The Complete Guide to 3D

Technology for Pre-Incident

Planning Workflows

www.faro.com
Table of Contents
What is Pre-Incident Planning? 3

About this Guide 4

How 3D Technology Addresses your Pre-Incident

Planning Needs 5

Pre-Incident Planning Step by Step 6

Hardware, Software and Application Specs 7

Case Study 9
 3

What is
Pre-Incident
Planning? For first responders, delays in
turnout, response, and setup, — the
preparation required to leave the
station, transit time to an event,
equipment rollout, organizational
coordination of on-site personnel
and the identification/location of the
most efficient entrance and egress
points — can mean life or death. It can
also mean the difference between a
From the moment a catastrophic
reparable structure versus one set for
incident occurs, in a private home, a
the wrecking ball.
commercial or residential building,
or at any public space, the first But regardless of which type of first
responder clock immediately starts responder you are, preparing and
to tick — fast. It does so because practicing for an incident before it
when an electrical fire breaks out, takes place is critical and what pre-
or a flood inundates a lower floor, or incident planning is all about.
when the unthinkable happens in a
mass casualty event, lives are at stake. It’s imperative that first responders
From dispatch — the ability to have have accurate structural data at their
building plans readily available to be disposal as soon as (or before) they
sent to first responders, in their CAD arrive on scene. This is where 3D data
system, upon assignment of the call capture of the interior and exterior
— to deployment, minutes matter and of buildings for incident pre-planning
seconds count. and response can assist.
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About This Guide

The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), an international nonprofit dedicated to eliminating
death, injury, property and economic loss due to fire, electrical and related hazards, defines
incident pre-planning as “a written document resulting from the gathering of general and detailed
information/data to be used by public emergency response agencies and private industry for
determining the response to reasonably anticipated emergency incidents at a specific facility.”

Key to that detailed information or data is a building’s While it’s true some of these engineering or floor plan
structural layout, as well as related on-site physical diagrams can be found printed as a physical document
objects like the location of fire hydrants and other or saved on file in a tax assessor or zoning board
water sources, potential site risks, hazardous office, too often this information is either outdated (no
material, and entry and exit points. longer matching as-built conditions), inaccessible when
it’s needed most, or siloed from immediate police, fire
Having a real-time understanding of the physical department or EMT access. In-person tours, property
layout of a building, a free-standing home, an owner meetings, and the like are also helpful — but
apartment complex, a sports arena, a school, a only to a point. Thus, when it comes to planning and
college campus, a house of worship, a factory or analysis any pre-incident plan package must include 2D
power plant, etc., provides first responders with diagrams (which must be measurable, annotatable and
an invaluable tool for as-built spatial detection easily updated) and may include additional info like
and hazard avoidance. It allows first responders to photographs, and videos.
organize faster, enter a building sooner, and know
where they need to be within that structure and the This guide is intended for first responders and their
most efficient routes to get there to maximize their decision-makers: chiefs of police, fire battalion leaders,
effectiveness more quickly than if they didn’t have etc., and individuals with budget responsibility. The
that immediate line-of-sight. And having that dispatch goal is clear: to identify the hardware and software
center data immediately available is critical. advantages of 3D laser scanning while demonstrating
the technologies’ ease-of-use, “plug-in-play,” ability,
and why it makes smart business sense.
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How 3D Technology Addresses your Pre-Incident

Planning Needs

As noted in the previous section, 3D technology is Mobile access to fire safety plans is highly important
vital to pre-incident planning because it helps first too; a large majority (87%) say that such access is
responders gather critical real-world structural critical during an actual emergency. Meanwhile,
information with high accuracy before an incident poor integration with software (55%), poor reporting
takes place. And the more that worst-case-scenarios features (45%), and being difficult to use (44%) are the
are simulated — either with 3D laser scanning as well top barriers to fire safety planning tool purchase.
as with even more immersive methods like virtual
reality (a technology which is gaining rapid traction But with the latest FARO hardware and solutions
across a host of industries and allows for quick VR working seamlessly with each other, these bottlenecks
walk-throughs) the greater the likelihood of a faster, and pain points have been eliminated.
more efficient response when a real crisis occurs.

While perhaps not a complete first responder picture,

data collected from fire departments supports this
position. According to recently compiled stats by
Hanover Research, a Virginia-based market researcher,
87% of respondents say that prioritization of such
planning leads to reduced firefighter risk while 82%
believe such actions increase community safety.

In this manner, 3D laser scanning technology is a pre-

incident planning effectiveness accelerator. Data
is collected in real time, shows the as-built
status of the structure in question, is
instantly shareable to team leaders and
actionable with immediate on-the-
ground results.

This is especially true considering

ease of use, precision, and
availability are key solution
requirements and are criteria
respondents consider them most
important when selecting safety
planning tools. Specific to the
software, for instance, respondents
see integration with other software
(91%) and mobile access (87%) as
most important.
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Pre-Incident Planning Step by Step

Pre-incident planning with 3D laser scanning can be organized into three basic categories and sub divided into 15
smaller steps. Regardless of which step is the focus, the technology package must address several key questions.

Key
Questions
1
STEP

Is the technology simple to use?

Is it efficient and is the data 20

23
capture fast so as to 4

minimize on-scene time

and reduce disruption?
26

Are the scans easy to

register on-site?

2 3
STEP STEP
Is it simple to re-capture
omissions?

Visualization

1 2 3
STEP STEP STEP
Capture The In-Office Planning
On-scene Data and Analysis and Execution
(In Preparation and Response)

y Establish capture plan y Process data in accordance with y Periodic plan reviews (to
and objectives capture objectives ensure there have been no
y Walk through site and note material changes)
y Create deliverables: 2D
key features diagrams, 3D diagrams, etc. y Training and tabletop exercises
y Finalize on-site capture plan: and drills
y Preview deliverables with
y Start site capture stakeholders: first responders, y Update preparedness plans with
a building owner/property user/administrator feedback
y Progress through site
and capture manager y Establish a plan/cadence/
y Adjust deliverables to periodicity for the next
y Complete site capture and
stakeholder feedback update cycle
double check objectives
y Stage deliverables in a system y Package/bundle/share
of record deliverables with emergency
responders
y Virtual Reality (VR) Training in
3D environment
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Hardware, Software and Application Specs

FARO® Focus Laser Scanners

The FARO Focus Premium Laser Scanner is the

fastest, most accurate and connected scanner for
public safety professionals to date, featuring entirely
new components with a proven design, as well as
the latest subscription-based upgrade that includes
Hybrid Reality Capture™, powered by Flash Technology.
The Focus Premium provides exceptional capturing
efficiency, data quality and accuracy for public safety
professionals while offering data quality at faster scan
speeds. It can reduce on-scene scanning time by up
to 50% using your regular settings. Meanwhile, faster
loading and system response yields greater data
management efficiency when paired with the new
FARO Stream mobile app, a solution Focus Premium
operators can use on-scene to take pre-registration
scans. Further augmented with Flash Technology and
controlled through the Stream Mobile app, merged 3D
scans and 360° panoramic photos can provide even
faster and more accurate upscaled images that can
lead to speedier investigations — and the answers
investigators seek.

FARO Focus Core Laser Scanner

The FARO Focus Core broadens the Focus

scanners’ range of potential applications. Fully
integrated into FARO’s workflow solutions for
application-specific insights, the scanner is
particularly useful in public safety situations
and pre-incident planning, analysis and
documentation. With a best-in-class price-
performance ratio Core users will benefit from
real-time on-site pre-registration, enabling
faster project completion and reduce return
visits to the scene to capture missing data.
With scan speeds up to one minute per scan
and faster loading/system response, users
will enjoy greater data management efficiency
when paired with Stream (optional) and
uploaded to the FARO® Sphere, SaaS cloud-
based platform.
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FARO Zone 3D Pro and

Zone 3D Expert
FARO Zone 3D Pro and Zone 3D Expert makes
it easy to perform accurate analysis of an event
and produce detailed visuals, such as precise 2D
and 3D diagrams, compelling animations, and
courtroom –ready reports. Significant to the
newest version of this investigation software
is the ability of Zone 3D Pro to import point
cloud data; and for Zone 3D Expert, FotoPoints
— FARO’s new photogrammetry engine — the
capability for you to import photographs from
any source and convert it to a point cloud, thus
eliminating the need for third-party software.

FARO Stream Mobile App

For FARO Focus Laser Scanner users who wish

to upload their scan data into Sphere, the
FARO Stream mobile app works in conjunction
with the Focus Laser Scanner to enable on-
site pre-registration while providing added
confidence on the completeness of data
capture. It is common for law enforcement
professionals using 3D laser scanners today
to register scan data back at a department
computer, away from the scene where the
incident took place. Now, public safety
personnel can perform pre-registration in the
field, add annotations and instantly upload on-
site data collection to FARO Sphere.
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Case Study | How the Binghamton, NY City

School District Helps Keep its Students and
Faculty Safe with 3D Laser Scanning
When it comes to United States gun violence, the numbers tell a sobering story.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, in 2021 (the latest year where data is compiled) 48,830 Americans
died from a gun. And of that figure, nearly half, 43%, was from murders. In schools, the numbers are even more
disturbing. In 2021 the US recorded 93 school shootings with casualties, nearly quadruple the number from
2001-2002.

While it’s true that more schools than ever plan for such events (96%, according to the CDC), helping to keep
their students safe, the trend line suggests mass-casualty events are becoming more common, not less. Faced
with this reality even more must be done to enable student and faculty safety while on school grounds.

Pre-incident planning is a way to achieve that aim. That’s because even if a worst-case scenario occurs, loss of
life can be mitigated if the proper steps are taken first.

Reducing loss of life — in any mass-casualty event, be it

weapons fire, natural disaster, or terrorism — depends
in part on the accuracy and on-scene accessibility of
building design schematics. The goal is to empower
first responders with the ability to reach victims and
uninjured survivors, fast, and identify entrance and
egress points, as well as locate where people would
congregate in a lockdown situation — even going so
far as to determine structural weaknesses before an
incident takes place that can later be addressed. (For
example, noting that a back door to a building still
relies on a key-based locking mechanism when a digital
card reader is more secure.)

Although traditional photographs can do some of this

job, as can printed or digital blueprints, only 3D laser
scanning technology can guarantee millimeter accuracy
when mapping and measuring the interior and exterior
of a physical space.
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In an effort to showcase the power and potential of this impressive technology, in April 2023 FARO was pleased to
partner with the Binghamton, NY City School District, the Binghamton, NY Police Department, and the Southern
Tier Crime Analysis Center, scanning schools throughout Broome County in full-color and doing so in record time,
thanks to a new proprietary technology called Hybrid Realty Capture, powered by Flash Technology. (With Flash
Technology, a 360° panoramic photograph is merged with a 3D point cloud. The result is a scan that’s up to 50%
faster than tradition scanning methods — around 30 seconds per scan — and with an enhanced ability to detect
object edges and complex geometries.)

With extensive 2D floor plans generated for every school, on every floor, and shareable digital files that included
3D maps for every police cruiser and every firefighter’s truck, first responders will be able to pull up that data,
instantly, resulting in a more effective response during a critical incident.

In a mass-casualty event second counts. And FARO Technology is helping put critical seconds back on the clock.

Click here to see Flash Technology and the

FARO Focus Premium Laser Scanner in action,
helping keep students and faculty safe
throughout Binghamton, NY.

Consult With Our Experts

Local operations around the world. Go to FARO.com to learn more.

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