Issue link: https://geospatial.trimble.com/en/resources/i/1397704
Texas-based S Oliver and Associates (SOA) has provided surveying services for the oil and gas industry for more than 20 years. The varied and changing requirements of their clientele call for flexibility, innovation and the ability to implement solutions to handle site- specific challenges. With increasing demand for 3D scanning, SOA seized the opportunity to use new technologies to meet client needs and simultaneously improve productivity. overview Location TEXAS TRANSFORMING THE WAY THE WORLD WORKS TRANSFORMING THE WAY THE WORLD WORKS With its primary focus on pipeline surveys, SOA receives frequent requests for scanning. Maintaining aboveground pipeline equipment often requires detailed surveying and modeling—work that is a good fit for scanning. SOA had tried scanning more than a decade ago but had never owned a scanner. According to SOA project manager Jason Trevino, when a client recently presented a large, complex scanning project, the firm demurred. "We felt it was too big a project for our first return to scanning," Trevino said. Instead, SOA concentrated on developing a flexible and productive approach to serving their clients. They selected the Trimble SX10 scanning total station, which enables them to scan and survey with a single instrument. One of SOA's first scanning projects illustrated the value of the SX10. CHALLENGING SITE DEMANDS A FLEXIBLE APPROACH SOA needed to provide a detailed survey of a 15-acre (6 ha) tract that contained a large excavation that exposed several large pipes. The site also held a roughly 10,000-square foot (900 sq m) area filled with pipes and equipment, including a 900-square foot (80 sq m) in-ground vault holding piping, flanges, tees and valves. To have crews descend into the vault for the survey would require removing grating over the vault, a process that entailed costly and time-consuming procedures for approvals, safety and plant operations. To work around the constraints, SOA crews used the SX10 to establish control points around the site. Then, for subsequent setups they used resection to accurately determine the instrument's location, typically with residuals of 0.02ft (6mm) or less. The approach enabled