元素6如何通过激光扫描提供植物工程的未来

Author:Christine Grahl

At one o’clock on a Friday afternoon,Element6received a call. A client had a critical need for precise measurements for a fit-for-purpose evaluation.Element6能够在那天到来，获取信息，并在当晚提供可交付成果吗？

The Georgetown, Ontario, Canada-based boutique engineering consulting firm has built a reputation providing fast and cost-effective service to clients in the specialty chemicals industry, so it's used to handling time-sensitive requests, but this was the tightest deadline the firm had ever encountered. Still, Rob Jickling, Element6’s Consulting Principal, didn’t hesitate. He told his team to get ready.

At 3 p.m., the client confirmed they needed Element6 on the job; an hour later, Element6 was onsite. Greg Schneider, regional manager of Industrial Plant Solutions Canada and Northern United States for Leica Geosystems also lent his support on the project. By 1 a.m., just 12 hours after the initial call, Element6 delivered the requested data to the client.

Traditionally, meeting this type of request would have taken weeks and required a significant amount of labour. But Element6 relies on a lean,fully digital approach to plant engineeringand design that makes all the difference when time is of the essence.

---

激光扫描创新能够使速度和质量

Element6 works fast with one goal in mind: client success.

“Most people in the engineering business think about engineering,” says Jickling. “We focus exclusively on getting that end result for our clients. They might want to make money, save money or reduce risk. Maybe they want to improve productivity or introduce new products, or maybe they’ve got health and safety issues they want resolved. Whatever their objective, that is our goal.”

To deliver low-cost, high-quality, high-speed service, the team uses anall-digital approach they call Virtual Plant Design (VPD)。该公司始于由高准确的激光扫描捕获的，该量的数字点云开始，这有助于他们快速找到有关植物翻新，工艺优化，新设备安装或客户面临的任何挑战的问题的解决方案。

Element6 uses an all-digital approach called Virtual Plant Design (VPD) to deliver low-cost, high-quality, high-speed service.

Using its lean workflow, the company works so fast that it sometimes has to wait for clients to catch up and provide feedback on the proposed solution. Clients who are used to traditional blueprints and CAD modelling work are stunned by how quickly Element6 can provide high-quality engineering consulting, performing work in weeks or even days that would traditionally have taken months, with deliverables that are much more comprehensive and informative.

The company’s lean workflow is so fast that they sometimes have to wait for their clients to catch up and provide feedback on a proposed solution.

Element6的激光扫描技术使这一切成为可能。虽然一些工程咨询公司更喜欢在需要的基础上租用其技术，但Element6从战略上投资了多个扫描仪，包括专业级的Leica ScanStation P30 P30，一个Leica BLK360 Imaging Laser Laser Scanner，以及最近的两个Leica RTC360 Portcable Portc360 Portcable Portable Portable Portable Portable Portable Portable Portable Portable Portable Portable Portable Portable Portable Portable Portable，自动化的高速激光扫描仪，可在不到两分钟的时间内使用高动力范围（HDR）图像捕获完整的扫描，并自动使用Cyclone Field 360进行扫描。该公司还处理自己的Point Cloud Cloud使用Leica Cyclone软件以及Jetstream和CloudWorx进行处理，以便于CAD集成，以及truview，可轻松可视化。

Purchasing the technology instead of renting it has enabled Element6 to become experts in capturing and using point clouds—which, in turn, allows the company to offer unexpected benefits to its clients. For example, in a traditional approach, an initial consultation would be followed by a proposal and then a return to the site to capture as-built conditions before work could begin. In contrast, Element6 often brings one of its RTC360 laser scanners

在第一次会议上，在几分钟内捕获10或20次扫描现场。扫描和注册进行得如此之快，以至于公司通常能够立即开始在项目上工作，从而大大减少了周转时间。

The ability to offer high-speed scanning with the Leica RTC360 laser scanner enables Element6 to significantly reduce project turnaround time.

---

Laser scanning integrity allows for an innovative business model

With laser scanning, Element6 produces high-detail virtual point clouds of engineering plants that can be quickly referenced with something as easy as a few clicks on a computer or taps on a mobile device.

When Jickling founded Element6, he wanted to create a business centred around accountability and a results-oriented approach. Element6 spends time up front identifying exactly what the client needs and then sets a price based on the service that will be required—not the amount of time required to complete the work.

该固定价格模型从根本上设置了Element6与其他工程咨询公司不同。“We’re not incentivised to spend more man hours doing things,”Jickling says.“We’re incentivised to get the project done as quickly and productively as possible.”

This business model constantly challenges the company to find new ways to be faster, more innovative, and more focused on meeting the client’s needs. When making technology decisions, Element6 carefully considers not just the capabilities of the hardware, but the complete field-to-finish workflow, the support provided by the manufacturer, and the track record of innovation.“Leica Geosystems has industry-leading hardware, but it also has a fully integrated workflow and a commitment to reliable service and continued innovation,”Jickling says.“We rely on Leica Geosystems as a partner that will help us stay on the leading edge.”

This type of partnership builds confidence into the company’s operations and enables Element6 to provide clients with outstanding service.“We've been in this business a long time, so we have the knowledge and understanding not just of engineering but of our clients’ businesses and their business needs,”Jickling says.“这种理解与我们的技术效率和生产力相结合，使我们能够在定价和价值方面为客户提供重要的优势。我们的客户知道他们可以指望我们超出他们的期望，这对每个人来说都是胜利。”

---

Point clouds provide real-time intelligence

拥有准确，最新的3D点云构造，可以立即访问测量数据，并使他们能够远程与顾问合作以识别解决方案并避免停机时间。

蓝图和花费小时的时间测量的日子已经结束。通过激光扫描，Element6产生了工程植物的高确定点云，可以快速引用像在计算机上或在移动设备上的Taps上单击几下的简单内容。由于测量有缺陷，不再有代价的延误，这一切都在点云中。

Jickling设想了一个未来，其中每种植物都有准确的3D点云。随着技术的发展，可以将实时数据馈入点云，以保持截止的电流，并不断更新有关工厂内温度，压力和其他变量的信息。有了完整的最新点云，客户不需要在星期五的下午进行最后一刻的肘部扫描；他们只能提取已经存在的数据。他们无需等待工程师前往他们的网站，而是可以远程与顾问合作以识别解决方案并避免停机时间。

“Why create a bunch of blueprints?”Jickling says.“The model is here, all the information is here— why would anyone want to spend money creating paper? We’re working with plant owners and EPC contractors to up their game using technology, which reduces costs and significantly improves outcomes.”