Alftek converts 3D laser scans into accurate, structured BIM models for existing buildings and infrastructure across Qatar. When as-built drawings are missing, outdated or unreliable, scan-to-BIM gives you a dependable digital foundation for renovation, retrofit, and facility management — modeled to ISO 19650-aligned standards.
Get a Free Scan to BIM QuoteA large share of Qatar's built environment predates BIM adoption, which means renovation, retrofit and facility-management projects often start with incomplete or non-existent as-built documentation. Scan to BIM closes that gap: a point-cloud laser scan of the existing structure is converted into a coordinated, dimensionally accurate BIM model, giving your project team a reliable single source of truth before design work begins.
Headquartered at Alfardan Centre on Grand Hamad Street in Doha and operating since 2018, Alftek applies the same ISO 19650 information-management workflows to scan-to-BIM work as it does to new-build modeling, so the resulting model is consistent, auditable and ready to feed into design, construction or CAFM/FM systems.
From point cloud to a coordinated, usable BIM model — for a single building or a portfolio of assets.
Registered point-cloud data modeled into architectural, structural and MEP elements at the LOD your project needs.
Accurate as-built models and drawings for buildings with missing, outdated or unreliable original documentation.
A dependable existing-conditions model as the starting point for renovation or retrofit design and clash-free coordination.
Explore BIM Services →Scan-to-BIM models structured for direct handover into CAFM and facility-management platforms.
Explore CAFM →Scan to BIM is not a single operation — it is a controlled sequence from site capture through to a verified, delivered model. Understanding each stage helps you scope the work accurately and avoid the two most common causes of budget overrun: scanning at the wrong density, and modeling to a higher level of detail than the project actually needs.
Before anyone goes to site, we agree what the model is for. A model feeding a full MEP replacement needs far tighter tolerances than one supporting early feasibility massing. This stage fixes the target Level of Development (LOD), the Level of Accuracy (LOA), which building systems are in scope, and which are explicitly excluded — the single most effective cost control in a scan-to-BIM project.
Scan positions are planned to give overlapping coverage with minimal occlusion, and tied to a survey control network so the finished model sits correctly in project coordinates. Getting control right matters more on large or multi-storey Qatar assets, where accumulated registration error across dozens of scan positions is the main threat to dimensional reliability.
Terrestrial laser scanning captures the existing conditions as a dense point cloud, supplemented where useful by photogrammetry for high or inaccessible areas. Capture is sequenced around building access, occupancy and operational constraints — an occupied hospital, hotel or operating facility needs a different scanning plan than an empty shell.
Individual scans are registered into a single coordinated point cloud, checked against the control network, then cleaned — removing transient objects, noise and reflections. The registration report is a deliverable in its own right: it is the evidence that the cloud meets the accuracy you specified.
The registered cloud is modeled into structured, parametric BIM elements — walls, slabs, columns, ducts, pipework, equipment — rather than left as raw geometry. This is where scan-to-BIM produces value that a point cloud alone cannot: objects carry data, can be scheduled and queried, and behave correctly when the design changes.
The model is verified back against the point cloud, checked for deviation against the agreed tolerance, and audited for naming, classification and data completeness under ISO 19650 conventions before issue. You receive the model, the source cloud, and the documentation showing how the two reconcile.
Deliverables are agreed at scoping and issued in the formats your downstream teams actually use — whether that is a design team working in Revit, a contractor coordinating in Navisworks, or an FM provider importing into a CAFM platform.
| Deliverable | Typical format | Used for |
|---|---|---|
| Registered point cloud | RCP / RCS, E57 | Visual verification, reference underlay, future re-modeling |
| As-built BIM model | RVT (Revit), IFC | Design development, coordination, renovation planning |
| Federated coordination model | NWD / NWC | Multi-discipline review and clash detection |
| 2D as-built drawings | DWG, PDF | Permitting, tender documentation, site reference |
| Asset and equipment data | COBie, XLSX | CAFM / FM system population and lifecycle management |
| Registration and QA report | Evidence of achieved accuracy against specification |
Two separate measures govern a scan-to-BIM deliverable, and confusing them is the most common source of disappointment. Level of Accuracy (LOA) describes how closely the model matches physical reality. Level of Development (LOD) describes how much detail and information the model elements carry. A model can be highly accurate but deliberately simple, or richly detailed but loosely toleranced — the right combination depends entirely on what the model is for.
| Level of Development | What it means in an as-built model | Typical use |
|---|---|---|
| LOD 200 | Approximate geometry — generalised elements with approximate size and location | Feasibility studies, early space planning |
| LOD 300 | Accurate geometry modeled to specific size, shape and location | Design development, renovation documentation |
| LOD 400 | Fabrication-level detail including assemblies and connections | Prefabrication, detailed MEP replacement |
| LOD 500 | Field-verified representation of what is actually installed | Asset handover, FM and lifecycle management |
The main cost drivers on a Qatar scan-to-BIM project are, in rough order of impact:
Scan to BIM is an investment in certainty. It is most clearly worth it where the cost of being wrong about existing conditions is high — which, on most retrofit and refurbishment work, it is.
Existing-condition errors discovered on site are the leading cause of variation orders on refurbishment work. An accurate as-built model moves that discovery into the design phase, where changes cost a fraction as much.
Plant replacement and services upgrades depend on knowing exactly what is in the ceiling void and riser today. Scanning removes the guesswork before procurement commits.
Where original documentation was never produced, was lost, or no longer reflects decades of undocumented modification, the scan becomes the authoritative record.
Owners taking over an asset without a digital model can establish one retrospectively, structured for direct import into a CAFM platform.
Explore CAFM →Deflection, verticality and dimensional survey of existing structure, captured as measurable data rather than spot readings.
Energy-efficiency and GSAS-aligned retrofit work needs an accurate baseline model of the existing envelope and systems before improvements can be modeled.
Explore Sustainability →A Doha-based team applying the same information-management discipline to existing assets as to new-build projects.
Standardised, auditable information management carried through from scan capture to final model.
The same team that models your existing conditions can carry the project through design, coordination and FM handover.
Model detail matched to the project stage — from early massing to fabrication-ready as-built.
Doha-headquartered team coordinating on-site scanning logistics across Qatar.
Scan to BIM is the process of converting a 3D laser scan (a point cloud) of an existing building or asset into an accurate, structured BIM model — used when as-built drawings are missing, outdated, or unreliable.
Yes. Alftek converts point-cloud scans into as-built BIM models for renovation, retrofit and facility-management projects across Qatar, following ISO 19650-aligned workflows from LOD 100 to LOD 500.
Scan to BIM is most useful for existing buildings undergoing renovation or retrofit, heritage or older assets with no reliable drawings, and facility owners who want an accurate digital model to feed into CAFM/FM systems.
Level of Development (LOD) describes how much geometric detail and information the model elements carry, while Level of Accuracy (LOA) describes how closely the model matches physical reality. They are independent: a model can be dimensionally very accurate but deliberately simple, or highly detailed but loosely toleranced. Both should be specified separately before scanning begins.
Typical deliverables are the registered point cloud (RCP/RCS or E57), the as-built BIM model (Revit RVT and IFC), a federated coordination model (NWD/NWC), 2D as-built drawings (DWG/PDF), asset data for FM systems (COBie or XLSX), and a registration and QA report. Formats are agreed at scoping to match your downstream teams.
Site capture is usually the shortest phase — often days rather than weeks. Modeling is the longer part, and its duration depends primarily on the target LOD, the building systems in scope and the complexity of the asset. Because these vary so widely, timelines are quoted per project after the scope is defined rather than as a general rate.
Yes. Occupied hospitals, hotels, offices and operating facilities are routinely scanned, but they require a different capture plan — typically phased or out-of-hours access, sequenced around operational constraints. This should be identified at scoping, as it affects the site programme.
In rough order of impact: the target LOD, which building systems are in scope (MEP carries far more geometry than architectural and structural), the complexity of the building, site access and occupancy constraints, and whether concealed services above ceilings need to be captured and modeled.
Alftek is headquartered at Alfardan Centre, 2nd Floor, Grand Hamad Street, Doha, Qatar, and delivers BIM services nationwide including Doha, Lusail, Al Khor and Al Wakrah.
Talk to Alftek's Doha-based BIM team about scanning and modeling your existing building or asset in Qatar. Get a free consultation and a tailored scope and quote.
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