*7.5.1 The importance of BIM integration with 3D laser scanning*

The expansion in the refurbishment market has resulted in greater coverage of Scan-to-BIM in the industry. As a result of market needs, nearly all CAD developers started working on supporting the point cloud data with their platform, and now almost all products in the market offer this feature. Traditional measurement techniques have been taking more time and human effort to measure the building and then create drawings/sketches to acquire BIM models for the building. Other methods were standard data collection techniques like using a total station and then using AutoCAD to produce drawings. After that, taking these files in Revit, Archicad or such architectural modelling software serves as a reference for preparing a 3D model of the building in BIM tools. Although traditional techniques lack completeness and time efficiency compared to 'scan to BIM' in most cases, the issue of cost depends on many other factors like the level of detail, usage, space and location of the project. The combination of modern technologies, such as laser scanning, with BIM can be a powerful tool for process improvement, providing accurate data in minimal time. The benefits of using BIM in architectural engineering are related to alternative design and computation analytics, materials analytics, data management, operational plans and information exchange between different entities [22].
