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www.sea-technology.com July 2015 / st 33 Trimble (Sunnyvale, California) 3D scanners to digitize all production equipment on each of the platform's four lev- els. In the most cramped interior spaces, Eeckman used two high-defnition 3D scanners to produce dense, high- precision point clouds at short ranges. Exterior areas called for longer-range scanning; the team used a 3D scanner to W hen modifying existing oil and gas platforms to maxi- mize production and effciency, engineers need de- tailed models of the facilities. Developing a modifcation plan requires a complete, 3D view of the structure, and an especially challenging aspect is design- ing a plan for an offshore site. The ocean introduces many variables not necessar- ily encountered on land, and, as a re- sult, the methods of development must deploy technology that can account for these variables, such as tidal movement, limited space and unpredictable weather hazards. Fortunately, advancements in 3D scanning technology—on both the hardware and software sides—have al- lowed engineers to address these needs and obtain accurate information fast, ultimately improving workfow and de- creasing the amount of time needed to make critical decisions. Recently, Sofresid Engineering (Saint- Quentin-en-Yvelines, France) worked with Urbica (Croissy-Beaubourg, France) to conduct a design and installation study for increasing the capacities of two production platforms for their customer, an oil extraction company, in West Afri- ca's Gulf of Guinea. Sofresid's engineers needed to ensure that everything would ft into the offshore platforms' limited space. When Urbica Sales Engineer and Project Manager François-Xavier Eeck- man arrived on site, he faced numerous challenges. The platforms were crowded with people and machinery, and production could not be interrupted. With no up-to-date drawings available, it was clear that 3D scanning was the only way to provide an ac- curate picture of the platform and all equipment. First, the Sofresid-Urbica team established a series of reference points as control for all scans. They then utilized 3D Scanning Technology Enhances Offshore Modeling Capabilities Advancements in 3D Scanning Revolutionize Offshore Surveying By Erik J. Arvesen (Top) Offshore platforms present engineering chal- lenges for data survey collection due to lack of space and moving machinery. (Bottom) The Sofre- sid-Urbica team engineers utilized 3D scanners and rugged handheld devices to model two offshore platforms.