Cost efficient and effective plant operation is best achieved when all the plant documentation is up-to-date as built. With many firms and trades working on a plant the documentation can get out of sync very quickly. There is a resonably accurate method for getting a digital snapshot of a whole plant or a specific part of it:

• all available documentation is gather to form a baseline
• a local resource walks through the plant with a laser scanner and.or digital camera taking a large number of images
• The scans and images are processed in a low cost region to create a point cloud representing the physical reality
• The point cloud is carefully transformed step by step into a solid model and matched to the existing data
• The resulting documentation package is reviewed to make sure it meets your needs.

Using modern IT technology and low cost region labor this take can be very affordable. This low cost documentation will be the foundation for other more specific assessments that can lead to very good ROI's.