THE USE OF LiDAR POINT CLOUD DATA FOR FACILITIES MANAGEMENT - A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF SCIENCE IN CONSTRUCTION AND FACILITIES MANAGEMENT

Oct 24, 2026

The thesis evaluates how 3D LiDAR point cloud data can be used to support university facilities management, where industry standards for scan-data use remain limited. A small case study scanned 50 UNC Charlotte buildings and compared three presentation/access methods for facility managers. The methods were assessed by applicability, cost, ease of use, and overall effectiveness, followed by a short representative survey. Results suggested Scene 2go could provide useful information for UNC Charlotte, while the research also quantified scan times and data-collection needs for planning and implementation.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages66

Reading Time2 h 46 min

AccessFree to download

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background and Significance

1.2 Objectives and Scope

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Documentation of Facility Assets

2.2 Documentation with LIDAR

2.3 Use of GIS

2.4 Optimization of 3D Data

CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY

3.1 Introduction

3.2 3D Scanning

3.3 3D Presentation Methods for Facilities Management

3.4 Facilities Management Assistance

CHAPTER 4: RESULTS

4.1 3D LiDAR Scanning

4.2 3D Presentation Methods

4.3 Research Results and Validation

CHAPTER 5: SUMMARY AND VALIDATION

REFERENCES

APPENDIX A: TOTAL DATA COLLECTED FROM SCANNING OF BUILDINGS

APPENDIX B: FACILITIES MANAGEMENT SURVEY

THE USE OF LiDAR POINT CLOUD DATA FOR FACILITIES MANAGEMENT by George Poulos A thesis submitted to the faculty of The University of North Carolina at Charlotte in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Construction and Facilities Management Charlotte 2020 Approved by: | Dr. Glenda Mayo | | --- | | Dr. Jake Smithwick | Dr. Tara Cavalline ©2020 George Poulos ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ABSTRACT GEORGE POULOS. The Use of LiDAR Point Clouds for University Facilities Management (Under the direction of Dr. Glenda Mayo) The use of 3D LiDAR technology has been consistently in demand. 3D scans are used for many different applications including documenting assets and creating as-built drawing of current buildings. However, a significant hurdle is that there is no industry standard or recommended way of using the scan data. In this small case study, 50 buildings were scanned on the campus of The University of North Carolina at Charlotte (UNC Charlotte) . With this data, three methods were identified and used to present options to facility managers for how to make the scan data accessible to the employees that can use it in their work with operations and decision making. The identified methods were examined for applicability, cost, ease of use and overall effectiveness. Each method was presented to a small group of university facilities management representatives and a short survey was completed after the presentation. The survey data showed that most of the responses indicated that exploring the Scene 2go method could bring useful information to the department to support what 3D scanning can bring to UNC Charlotte. The research also helped to quantify scan times and data collection needs, which may also assist new users in the planning and implementation process for 3D scanning. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to give my greatest appreciation to my committee chair, Dr. Glenda Mayo, who supported me through every step of my graduate degree. She continuously kept me committed to my work by holding me accountable with portions ofthe scanning processes of the university buildings and keeping strong communications and relationships with facilities management. Dr. Mayo also kept me accountable with writing my thesis by creating deadlines and editing meetings, which allowed me to gain knowledge and structure that allowed me to finalize this document. In addition, I would like to thank my committee members, Dr. Tara Cavalline and Dr. Jake Smithwick, for oversight of my thesis work and reviewing collected data for the research process. Dr. Cavalline was a strong communicator through my entire project; keeping in touch and helping with any resources or information that I needed looking into for my thesis. Dr, Smithwick guided me throughout this process by educating me on the analysis of the data collected through this project and presented me with methods of positive time management skills. Finally, I would like to extend my gratitude to Mr. Josh Parker in Facilities Management who was a mentor through my entire thesis project. Mr. Parker has knowledge in the 3D scanning field, which he relayed to me, allowing me to gain the responsibility to find solutions for the issues that facilities management faced. His ability to communicate with me, at any point in time, allowed me to get the information and understanding of all situations when I needed assistance. TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES viii LIST OF FIGURES ix LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS x CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1 1.1 Background and Significance 1 1.2 Objectives and Scope 2 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 4 2.1 Documentation of Facility Assets 4 2.1.1 Importance of Facility Documentation 4 2.1.2 Documentation of HVAC 4 2.1.3 BIM in Facilities Management 5 2.2 Documentation with LIDAR 9 2.2.1 Overview of 3D Scanning 10 2.2.2 Procedures of 3D Scanning 11 2.2.2.1 Point Clouds 11 2.2.2.2 File Formats of 3D Sc

FAQs

What problem does the thesis address about LiDAR scan data?

It addresses the lack of an industry standard or recommended way to use LiDAR scan data, especially for making the data accessible for facilities management work and decision making.

How was the case study conducted in the thesis?

The study scanned 50 buildings on the UNC Charlotte campus and used the resulting data to identify and evaluate three methods for presenting or providing access to the scan information.

What did the survey indicate about the presentation methods?

Survey responses indicated that exploring the Scene 2go method could provide useful information to the department and support the value of 3D scanning for UNC Charlotte.

Oct 24, 2026

Upload by Helloiii