Digitizing 15 Schools in 8 Days: Inside DCMS’s High-Impact Mission Across Northern Ontario

News & Insights | Site Story | Education & Reality Capture

Where Speed Meets Precision: A Look Inside Our Collaboration with CSPNE

In August 2021, DCMS embarked on one of its most ambitious field missions to date: capturing digital twins of 15 educational facilities across Northern Ontario for the Conseil scolaire public du Nord-Est de l'Ontario (CSPNE).

With a deadline of just 8 days, our team hit the road, scanning over 53,000 square meters from North Bay to Hearst, tackling tight schedules, remote logistics, and complex campus layouts using Leica Geosystems’ cutting-edge scanning ecosystem.

This is how we made it happen.

A digital twin in action: 3D laser scan of one of the 15 school campuses captured by DCMS during our rapid 8-day

mission across Northern Ontario.

A Mission That Mattered: Supporting Future Growth for CSPNE

CSPNE was preparing to expand in response to growing enrollment. But before they could plan, they needed accurate, up-to-date as-built documentation across all their schools and administrative buildings.

DCMS won the public bid and quickly assembled a dedicated field crew, a LiDAR specialist, a virtual walkthrough expert, and a drone pilot to take on the challenge.

🗣️ “We scanned two schools a day, running over 250 setups daily. Our Leica RTC360 became more than just a tool, it was a teammate. We even named him Louie.” 

Alberto Palomino, Principal AEC Division, DCMS

Leica RTC360 in action during DCMS’s rapid scan of CSPNE 

schools across Northern Ontario.

A Field Team Fueled by Technology (and Coffee)

Each morning, the team loaded gear into vans and hit the Trans-Canada Highway, capturing scans with Leica’s RTC360, supported by long-life batteries and dual 256 GB USB drives for continuous data offload.

The real game-changer? The Cyclone FIELD 360 mobile app. It allowed our team to manage multi-phase access across school wings, align scan clusters on the go, and keep operations smooth, even in buildings with limited access windows.

🗣️ “Cyclone FIELD 360 felt like a real-time video game—just with high stakes and no restart button.” 

Antonio Tomecich, Partner at DCMS

From Field to BIM: A Seamless Global Workflow

While data was captured in Ontario, our modeling team in Lima, Peru, got to work almost instantly, registering, cleaning, and exporting point clouds using Cyclone REGISTER 360 and modeling them in Autodesk Revit.

Final quality control checks were completed in Montreal before delivering a full digital twin package to CSPNE, including:

• LOD 200–250 Revit models

• 2D CAD drawings

• Point clouds (.E57 / .RCP) for future asset planning

The entire cycle: from scan to delivery took just 6 weeks.

Registered point cloud overlaid on floor plan as part of DCMS’s global Scan-to-BIM 

workflow for CSPNE."

Technology + Teamwork = Scalable Impact

This project is a testament to what’s possible when the right technology meets the right people. The tools built by Leica Geosystems empowered DCMS to meet tight deadlines with high accuracy, while our global team ensured seamless coordination across three countries.

🗣️ “Scanning 15 schools in 8 days and modeling them in just over a month wouldn’t be possible without Leica’s tools. From field to BIM, their ecosystem kept us aligned, agile, and efficient.” 

DCMS Team

Matterport walkthrough showcasing interior conditions as part of CSPNE’s digital twin package.

Why This Project Matters

For CSPNE, this wasn’t just about documentation. These digital twins now serve as a foundation for future renovations, expansions, and asset management, ensuring that every square meter of their facilities can be planned with confidence.

For DCMS, it was a moment to reaffirm our mission: to bring clarity, precision, and speed to complex projects across the Americas.

Tools Used in the Field

• Leica RTC360 – High-speed 3D laser scanner

• Leica BLK360 G1 – Compact scanner for tight spaces

• Cyclone FIELD 360 – Real-time mobile scan manager

• Cyclone REGISTER 360 – Registration and cleanup platform

• Autodesk Revit + AutoCAD – Modeling and 2D documentation tools

• .E57 / .RCP exports – Long-term integration-ready data

Leica RTC360 ready for deployment, our go-to scanner for fast, high-accuracy capture in the field. 

Image from the Leica Geosystems archive.

A Partnership Backed by Innovation

We’re grateful to Leica Geosystems, a Hexagon company, for equipping our team with tools that match the pace and complexity of our work. And a special thank you to Michelle Byrne, Principal Marketing Manager in Reality Capture, for helping bring visibility to projects like this, where technology meets public service.

LinkedIn post by Leica spotlighting our 8-day Ontario mission, where 

tech and teamwork drove public impact.

Want to Learn More?

DCMS delivers fast, field-tested digital capture services for education, government, retail, and more. Let’s talk about how we can support your next project with precision and scale. Get your site scanned, no calls, no hassle, just click.

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