drawings, are part of the竣工文件 (completion documents) that accurately illustrate how a structure was built, rather than how it was designed. If any changes were made to the original plans during construction, the as-built drawings should reflect these design changes. Ideally, as-built drawings and completion documents should also include a detailed log of the reasons for changes and supplementary notes.

Before drafting the final as-built drawings, an as-built survey is usually conducted. During this process, the contractor or architect will conduct a thorough investigation and record the locations of utilities, the height and dimensions of surfaces, etc. Surveyors will also note any deviations from blueprints or construction plans to the existing conditions of the structure.

Ultimately, anyone reviewing the as-built drawings should be able to understand the specifications of the structure or site, and why any changes were made.

Who is Responsible for As-Built Drawings?
The person responsible for as-built drawings largely depends on the reason the drawings are needed and the type of construction. When a new structure is built, as-built drawings are typically completed by the architect or designer. If the project is a renovation, it is usually the general contractor or architect, depending on the scope of the renovation.

Regardless of who creates the documentation, as-built drawings offer many benefits to all construction-related roles.

• Architects: As-built drawings can serve as a reference point for future projects, allowing architects to gain a deeper understanding of future renovations and similar projects.

• Designers: Incomplete information can limit design and even compromise safety. As-built drawings provide designers with precise measurements and specifications, helping them make informed decisions without limiting design.

• Contractors: With as-built drawings before construction begins, contractors can properly plan the project and anticipate potential challenges in advance. This also allows contractors to purchase the correct materials beforehand and can even prevent safety issues.

• Building Owners/Managers: As-built drawings provide building managers with a more detailed understanding of their structures, allowing them to anticipate maintenance needs and budgets, and make more informed purchasing and sales decisions.

While correct as-built drawings can bring many role-specific benefits, they also play a larger role throughout the construction process.

The Importance of As-Built Drawings
Few places are as bustling and busy as a construction site, especially large projects involving dispersed teams. Regardless of one's role in a construction project, as-built drawings are important for many reasons.

More Effective Management and Maintenance of Portfolios
If you manage multiple properties, as-built drawings become invaluable for a variety of reasons.

As-built drawings provide you with detailed records of each building, allowing you to plan maintenance and maintenance budgets for each site. 

The detailed information provided by as-built drawings also gives you insight into the value of each building. This is useful for estimating the value of your portfolio and determining insurance coverage. These details can also help you determine which investments yield the best returns, what your annual costs might be, and which structures pose the greatest risks.

Accurate, Detailed Record Keeping
In short, as-built drawings are an extremely accurate and detailed record of a project. This brings various benefits, from helping diagnose maintenance issues to serving as proof of a project, to assisting with buying or selling, and much more.

Establishing a Reference for Maintenance and Repair Work
When it comes to building maintenance and repair, a little knowledge goes a long way. As-built drawings can help you diagnose problems, anticipate issues, and resolve them more effectively when they arise.

Suppose you have a power problem in your room. Without as-built drawings, you are left with only the original drawings (if any), which show where the utility box should be, but do not capture last-minute wiring changes. With accurate as-built drawings, you can quickly see these changes, while design documents would leave your maintenance team searching fruitlessly.

Using Them as a Starting Point for Planning and Executing Renovations
Like maintenance, renovations rely heavily on up-to-date information. As-built drawings clearly show the materials used, the location of load-bearing supports, etc. All of this can help you easily plan and execute renovations, reducing the likelihood of encountering unexpected challenges along the way.

For example, suppose you want to add new wall-mounted storage to a room. If substandard materials were replaced during the initial construction and not documented, you might end up damaging the wall and the new storage. Accurate as-built drawings prevent precisely this kind of confusion.

Helping Stakeholders Understand Modifications
Project stakeholders are not always on-site during construction, so unplanned changes can lead to unpleasant surprises.

As-built drawings with annotations can help stakeholders understand any unplanned changes. This understanding can reduce friction between workers and stakeholders and again demonstrate that everything is still built to standard.

Serving as a Reference Point for Communication and Collaboration
Communication and collaboration are crucial in the construction industry. If an unplanned change occurs on a job site one day, and different workers start working the next day – whether planned or unplanned – as-built drawings keep everyone informed.

The same applies to distributed teams and teams managing multiple job sites. By keeping as-built drawings as accessible as possible, you can ensure that all team members and stakeholders are on the same page, regardless of their location or what changes occur.

Reducing Risks Associated with Inaccuracies
Inaccurate information can lead to minor and catastrophic risks in construction. By keeping accurate as-built drawings, you ensure that everyone is equipped with the information they need to do their job – whether it's managing a building, dealing with maintenance, determining how to safely renovate a structure, etc.

Assisting with Government Compliance
States and nations can have different mandates for structures. These regulations can affect new construction and renovation projects, especially large buildings. Often, you need to obtain permits before breaking ground, but also provide proof afterward that the project was completed according to regulations. As-built drawings are excellent supplementary documentation that can be included and show any changes you made in accordance with all requirements.

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Solving 3 Major As-Built Drawing Challenges
While as-built drawings exist to provide information and make projects easier, this is only true when they are completed as thoroughly as possible. Overcome the following as-built drawing challenges to ensure you provide your team with all possible information.

Incomplete Documentation
If you are creating as-built drawings, make sure to collect all the information you can. Ideally, you will be able to obtain this information from sources on the site. This may involve measuring spaces and interviewing experts who handled various aspects of the project.

If you cannot find the necessary people or access the information, make a note of this and set a reminder to follow up as soon as possible.

Lack of Coordination
Poor coordination between various teams can lead to miscommunication, inaccurate information, and failure to capture a high level of detail. Avoid this by setting communication protocols. Utilize digital communication channels such as instant messaging or video chat to ensure your team can share information quickly. Implement best practices and stakeholders for various processes to ensure people communicate the right message to the right person when milestones are reached.

Outdated Technology
When creating as-built drawings, outdated construction technology can lead to many problems. Manual measurements can be inaccurate and time-consuming, paper record-keeping makes collaboration difficult and increases the likelihood of using outdated information, and a lack of communication tools makes collaboration difficult.

Avoid this by solving old problems with modern solutions. For example, Matterport's measurement mode in digital twins allows any viewer to take measurements of a Matterport scan from anywhere, on any device. These scans can be done quickly and easily by anyone, meaning you can even get updated measurements daily. At the same time, instant messaging and video chat features make communication easier, while digital record-keeping helps you utilize the latest documents without the risk of easily losing records.

How Matterport Improves the As-Built Drawing Process
As-built drawings are only useful if they are accurate and complete, and doing this correctly can be a tedious manual process. David Kuoppamaki, owner of Kuop Design, states that using Matterport's digital twins significantly reduces manual measurement needs by 80%, shortens drawing time by 50%, eliminates the need for manual photography, and manages to improve bidding accuracy.

The Matterport Pro 3D panoramic scanner is a fast, simple way to capture spatial and photographic data of a property in minutes. It is significantly cheaper than traditional LIDAR scanning, costing only about 10% of LIDAR's price, and greatly simplifies the workflow.

In this video, Kuop Designs introduces their workflow: