50% Accelerated Full-Project Lifecycle Infrastructure QA Using XGRIDS LiDAR + 3DGS Solution - AECT Solutions in Australia

Case Studies2025.07.307 min read

AECT Solutions partnered with a Southeast Queensland council to pilot a transformative digital QA workflow for a raised pedestrian crossing project. Leveraging the XGRIDS Lixel L2 Pro and K1 handheld LiDAR units, combined with 3D Gaussian Splatting (3DGS), AECT delivered faster, safer, and more accurate outcomes across the full infrastructure lifecycle.

Project Highlights

Time Savings: 20-30% shorter project lifecycle
Documentation Efficiency: 50-70%reduction in field QA and measurement time
Accuracy: 2-3 cm relative accuracy with minimal post-processing
Minimized site visits in high-traffic areas

Challenge

AECT Solutions needed to deliver comprehensive QA documentation for a raised pedestrian crossing while minimising exposure to high-traffic road hazards and meeting stringent TMR Queensland compliance standards.

The raised pedestrian crossings are vital safety features that slow vehicles and enhance pedestrian visibility, especially in residential and school zones where community safety is a priority. These installations need precise construction tolerances to ensure proper drainage, accessibility compliance, and integration with existing roads, footpaths, kerbs and channels, bike lanes, making accurate QA documentation crucial for durability and liability protection. Additionally, the entire project must be completed within the two-week school holiday, which tests the overall efficiency of the project planning, construction and Quality Assurance.

Solution

Deploy XGRIDS Lixel L2 Pro and K1 handheld LiDAR scanners with next-gen Lidar + 3D Gaussian Splatting (3DGS) software technology for a complete digitalization of the project lifecycle, from pre-construction planning through to as-built delivery.

Implementation & Results

Pre-Construction Planning

The operator used the Lixel L2 Pro scanner to complete comprehensive site capture in 10 minutes, including setup, delivering 2-3 cm relative accuracy. While not a replacement for millimetre-precision total stations, the LiDAR+Panorama data offered rapid, 3D-rich insights with centimetre-level accuracy, ideal for site QA, verification, and planning overlays.

"The pre-construction 3D model provided a single, accurate, geo-referenced dataset that the surveying, planning, design, and project delivery teams could all work from," explains Jacob Li, Owner of AECT Solutions.

Point clouds integrated seamlessly into design workflows via .las and .rcp formats for AutoCAD and Revit, supporting both planning overlays and detailed as-built comparisons.

Construction QA Verification

AECT Solutions achieved 50-70% time savings in on-site measurement and documentation through comprehensive digital verification addressing multiple critical parameters:

Concrete Pour Verification:

Top-down point cloud of the raised crossing slab with an on-screen area measurement for QA

Lixel L2 Pro handheld scanner on its base capturing the raised pedestrian crossing rebar before the pour

LixelGO app previewing a colorized point cloud of the crossing site during a handheld scan

LixelGO real-time point cloud of the construction site from another angle during scanning

Completed steel reinforcement and formwork for the raised pedestrian crossing on site

LixelGO app scanning the site in motion, showing the live point cloud and trajectory

Surface level and alignment within ±10mm tolerance (TMR MRTS70 Concrete compliance)
Slab thickness verification (no under-thickness allowed, +10mm variation permitted)
Gradient and crossfall within ±0.5% of specified slope for proper drainage
Expansion joint positioning within ±20mm of specified locations
Concrete pour area verification ensuring coverage aligned with design extents
Profile conformity validation for accessibility standards compliance

Steel Mesh Verification: "We used the high-resolution point cloud captured by the XGRIDS Lixel L2 Pro to measure the spacing between the steel mesh bars directly within the 3D data," Li explains. "Measurements were taken between individual bars across multiple points of the pour area, confirming compliance with the nominal 200mm spacing specified in the drawings."

Total station on a tripod providing survey-grade control points alongside the handheld scan

LixelStudio image-point cloud comparison with a panorama overlay beside the scan trajectory

Dense point cloud of the reinforcing mesh used to verify bar spacing for concrete QA

Enhanced Documentation: Panoramic overlays provided visual context linked to precise measurements, eliminating ambiguity in HSEQ reporting. "The geo-referenced point cloud and annotated panoramic overlays provided clear, defensible evidence of mesh placement and slab preparation," enabling comprehensive, transparent QA reports integrated into council asset records.

Photorealistic 3D model of the finished raised school-zone crossing with red surface markings

Profile Analysis & Cross-Section Verification

Critical measurements included:

Crossfall and longitudinal slope verification
Height and thickness validation of slab elements
Alignment and width confirmation relative to existing assets (footpath/road interfaces)

The profile analysis tool enabled instant comparison of actual profiles against design templates, detecting and quantifying deviations in slope, thickness, or alignment while generating visual evidence for HSEQ and QA reports.

Post-Construction Delivery

Photo of the completed concrete pour with a total station set up for as-built verification

Point cloud of the finished crossing slab captured for the as-built digital twin

The as-built digital twin matched design specifications within acceptable tolerances. Deliverables included:

Geo-referenced point clouds (.las, .rcp, .e57 formats)
Panoramic images with measurement annotations
Revit-ready files for BIM integration
Extractable vector data (kerb lines, line marking)

"The digital twin serves as a verified baseline for future works, enabling accurate planning, asset inspections, and upgrades without repeated site surveys," Li notes.

Business Impact

Design plan overlay marking the new raised priority crossing, stormwater pits and pathways

Detailed engineering design drawing of the crossing with linemarking and signage annotations

Metric	Improvement
Field documentation time	50-70% reduction
Post-processing	1-2 hours saved per scan
Follow-up site visits	1-2 visits eliminated
Project lifecycle time	20-30% reduction

"The post-processing workflow reduced office work by approximately 1–2 hours per scan because the raw point cloud data was immediately usable for QA checks, annotations, and measurements," notes Li.

Client Value & Legacy Integration

The Council received transparent, auditable QA records with enhanced HSEQ compliance. "The Council valued the transparency and quality of the digital records," Li reports. The digital twin now forms part of the project's legacy archive in the Council's asset register for future reference and maintenance planning.

The centimeter-accurate, geo-referenced data supports future infrastructure planning by providing planners with precise information for design development, clash detection, and alignment with regional infrastructure plans.

Future Applications & Scalability

This workflow demonstrates potential for broader municipal infrastructure applications across Australia and similar jurisdictions. The documented time savings and compliance benefits create immediate value for:

Current Applications:

Road rehabilitation projects requiring precise as-built documentation
Bridge maintenance where safety concerns limit traditional survey access
Stormwater infrastructure upgrades needing accurate tie-ins to existing systems
Accessibility compliance projects requiring detailed slope and gradient verification

Strategic Considerations: Municipal departments can consider this workflow for building comprehensive digital asset libraries, potentially reducing long-term maintenance costs through accurate baseline documentation. While municipal procurement teams are increasingly incorporating digital capture requirements into infrastructure tender specifications. The streamlined post-processing capability also makes advanced 3D capture technology more accessible for smaller councils with limited technical resources.

Implementation Outlook: The demonstrated 20-30% project lifecycle reduction and elimination of multiple site visits could create compelling business cases for similar infrastructure agencies. XGRIDS is committed to creating solutions that bridge the gap between survey-grade accuracy and practical field efficiency, building toward ready-to-use tools viable for routine municipal projects beyond specialized applications.

As councils increasingly face budget pressures and infrastructure maintenance backlogs, digital-first approaches like this may offer measurable returns through reduced documentation overhead and enhanced asset management capabilities that extend beyond individual project delivery.

About AECT Solutions:

Brisbane-based consultancy specializing in business operations, ISO certification, and HSEQ advisory services for local and international enterprises. AECT leverages advanced drone, LiDAR, 3D scanning, and GIS technologies as part of their digital transformation approach for AEC sectors, delivering integrated management system solutions and ensuring compliance with ISO 9001, 14001, and 45001 standards through innovative technology and extensive industry expertise.