Full-Service 3D Mapping is an Infrastructure Game-Changer. Here’s How Langan is Leading the Way
A novel approach pioneered by Langan combines above-ground and below-ground high-accuracy 3D mapping to give project stakeholders quick access to comprehensive site intelligence.
“Part of our philosophy is to control as many of the steps in the total survey package as we can. We don’t have to wait. We can control the schedule and quality. And it allows us to have more influence in the overall project.”
—Joe Romano, PLS, Principal,/Vice President, Langan
—Joe Romano, PLS, Principal,/Vice President, Langan
Locating and mapping underground utilities is an essential part of any infrastructure project. It takes time, requires expertise, and affects the timeline and quality of the rest of the project.
Langan, an integrated land development, engineering and environmental consulting services firm based in Parsippany, NJ, is on a path to change how the preliminary site work takes place. In the process, the firm is transforming expectations of what existing conditions data acquisition should include and how the service provides value.
It’s All About Control
In a typical infrastructure project, an agency or general contractor subcontracts the utility detection work during the pre-design or preliminary design phase, and the resulting maps—often 2D line drawings based on data captured with electromagnetic locators or other basic tools—are added to the file with other site drawings. Other subcontractors handle the site surveys and existing conditions data acquisition aboveground, with each phase progressing once the previous phase is complete.
The speed and quality of the deliverables provided for each phase depend on the subcontractor’s experience and technology. Skilled service providers can assimilate data from multiple subcontractors to move their piece of the project forward. But they can’t prevent delays due to incomplete or inaccurate work outside of their control.
It was this concern, the work outside their control, that bothered Joseph Romano, PLS, principal and vice president of Langan.
“Part of our philosophy is to control as many of the steps in the total survey package as we can,” he says. “We don’t have to wait. We can control the schedule and quality. And it allows us to have more influence in the overall project.”
The company was already a premier subcontractor for aboveground surveying and geospatial work, with a comprehensive service list comprising traditional surveying, laser scanning and building information modeling, mobile mapping, and GIS. The next step was to take 3D mapping below ground.
Cutting-Edge GPR Technology
As Langan worked with Leica Geosystems, part of Hexagon, to upgrade its mobile mapping capabilities with the Pegasus TRK, their Leica rep mentioned the Stream DP underground survey technology from IDS GeoRadar, also part of Hexagon.
The multichannel ground penetrating radar (GPR) array solution provides extended depth range and ultra-high resolution compared to other GPR technologies. Its use of 30 channels with double polarization provides an accurate 3D reconstruction of the underground utility network in a single scan to minimize the time required onsite. And the post-processing software is loaded with automation to streamline and simplify data management and deliverable creation.
“The Stream provides cutting-edge, forward-facing capabilities that we have not seen from any other GPR technology,” Romano explains. “The way it operates, the deliverables it produces, and the automated workflows on the office side are really innovative. It was exactly what we needed to provide underground 3D mapping services in-house.”
Langan moved forward with the investment in the fall of 2023, significantly expanding its data acquisition capabilities.
“Now we can combine data from mobile mapping, traditional survey, aerial lidar, static laser scanning, and the Stream and create 3D object-based infrastructure models for insights on as-built site conditions. Our ability to capture all that data, view it and move it around quickly, QA/QC it, combine it, and then output it in a model is a significant advantage.”
—Joe Romano, PLS, Principal/Vice President, Langan
—Joe Romano, PLS, Principal/Vice President, Langan
The Value of Accurate, Complete Intelligence
The ability to provide full-service 3D mapping both above and below ground positions Langan to provide accurate and complete intelligence for a wide range of projects.
For example, clients increasingly see the benefit of building information modeling (BIM) from the ground up as well as from the ground down. “Now we can combine data from mobile mapping, traditional survey, aerial lidar, static laser scanning, and the Stream and create 3D object-based infrastructure models for insights on as-built site conditions,” Romano says. “Our ability to capture all that data, view it and move it around quickly, QA/QC it, combine it, and then output it in a model is a significant advantage.”
Asset mapping for large campuses such as healthcare providers, entertainment complexes, and residential developments is another sweet spot. With the Pegasus TRK and IDS GeoRadar Stream, Langan can quickly capture the aboveground assets and then tie all the subsurface utilities into the map to create a true survey-grade GIS.
“The more we can control all aspects of the existing conditions data acquisition as a single-source provider,” Romano says, “the more value that gives our clients.”
“Now we can combine data from mobile mapping, traditional survey, aerial lidar, static laser scanning, and the Stream and create 3D object-based infrastructure models for insights on as-built site conditions. Our ability to capture all that data, view it and move it around quickly, QA/QC it, combine it, and then output it in a model is a significant advantage.”
—Joe Romano, PLS, Principal/Vice President, Langan
—Joe Romano, PLS, Principal/Vice President, Langan
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