How to order laser scanning of buildings and industrial sites in Kazakhstan for BIM

Terrestrial laser scanning of buildings and industrial sites across Kazakhstan is carried out by GeoProGlobal: the crew captures the facility and delivers a registered point cloud from which the design organisation builds a BIM model. A scan is ordered when dense three-dimensional geometry of a building, a process unit or a site is required, not only a topographic plan. Below is when that applies, what the delivery includes and how to send the request.

The production cycle is already on the laser scanning page: reconnaissance, field capture, station registration, cloud cleanup and handover. This guide does not repeat the service card. It answers what to order and what to prepare on the client side.

What is a point cloud, and why does BIM need it?

A point cloud is a dense three-dimensional record of a surface: a facade, a room, a process unit, a tank, a pipe rack or a quarry face. For BIM it is the base of the model, not a substitute for the design decision. The same cloud supports a digital twin, a survey of as-is geometry and a clash check before an upgrade.

GeoProGlobal performs terrestrial scanning across Kazakhstan. Scanner range is up to 620 m, the rate is up to 1.2 million points per second, and ranging accuracy is ±5 mm. The full specification is on the terrestrial laser scanner card. When needed, the cloud is tied to the geodetic network with a total station and a GNSS receiver.

A finished BIM model is not issued “instead of” the cloud. The cloud is the standard result. Sections, orthophotos, a mesh and DWG or IFC files are prepared when the brief lists them.

When should you order laser scanning rather than a topographic plan?

A topographic survey covers the plan and the heights. A scan covers the shape of the facility in three dimensions. Mixing them up is expensive: the design organisation receives the wrong file.

Task	What to order
A site, utilities, a route, materials for architecture	Topographic survey
Facade, interior, as-is geometry of a building for reconstruction or repair	Laser scanning
A process unit, tank or pipe rack: as-built model, clashes, an upgrade	Laser scanning
Quarry or stockpile volumes, slopes, mine planning	Laser scanning
Comparing geometry over time: settlement, tilt, displacement	Repeat scan cycles
Setting-out and a drawing of what was built	Construction support

A construction as-built survey is a drawing of the actual position of what was built. How that differs from a cloud is covered in what an as-built survey is. If you only need a topographic plan, the order path is in how to order a topographic survey.

What should you prepare before ordering a scan?

Before mobilisation you agree the limits of the task, not a picture. The request only needs what is already known:

• the facility: a building, a room, a process unit, a tank, a pipe rack, a site or a quarry;
• why the file is needed: reconstruction, measured survey, BIM, a digital twin, an as-built model, volumes or deformation control;
• the zones the scanner must reach, and where access is closed;
• the format the design organisation expects: the cloud only, or also sections, a mesh, DWG, IFC;
• the coordinate system, if one has already been set;
• whether the cloud must be tied to the geodetic network;
• an on-site contact and the access procedure.

Point density is not assigned as a “typical number”. If the design organisation stated it, we copy it into the brief. If not, density is fixed together with the zones before mobilisation, as the service page describes.

The cloud is delivered in the coordinate system named in the brief. Field crews with the scanner work across Kazakhstan: the head office is in Aktau, with regular mobilisation to Mangystau, Atyrau, Aktobe, Karaganda and other regions. The regions are listed on the geography page.

What does the client receive?

The standard delivery is a registered point cloud in E57, LAS, LAZ or RCP and a technical report: method, station layout, accuracy. The cloud is already registered across stations, cleaned of noise and placed in the coordinate system from the brief.

From the same brief, separately from the cloud, you can also receive:

• sections and an orthophoto;
• a mesh model;
• BIM and CAD materials in DWG or IFC.

The format is chosen before mobilisation. Otherwise office processing assembles a file the design organisation cannot open.

A repeat scan cycle compares geometry over time: settlement, tilt, displacement. That is not a one-off measurement but a series of captures of the same facility. Whether you need one pass or a cycle is written in the brief.

How do you order a scan from GeoProGlobal?

1. Describe the facility, the zones and the file you need in the quote request.
2. Agree density, the coordinate system, the network tie-in and the formats.
3. Arrange access. On an operating oil and gas or industrial site the crew works under the client’s permit to work.
4. Field capture and office processing follow the laser scanning page.
5. You receive the cloud, the report and the derived files that were in the brief.

Leave a request on the quote page or via contacts. GeoProGlobal office: Building 58A, Microdistrict 4, Aktau.