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.