Our point cloud to BIM method
12+ years of Bentley expertise, built into every model.
More than 12 years of modeling in OpenBuildings and MicroStation has taught us what makes an existing condition model fast to build and easy to work with, and what slows a project down. Every model we deliver follows the same best practices: the right setup, the right tools and the right data, checked before it leaves our hands. Here's what that looks like, step by step.
We lock in your project coordinate system first and align the point cloud to it, with a transformation where the survey needs one. Individual users never change the project coordinate system.
Why: a model that's shifted or rotated looks right on screen, but every reference, drawing and model built on it inherits the error.
Worksets, levels, catalogs, cells and attribute definitions are configured to your standard, inside your ProjectWise, before modeling starts.
Why: one wrong configuration setting ripples into every user's files. Fixing it after modeling costs days, not minutes.
The point cloud is referenced into the model, not merged into it, and we work in the area being modeled so the files stay responsive on large, dense scans.
Why: a heavy file slows everyone who opens it, every day, for the rest of the project.
We set up the building hierarchy, floors and grids from the scan, model the structure, then the architecture on top of it.
Why: grids and floors are what every discipline and every drawing hangs off. Get them right and everything else lines up.
Some of the built-in tools produce heavy, inflexible elements. Where they do, we use forms, solids and Cut Solids by Curve, and structural members come from the section library.
Why: the wrong tools cause lag in the one file that's your source of truth, and that lag hits drawing production hardest.
Every element gets the correct Family and Part, including Existing and Demolition Parts, so it displays, reports and exports to IFC correctly next to new work.
Why: renovation drawings depend on existing, demolished and proposed elements telling themselves apart, without manual overrides.
Walls, columns, beams and slabs carry the attributes your client requires, such as material, grade and weight, from the project catalog.
Why: owners increasingly reject models that are geometry only. The data has to be there at submission.
The scan is the authority for everything it can see. Record drawings fill in what it can't, like structure above ceilings. When the two disagree, we work it through with your team.
Why: a confident-looking model built on an assumption is worse than an honest question during modeling.
We check the model against the scan data and against the accuracy and level of development agreed at kickoff, then hand over clean native files, ready for the next stage.
Why: an existing condition model is only as useful as your confidence in it.
We model in OpenBuildings Designer, the same environment your drawing production and ProjectWise run in. No conversion, no lost data, no rework to meet a Bentley deliverable.
Led by an industry expert who has modeled existing rail and transit stations from laser scans and record drawings, to the attribute standards transit authorities require.
Clean, light files built with the right tools and your standards, so your own modelers can open them, edit them and keep working without fighting the model.
The existing condition model is the base for proposed design, drawing production, construction and the as-built record. We build it to carry through every stage without a rebuild.
Who it's for
Transit authorities and agencies that own stations, buildings and structures. Start upgrades from an accurate baseline that every design and construction team can build on.
You've won a renovation, upgrade or accessibility package, and design can't start until there's a reliable model of what's already there.
The scan has arrived, the design stage is due, and your modelers are already booked. We take the existing conditions off your plate.
Your team works in Bentley software and needs extra modeling capacity on a large scan, built to the same standards your own team would use.
We set the project coordinate system before modeling starts and align the point cloud to it, using a transformation where the survey needs one. Individual users never change it, so every model and reference stays in the same place.
That's your call, and we agree it at kickoff. Some projects want elements modeled true to the scan, others want clean, rectified geometry within an agreed tolerance. Either way, it's written into the scope before modeling starts.
The point cloud is referenced, not merged into the model, and we work in the area being modeled. We also avoid tools that create heavy elements, and split the model so each file stays light enough to reference and draw from.
The scan is the authority for everything it can see. Areas it can't, like structure above ceilings or behind finishes, are modeled from your record drawings, and we agree with you up front how they're handled. When the scan and the drawings disagree, we work it through with your team.
Typically LOD 300, set per discipline and element type, or the level your BIM Execution Plan sets. We agree accuracy separately, because LOD describes how complete an element is, not how closely it matches the real structure.
Yes. Every element gets the correct Family and Part, including Existing and Demolition Parts, so existing, demolished and proposed elements display, report and export to IFC correctly without manual overrides.
Yes. We confirm your standard at kickoff (levels, naming, catalogs, cells and attributes) and model inside your ProjectWise environment, so your files stay in one place.
Your design team. Existing condition modeling documents what's already built. When you're ready for the new work, our proposed design modeling service turns your design team's drawings into OpenBuildings models, and the design stays yours.
Your registered point cloud, the record drawings you have, and your project's BIM Execution Plan or CAD standard if there is one. Tell us the level of development you need and your deadline, and we'll come back with a few questions and a quote.
Every project is scoped first, then quoted. Cost and timeline depend on the size of the site, the level of development, the quality of the scan and the disciplines involved, and we confirm both in your quote.
Next stages
Where the existing condition model goes next.
We turn your design team's drawings into accurate structural and architectural models in OpenBuildings Designer.
View service → DrawingsWe produce your MicroStation sheet sets from your OpenBuildings model: plans, sections and elevations, set up to your client's CAD standard.
View service → ConstructionWe turn your design model into construction and as-built models in OpenBuildings, updated from your contractors' shop drawings and field-verified data.
View service →Live 1-on-1 and group training in OpenBuildings Designer, MicroStation and ProjectWise, built around your team's real workflow.
Tell us about the structure.
Share what you're modeling, the scan and drawings you have, the level of development and your deadline. We'll ask a few questions, then send a proposal.
Or email contact@bimglobalconsulting.com
We will get back to you within one business day.