If your business needs topographic scanning (also known as laser surveying), you may be debating whether to purchase your own equipment or outsource your needs to a laser scanning service. To make the right choice, it helps to start by looking at cost, which for most businesses is the deciding factor. Below, we examine whether it’s better to outsource or buy equipment based on five critical cost concerns.
1. Scanner cost
The affordability of scanners first depends on the number of units you need. For example, if you need mid-grade portable models, your bill could be a few thousand dollars. But if you need the top-of-the-line commercials that require special installation (eg contact models) or superior distance/detail capabilities, plan to add a couple of zeros to that cost. If you need multiple scanners to meet different needs, the cost of meeting them is worth exploring the options in a scanning service.
2. Cost of outsourcing
The affordability of a scanning service depends on four factors: the type of scanner used, the results delivered, the length of the inspection process, and the frequency of inspection needs, with the latter perhaps being the most important. Unlike the traditional surveying process, efficient laser surveying does not produce large fees due to the length of the process. Rather, fees could accrue based on frequency. Meeting infrequent scanning needs through the scanning service is very affordable. But if you need surveys on a regular basis, your fees could eventually dwarf the cost of the scanners.
3. Depreciation of the scanner
Like most machinery, scanning devices depreciate, and the depreciation can be steep. While it doesn’t get wear and tear, all it takes to send a valuable one-time scan to the trash is new technology that improves one aspect of scanning. This also raises the question of whether such changes would make a scanner arcane and not just worth less. If scanning devices would be a lynchpin in your company’s product or service offerings, having the capital to purchase new ones as often as necessary is a necessary security measure.
4.Scanner maintenance
Another consideration for buying versus outsourcing is equipment maintenance. Proper maintenance of complex scanning devices is similar to maintenance of other complex equipment: a trained technician does the job. Scanner maintenance is not cost prohibitive, but it is a budget expense to consider before deciding to buy rather than outsource.
5. Cost of training
Getting the most out of a scanner often requires training on how to use it, the cost of which multiplies as more people need to use it. As with equipment maintenance, the cost of training shouldn’t get in the way of buying scanners, but it’s a budgetary expense to add when deciding between outsourcing a scanning service or getting your own scanners.
