Pioneer and expert in High-Definition Surveying TM (3D laser scanning) for plant & facilities
San Ramon, CA, August 18, 2004 – Leica Geosystems HDS, Inc. announced that laser scanning guru, Derrel Shaffer, has joined the company to guide the growth of High-Definition Surveying (HDSTM) technology in plant, facilities and related markets. Mr. Shaffer’s 22-yr career with leading plant engineering & construction companies includes eight (8) years of driving the profitable use of this technology on dozens of highly successful capital projects.
Broad Engineering & Construction User Perspective
Derrel Shaffer’s experience in applying High-Definition Surveying technology for capturing accurate as-built information for plant design & construction projects began in 1996 while in a senior design engineer role with Raytheon Engineers and Constructors (since acquired by and re-named Washington Group International). Raytheon was an early beta partner in the development of Cyra Technologies’ first commercial Cyrax® 3D laser scanning system. Derrel has since executed more than 45 successful High-Definition Surveying projects for Raytheon, WGI, BE&K, and their owner operator clients. These projects include chemical, food & beverage, power (fossil and nuclear), pulp & paper, automotive, petrochemical, oil refining, pharmaceutical, and discrete manufacturing.
As a technologist, industry engineer and early adopter, Derrel Shaffer provided frequent guidance to Cyra (since acquired by Leica Geosystems and re-named Leica Geosystems HDS division). His guidance covered user interests in point cloud data quality/integrity, efficient field procedures and targeting systems, and office work processes/tools that fit smoothly into Engineering, Procurement and Construction companies’ (EPC’s) existing workflows and project types. Mr. Shaffer has first-hand user experience with various laser scanners as well as a variety of point cloud software.
Software & Workflow Focus
Mr. Shaffer has pioneered broad application and successful adoption of High-Definition Surveying for each of his EPC employers. This, in turn, enabled his EPC employers to reduce overall project costs, reduce schedule risks, and, in several cases, help win competitive engineering & construction projects. Mr. Shaffer pioneered this successful adoption via three primary initiatives. First, he drove the direct use of point clouds in a plant design environment, without the need to first convert point cloud data sets into as-built models or drawings. This has since proven to be a highly effective and cost-efficient workflow, increasingly common in the plant industry. Secondly, he pioneered the cost-effective use of High-Definition Surveying for low-budget, 2D design and construction projects. As Manager for Laser Scanning Services, he guided his department to also compete very successfully in the open laser scanning services market, providing highly economical services, while repeatedly delivering high-quality design & construction results. Many of these projects had literally zero rework. Finally, Mr. Shaffer has proven how certain EPC’s can take further advantage of High-Definition Surveying through ownership of laser scanners and internal expertise in executing these projects. This business model enabled his EPC employers to respond quickly, in some cases within a day or two, with High-Definition Surveying services to meet immediate client needs, while delivering higher-valued engineering & construction results. Mr. Shaffer also has EPC experience in retaining and deploying third party service providers with excellent project results.
Based on his many years of successful experience in executing these types of projects, Mr. Shaffer was recently selected as a featured speaker and chair of a conference session on “Work Process Issues” at the inaugural SPAR 2004 conference on laser scanning.
"Mr. Shaffer will be instrumental in taking HDS to the next level of value and process integration for offshore, manufacturing plants and other industrial facilities," said Andrew Stein, Vice President of Marketing. "We are excited to add another leading engineering professional such as Derrel to our industry-focused marketing team. Our customers expect us to employ this high level of industry expertise, as they trust Leica to deliver world-class High-Definition Surveying solutions that increase their competitive advantage in their field."
2D and 3D Plant Design Experience
Mr. Shaffer, a BS Structural Engineer from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, is a Registered Professional Engineer with extensive experience in both 2D and 3D plant design tools, including MicroStation, PlantSpace, PDS, SmartPlant Review, PDMS, and AutoCAD.
For further information contact:
Tel (direct) 1-925-790-2317
Tel (central) 1-925-790-2300
Fax 1-925-790-2309
E-mail geoffrey.jacobs@hds.leica-geosystems.com