Survival Flight

A recent project at the University of Michigan "Survival Flight" helicopter Helipad shows how using the laser scanner saved our client
time and money.

Midwestern Consulting was hired by a contractor to provide surveying services at the site. Our task was to locate the existing paint markings for the helicopter landing location and a University of Michigan "M" logo.


The existing paint was to be removed from the pad and then reapplied. We choose to use a total station and our HDS6000 laser scanner to do the survey. We initially thought it would be faster to process the data from the traditional total station method - until our client changed his mind and asked for some additional data.

After delivering the final drawing to our client, a decision was made to move the position of the "M" and align it to the edge of the nearest retaining wall - and to do so without painting the "M" too close to some nearby underground electric access covers.


Had we not scanned the pad, a second site visit to gather additional data would have been necessary. But since the entire Helipad area was captured with our scanner during the first site visit, gathering the additional data from our scanner files was fast and easy.

Our final drawing accurately placed the new markings in the location the client wanted. We solved our client's problem quickly and without additional costs.

Exciting Times!

GSA Nationwide BIM Contract
The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) Public Building Service (PBS) has awarded HNTB a five year Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract worth up to $30 million for Nationwide BIM Services. This was one of two nationwide contracts with ViewforView out of San Francisco as the other awardee. Midwestern Consulting is a member of the HNTB team and will provide laser scanning services on these projects.

The contract calls for HNTB and its team of sub-consultants to provide BIM services to document existing conditions of GSA’s building assets and create 3-dimensional building models which will assist GSA in managing its buildings throughout all four phases of the facility life cycle.

Leica GeoSystems User Conference

Some years ago, Leica observed a simple truth: when Leica Geosystems HDS users from different areas got together and openly shared information with each other, their laser scanning and related activities would improve, often very significantly. This led to organizing an annual HDS Worldwide User Conference. Since the inception of this conference, a mountain of evidence & glowing user testimonials support the extremely positive business results for HDS users who take advantage of it.

Brandon Walker, from Midwestern Consulting, has been asked to present at this year's user conference on "Historic Preservation: Business Opportunities & Workflow". This is a tremendous opportunity to showcase our extensive historic preservation work experience.