No need for Superman’s cape at PC Construction Company, where with the use of PC X-ray As-Built technology, construction professionals and owners can peer through walls to locate junction boxes, pipes and anything else lurking in the walls.

"It blows everybody’s socks off," says Chris Moran, director of operations support at PC Construction in South Burlington, Vt., a  member of AGC of Vermont and Carolinas AGC. "We use it in proposals, and the facilities management people get really excited. They realize how powerful it is."

PC Construction decided to try the asbuilt technology at the recommendation of Modulus Consulting in San Francisco, which had supplied PC Construction’s BIM kiosk.

"We started developing a workflow for as-builting with panoramic photos because we noticed clients relying on similar images from our laser scanning work," says Brett Young, with Modulus. "We’ve developed a workflow for construction as-builting using commercial, off-the-shelf technology. Over time, we figured out the best methods and equipment so the process is efficient and inexpensive."

Moran says PC Construction immediately recognized how it could benefit the firm and its clients and adds that this has become true during the past couple of years.

The company’s X-Ray As-Builts consist of snapping high-resolution digital images on a nodal-mounted camera, which allows for rotation of the camera while keeping the focus point the same in multiple photos. The photos of the four walls and ceiling are then stitched together using software to create one panoramic image. The software can export the 360-degree interactive image for viewing in a variety of formats.

After all the wiring, plumbing, duct work, etc., has been installed but before the dry wall and ceiling tile, PC Construction takes photos of each room. The entire process can be completed by project engineers or interns.

"That can be a short window, and the management team has to stay on top of it," Moran says.

The process is similar to that used by realtors to show panoramic photos of homes for sale, adapted to the needs of the construction industry, Moran explains.

Once the photos are stitched into a panoramic image, PC Construction loads the images and a PDF plan of the structure onto an iPad, which can easily be taken into the field. The company places hyperlinks in the plans to the appropriate panoramic photo.

PC Construction finds the images come in handy. In an operating room of a hospital project, drywall installation covered up a critical electrical junction box left unmarked by a subcontractor. Everyone stood around scratching their heads; then the PC Construction office engineer arrived with the iPad.

PC Construction carpenter Claude Benjamin said he was amazed. The image pinpointed the exact location of the box. Crews could then cut the drywall in front of the box without damaging the wall or delaying the project.

"We pulled up the PC X-Ray As-Builts, went into that spot and hit it dead on," Moran says. "We’ve done that multiple times since we began deploying this technology."

After completing a project, PC Construction provides the owner with a CD of the plans with hyperlinks to the panoramic photos. While Young believes that building information models are important  to turnover to owners, the use of this type of technology demonstrates that many contractors can greatly improve their turnover packages in non-BIM ways.

"If the facility manager or someone else needs to see what is behind the walls or ceiling, they tap on the drawing for that room and the panoramic pops up," Moran says. "People think it’s magic, but it’s not. It’s simple and yet extremely valuable."