Meridian’s Greg Lawes presents at SPAR Int’l conference
Greg Lawes, principal at Meridian Associates, Inc., on Wednesday presented at the SPAR International Conference in Colorado Springs how 3D laser scanning and BIM workflows were used for contractor coordination to renovate and expand the Banner Alzheimer’s Institute in Phoenix, Ariz., last year, a $6.5 million project.
His presentation explained how tools from industry leaders – Allpoint Systems, LFM, Navisworks, Z+F, FARO, Autodesk and others – were employed on the project.
“Few organizations are able to foresee the potential of a technology to solve a problem and have the guts to turn it into reality like Meridian,” said Aaron Morris, formerly of Allpoint, which earlier this year was acquired by Autodesk.
Morris worked closely with Meridian on the project.
“Innovation is not just about changing the status quo, but facing the risk of applying the ‘new’ and enduring if it doesn’t work out,” said Morris, now senior product manager, Reality Capture, at Autodesk. “When Allpoint sought to introduce robotic solutions and new methods to laser scanning, Meridian was there to push it into the mainstream. The team at Meridian is both forward thinking and bold. I look forward to seeing the world they help shape.”
Beverly, Mass.-based firm is a leading provider of 3D laser scanning and modeling services for engineering, construction and design applications.
“Meridian Associates saved the day for us,” said Jason Schroeder, BIM coordinator for Hensel Phelps Construction Company. “There was a difference between what was coordinated early on and what was installed due to field changes, unforeseen conditions, and modifications to design at the end. They scanned our facility, processed the data, and provided a modeling/viewing solution. The models were updated and today we have an as-built representation of the building for the owner.”
Lawes said Meridian worked across state lines with Hensel Phelps and its subcontractors to help them update their models without visits back to the site for physical measurement validation.
The feedback received from Hensel Phelps and the trades was that Meridian’s work processes and selected platforms made data management and dissemination fast and efficient, saving time, reducing costs, increasing accuracy and improving quality, Lawes said.
“The Banner Alzheimer’s Institute expansion project is a great success story about BIM for healthcare renovations and the role of 3D laser scanning in ensuring BIM accuracy,” Lawes said. “Meridian has cracked the code on some of the challenges in collecting data quickly and serving it up to the project team in a format that they can work with.”
