Why We Combine a Total Station and LiDAR: A Hybrid Survey Workflow

Published 16 June 2026

A FARO Focus laser scanner on a tripod inside an empty steel-frame warehouse

Every laser scan we deliver is registered against a Leica Total Station control network first — not aligned scan-to-scan alone. It's a deliberate, non-negotiable step in our workflow, and it's also the reason we can meet scan-to-BIM accuracy expectations without holding a formal ISO certificate: the accuracy comes from the method, not a badge.

What each instrument is actually good at

A FARO Focus scanner is extraordinarily fast at capturing dense geometry — up to roughly 2,000,000 points per second, at ranges up to 150 m for the Focus S150. What it's not designed to do on its own is guarantee that two scan setups, taken from different positions across a large site, agree with each other to millimeter precision purely through cloud-to-cloud alignment software. Small drift compounds across a large site. A Total Station does the opposite job well: it measures precise angles and distances to a small number of fixed control points, establishing a geo-referenced skeleton the rest of the site can be tied to.

FARO Focus Premium / S150 — captures dense point-cloud geometry fast, at up to ~2,000,000 points/second.
FARO Focus S150 specifically — 0.6–150 m range, ±1 mm ranging error, integrated camera up to 165 MP.
Leica Total Station — establishes the control network every scan is registered against, rather than relying on scan-to-scan alignment alone.

How the two come together on site

The Total Station goes down first, establishing control points across the site before any scanning starts. Target points are placed so each scan setup can see enough of them to register cleanly. As the FARO captures each setup's point cloud, registration ties it back to those control points — not just to the neighboring scan. The practical effect is that a point measured at one end of a large site and a point measured at the other end are both correct relative to the same real-world coordinate system, not just internally consistent with each other.

Does this hybrid approach actually change what a client receives?

Yes — the deliverable is geo-referenced, not just internally consistent, which matters the moment a client needs to tie the scan to an existing site survey or property boundary.
It's why registration RMSE against the control network — typically at or below 3 mm on our projects — is a meaningful number, not an arbitrary one.
It's also the concrete answer we give when asked about certification: no formal ISO badge, but a documented, repeatable workflow built to meet the accuracy expectations those standards exist to guarantee.

Where it matters most

This matters least on a single small room and most on a large, multi-building, or industrial site — anywhere the accumulated drift of scan-to-scan-only alignment would actually show up in the final deliverable. It's also why the same hybrid workflow underlies every service we offer, from a Level 1 linework CAD drawing to a LOD 400 fabrication-grade BIM model: the difference between those deliverables is how far we process the point cloud, not how accurately it was captured in the first place.

Technology & methodology →Scan to CAD →Scan to Model →Scan to BIM →

Questions about this article

Isn't a laser scanner accurate enough on its own?

For a single small room, often yes. Across a larger or multi-building site, scan-to-scan alignment alone can accumulate drift that a Total Station control network is specifically built to prevent.

Does the Total Station step add much time to a project?

Some, but it's built into every quote from the start — it's not an optional add-on we upsell later, it's a standard part of how we capture every site regardless of size.

What happens if a site is too small or simple to need a full control network?

We still establish a lightweight control network — the workflow doesn't change, only its scale does; the discipline is what keeps every project, large or small, meeting the same accuracy standard.

Is this hybrid approach unique to Intera Survey, or industry standard?

It's a recognized best practice in the surveying industry, though not every laser-scanning provider applies it consistently — we treat it as non-negotiable rather than optional.

How do I know if a quote I received elsewhere used this approach?

Ask directly whether their point cloud is registered against a surveyed control network or just aligned scan-to-scan — if they can't answer clearly, that's worth asking more about before you commit.

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