MEP construction photography – memorializing the mechanical, electrical, and plumbing installations of a project before the drywall and ceilings cover them up – is foundational to the entire idea of Multivista. Here’s why:
Working as an electrician in the early 2000s, Multivista co-founder Luis Pascual became frustrated about having to tear down entire walls to find work that had been accidentally covered up. To remedy this, he started taking photos before the drywall went up and asked his friend, Graham Twigg, to tie each photo to a digital floor plan for ease of navigation.
Luis’ idea revolutionized the approach to reducing destructive discovery and minimizing rework, marking the beginning of Multivista.
Today, more than two decades later, high-definition photographs of MEP installations continue to solve problems and bring value to jobsites around the globe. But now, there are even more options for anyone looking to memorialize exactly what’s been built on a job – and 3D laser scanning is leading the charge.
So, how do you know what method of construction reality capture is right for your project? The following deep dive can help you decide.
Rework, an increasing problem
Rework drives a large portion of construction budgets. In 2024, Neuroject reported that rework costs had risen to an estimated 12–15%, with the Construction Industry Institute reporting rework costs as high as 20%. And, two years before the “Get it Right Initiative,” a group of United Kingdom-based construction professionals launched a report that estimated as much as 30% of all construction work is due to defects and rework.
To help combat this resource burn, many construction firms are using visual reality capture services to memorialize jobsite conditions on a bi-weekly or monthly basis. Additionally, stakeholders are scheduling MEP exact-built shoots to produce high-definition, inspection-grade photographs of exactly what is inside walls, ceilings, and floors. These captures show more than enough detail to determine the size, location, materials used, plus the dimensions of their MEP components.
Tied to cloud-based digital floor plans, this detailed MEP documentation gives project stakeholders location and installation data that, in the event of an issue, lowers the cost and stress of every aspect of rework, from discovery to dispute resolution to remediation.
A solution – MEP exact-built photography
More detailed than the 360-degree photographs commonly used for scheduling updates and progress analysis, MEP exact-built photos are captured at specific project milestones, such as before a slab pour or before drywall/sheetrock and ceiling installation.
Multivista reality capture specialists are trained exactly what to photograph, and when, while working seamlessly alongside project crews and trades. Indexed by time and location on digital architectural plans, these photos can be worth tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars in rework and dispute resolution savings.
For example, at the Collegiate School in New York City, facilities teams estimate a savings of as much as $3.7 million after their progression and as-built photos helped verify that both installation and flooring had been installed incorrectly during their campus construction.
“We used Multivista to verify which walls didn’t have insulation and contacted the contractor. Without those photos, we would have had to cut into every wall to see where insulation was missing. The system worked perfectly… Multivista is the best tool in my box.” — Mark Gordon, Collegiate School Director of Facilities.
More data, more benefits – 3D laser scanning
If a picture is worth a thousand words (and potentially hundreds of thousands of dollars), a 3D laser scan – which creates a measurable point cloud behind its pictures – is even more valuable.
3D laser scanning in construction is the process of using lasers to create accurate, detailed digital representations of physical space. 3DLS is used to capture, measure, and document reality.
Multivista specialists come on-site to capture conditions at the same key construction milestones they do with MEP exact-built photography, but using high-quality scanning equipment from our sister company Leica. Accessible via digital floor plans, the scans include a visual “photographic” layer that allows for easy navigation and an integrated point cloud dataset that will enable users to measure from their photos with up to 3mm (1/8 inch) accuracy.
If and when rework is needed, this level of precision greatly reduces destructive discovery. That’s because teams can cut holes in walls exactly where they need to, rather than “guess” or tear open an entire area. Additionally, the scans can even be used proactively to identify installation errors through deviation analysis services offered by Hexagon Building Solutions.
3D scanning MEP reality capture is more expensive than MEP photography, but it includes all the same benefits and produces measurable data that can be integrated with other construction technology services, such as Building Information Modeling (BIM) and deviation analysis.
Top benefits of MEP reality capture
- Memorializes the reality of on-site conditions before they’re covered up
- Helps identify and prevent installation errors
- Leads to less destructive discovery if problems occur
- Offers a complete visual record of conditions after inspection
- Enables improved communication between contractors and subcontractors
- Provides third-party, time-and-date-stamped data for dispute resolution
Quality, as-installed data and photos of your MEP systems give “x-ray vision” to your entire project and facilities team. When and if an issue occurs, they can see through the walls to find and fix it as quickly and efficiently (and cost-effectively) as possible.
To learn more about how to implement MEP construction photography, 3D laser scanning services, or any other form of construction documentation services on your jobsite, reach out for a demo.
