Betonmast Boosts Productivity 500% With Automatic Construction Inspections

Failure to detect work deviations early leads to several complications for Betonmast.

Work interruptions

The workflow gets suddenly interrupted and needs immediate attention to prevent further delays and costs from escalating rapidly. Each new issue distracts the teams from other important tasks and the frustration grows.

Rework and delays

In theory, such extra costs caused by the interruptions and extra work ought to be borne by the subcontractors. In reality, however, change orders are complicated processes where extra settlements, negotiations and disputes must be arranged. Often, contracts are already completed and paid by the time deviations are found and interruptions occur. This leaves Betonmast with paying most or even the entire bill.

Even small projects face this risk

This can be troublesome even in small projects.

In a 1,000 m² office building project, overlooked discrepancies led to added expenses of €7,000 in material that could have been avoided. In another 6,000 m² office and warehouse project, Betonmast discovered a large number of prefabricated elements installed out of tolerance and had to pay for the necessary repairs. The project faced a one-week delay, which had to be recouped with expensive overtime and weekend work.

As projects grow in size and complexity, the ramifications and costs of such overlooked deviations can escalate rapidly to bigger consequences.

Leveraging 3D Laser Scanning for Routine Inspections

Carlsen set out to find better ways to carry out more frequent site inspections for tracking construction quality and progress proactively.

From testing several solutions, Christopher’s team selected Imerso in combination with a BLK360 laser scanner from Leica Geosystems. Imerso's scanning app simplifies the onsite data capture process by enabling Betonmast's own employees to document the As Built status in high-precision 3D — right as subcontractors are finishing their work. 

This allows for a Lean Construction process, where every step is verified objectively and improvements are made before the next step.

Imerso automatically compares the As Built status onsite (represented by the 3D scans) against the specifications of the building plans in BIM. This automatic construction inspection allows deviations that can lead to costly consequences to be quickly discovered early in the process.

Betonmast can thus require that subcontractors correct such deviations immediately, before these create problems for the next phase, or charge for added expenses in the final settlement.

“We use the time that we gain from better control and smoother processes to negotiate better contracts, follow up the project, and manage changes during the project proactively", says Christopher.