More efficient planning, safer work and reduced costs

There are many reasons to perform accurate surveying. Several independent sources and experts highlight that investments in digital surveying quickly pay for themselves through more efficient design, fewer errors and less physical work in the field. 

Firstly, planning and design work is made more efficient. When an accurate digital model of the infrastructure is available, engineers can perform analysis and design directly against it instead of making assumptions based on incomplete data. A surveying technology provider describes how LiDAR scanning on railways opens up opportunities to automatically extract objects along the track and analyze height and slope, providing unika perspektiv av banan för planering. This means that both new projects and maintenance measures can be planned with greater precision – you know exactly where obstacles are, what measurements apply, and what the conditions are. In other words: having accurate data about the facility reduces the risk of unforeseen problems and you can plan measures that suit your needs. This leads to kostnadsbesparingar avoids incorrect orders and project changes late in the process. 

Another noticeable effect is reduced need for physical site visits and personnel on track or on the road. Digital site visits do not replace all field work, but they reduce the number of times personnel have to be exposed to risks in the traffic environment. This is about remote maintenance, but the core – removing people from dangerous environments – also applies to data collection. When a measurement vehicle can drive at 80 km/h on the line and scan the surroundings, there is no need to send out a measurement patrol to stay close to the track. Automated methods reduces the time measurement technicians need to spend in the field so that they can instead focus on qualitative data analysis indoors. This is a major advantage from a work environment perspective and also frees up personnel resources for more value-adding tasks than standing at the roadside with a measuring tool. 

Furthermore, machine measurement entails time gains which has a positive impact on costs. It is much faster to have a survey truck scan an area than to do conventional point-by-point measurements. Large projects that previously required weeks of surveying can now be completed in days, sometimes hours. One example is that in 27 days we measured over 24,500 objects using a machine method – something that would probably have taken many times longer with manual measurement alone. For infrastructure owners, this means that the design time is shrinking, which in the long run means that improvements can be implemented earlier. Maintenance efforts can also be carried out more efficiently: if you know exactly where the problem points are through data, maintenance personnel can go directly to the right place with the right equipment, instead of spending time troubleshooting on site. As a representative of the Swedish Transport Administration put it, digitalization is about the railway tells how it feels with sensors and data, which addresses one of the biggest problems – the lack of control over maintenance needs. Catching maintenance needs early reduces acute failures and traffic disruptions, which saves significant amounts in the long run, both directly in repair costs and indirectly in the form of fewer delays. 

Finally, these methods also contribute to better decision-making and quality assurance. All collected data can be saved and tracked over time. You can go back to “what it looked like” before a particular job and verify that a contractor performed the job according to specification by comparing before and after scans (so-called ”scan-to-BIM” or ”scan-to-model” use). The quality of delivered geodetic data is increased, which reduces the risk of errors in construction documents. Measurements according to the Swedish Transport Administration's standards (e.g. the requirements for laser scanning) mean that data can be easily integrated into the authority's system and used by all actors on equal terms. This transparency and traceability benefits the industry as a whole.