Construction Site Improvment: LiDAR + BIM + Procore

The Golden Triangle of Smart Construction

Why One Tool Isn’t Enough Anymore

In today’s construction environment, managing cost, quality, and deadlines is no longer just about good planning, it’s about real-time precision.

You might already use:

• BIM to plan and visualize.

• Procore to manage site workflows.

• LiDAR to scan as-built progress.

Individually, these tools are powerful. But together, they create a feedback loop that closes the gap between design, execution, and reporting.

BIM Is the Digital Blueprint

BIM (Building Information Modeling) is your single source of design truth.It defines:

• What needs to be built

• How it fits together

• What materials are used

• How components interact over time (4D/5D)

But a model is static. It doesn’t tell you if the real-world site is keeping up, or drifting away from plan.

LiDAR Shows the Truth on Site

Terrestrial, drone, or handheld LiDAR scanners capture millimeter-level 3D point clouds of the current construction state.

By comparing these scans to your BIM model, you can:

• Detect misalignments

• Identify missing components

• Validate tolerances

• Track true progress, objectively

LiDAR transforms physical work into measurable digital evidence.

Procore Makes It Actionable

Procore is your field team's day-to-day operational hub.

It handles:

• RFIs, observations, defects

• Drawings and version control

• Inspections and QA

• Daily progress logs

• Coordination Issues

How the Workflow Looks (Expanded)

1. Start with a Federated BIM Model

   Design teams collaborate using platforms like Revit or Navisworks, creating coordinated IFC files and design intent.

2. Scan the Site with LiDAR

   Use terrestrial scanners, drones, or handheld devices to capture a current point cloud.

3. Compare LiDAR to BIM

   Using tools like Verity or NavVis, automatically detect:

   • Missing elements

   • Positioning deviations

   • Tolerance breaks

4. Flag Discrepancies in BIM Coordination Tools

   Found a problem? Create a Coordination Issue directly in your BIM platform (e.g., Navisworks or BIMcollab).

5. Track Resolution and Update Progress

   Once resolved, link the update to Procore’s Daily Log, Progress Tracking, or Inspections.

   This ties the detected issue → action taken → verified outcome all into one platform.

Smart Progress Management with LiDAR, BIM & Procore

With this integrated approach, you can manage progress in ways that were previously impossible:

• Scan the site every week → overlay against BIM → detect % of installed elements

• Link detected status to specific BIM components (walls, MEP, slabs)

• Use this to update Procore’s Progress Tracking or create automated logs

• Build objective progress curves without waiting for manual reports or photos

This gives project managers real visibility into how fast the job is really moving, and where it’s falling behind.

It also removes guesswork in claims, delays, or disputes.

Benefits of Integrating All Three

Benefit	What It Means
Faster Issue Detection	Find problems before they become rework.
Objective Progress Tracking	No more guesswork: use scan data to validate completion.
Improved Quality Control	Every element is verifiable to design intent.
Real-Time Collaboration	Everyone has access to the same data, in the same system.
Reduced Rework and Waste	Aligning field reality with design avoids expensive corrections.

The future of construction isn’t just visual, it’s verified, synchronized, and collaborative.

BIM alone is planning.

LiDAR alone is reality capture.

Procore alone is workflow management.

But when you combine all three, you unlock something more powerful:

A closed feedback loop where the plan, the execution, and the communication are always in sync.

At Romulus Technology, we help companies implement this triangle, turning complexity into clarity, data into action, and decisions into results.