Can 3D laser scanning help decarbonise the concrete industry?

3D laser scanning can help the concrete industry from first pour to final adjustments as it makes the journey to cutting carbon emissions

No matter what discipline you’re in, be it radio astronomy, computer science, power generation, etc, putting the prefix ‘giga’ in front of a term requiring it, gives it heft.

This is especially true for the concrete industry and atmospheric studies, two fields that increasingly talk in terms of gigatonnes. Specifically, the 38-41bn metric tonnes of carbon dioxide released annually (from 2011-2020) by anthropogenic means and how best to reduce the output of this and other planet-warming chemical compounds.

Considering that the potential habitability of the planet, or at least our business-as-usual survivability, is at stake, this is not an inconsequential concern. These are big numbers. With even bigger implications. While much of the world is focused on decarbonising the global electric grid and speeding up the switch to electric vehicles, the concrete and construction industries are well aware of their own carbon culpability.

Cement contributes 25% of all industry CO2 emissions

That’s because buildings are responsible for nearly 40% of that gigantic 38bn tonne figure. From resource extraction, to assembly, to outgassing of materials, to transport of equipment and personnel, and demolition, construction can be a dirty business. The production of cement alone (an ingredient in concrete) as per an article in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, adds 8%, or 2.8 gigatons, to the global total. As an industry, cement contributes about 25% of all industry CO2 emissions.

Thus, reducing carbon dioxide pollution is of paramount concern, not only for the concrete industry but also for the planet at large. This is where 3D laser scanning can assist compared to more traditional measurement methods. For concrete workflows, 3D technology — solutions that now include a floor flatness and floor levelness app designed and developed by FARO, part of the Sphere, is having a transformative impact throughout the entire pouring and curing process.

What are the benefits of using 3D laser scanning in the concrete industry?

How? By rapidly accelerating the job completion process, reducing rework and eliminating waste. Instead of waiting for a third-party contractor to validate the accuracy of a pour, sometimes taking up to 48 hours, floor flatness and floor levelness can be determined within minutes. And best of all, any deviations in the concrete — high points, low points, levelness — can all be corrected while the concrete is still wet.

On first read, this may sound trivial. But it’s this incremental efficiency, multiplied throughout the concrete industry that really adds up. And it amounts to potentially significant greenhouse gas reductions.

There are ancillary benefits too. In terms of money saved, imagine you’re a contractor that completes two projects per month. By performing a single scan and analysing results while the concrete is still wet, a contractor can save 90% of the rework costs associated with waiting until the concrete cures and fixing problem areas identified with a third party.

In this scenario, the added cash on hand means extra funds can be redirected toward other eco-friendly solutions. Perhaps this revenue gain is enough for the contractor to install a solar system, or purchase an electric vehicle, or take on new work demolishing a building in an environmentally sustainable manner. The possibilities are varied. But the point is, extra funds mean extra flexibility.

3D laser scanning provides a digital documentation advantage

This advantage comes in two forms:

1) Simple data collection and storage along with the ability to share that data with other project stakeholders via cloud applications like Sphere, beneficial during periodic site inspections and upkeep. (Maybe seismic activity or severe weather like a hurricane or extra-tropical cyclone has shifted a building’s foundation and the concrete slabs are no longer level? Or a similar structure is being built and the comparison data would prove useful.)

2) The other form is through a digital twin. That’s creating a 3D replica from the reality-captured data and having that model reflect as-built conditions in real or near-real time. From quality control to modelling the potential for future structural fatigue or collapse, digital twins are being employed in construction projects throughout the world. And in each of these instances, digital twin, or digital documentation, any opportunity to save time, save money, slash costs and reduce rework, waste and scrap is not only good for business; it’s good for the planet, further reducing CO2. Here, too, that data can be shared and instantly accessible to all project stakeholders through cloud applications, wherever they’re located.

In the UK, the National Digital Twin programme, run by the Centre for Digital Built Britain (in partnership with the University of Cambridge and the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy) has helped broaden the technology’s appeal and accelerate its adoption.

Run from 2017 until September 2022, when it completed its five-year mission to help enable a countrywide digital twin framework, it is expected that the nation and the private sector will increasingly make use of high-quality, secure data that can improve how infrastructure is built, managed, operated and decommissioned. You can bet sustainability will figure prominently in these digital twin-enhanced outcomes, too.

The future of net-zero carbon concrete

To be sure, addressing and reversing the climate-warming effects of anthropogenic CO2 emissions won’t be easy. And even if the concrete industry became entirely circular and a net zero carbon emitter by mid-century, the world would still have a long way to go toward declaring “mission accomplished”. The consensus reached at the recently concluded COP27 climate change conference in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, drives home that point.

But as a material whose key component is cement, the world’s second-most-consumed product after water, it is incumbent on the concrete industry to do its part in tackling this inter-generational and trans-national challenge.

Thirty-eight gigatonnes of CO2 emitted per year is indeed a hefty figure. Yet as big as it is, it’s important to remember that it’s a number that started out very small. Incremental increases.

Decade by decade. Century after century.

Incremental decreases are possible too. And with 3D laser scanning aiding in the concrete workflow process, from first pour to final adjustments, there’s no telling how many incremental gains the industry can make.