The old saying is, “you get out of life what you put into it,” and it seems the same holds true for the value of data captured on your construction site. Good data creates good intelligence, and with more and more DIY data capture options available evert year, it’s easy to forget about the importance of\, clear, organized, and professionally captured data.
Recent research published by the Navigant Construction Forum shows that the average construction project requires close to 800 RFIs before it is complete. At a cost of over $1,000 per RFI and an average response time of 6-10 days, those numbers can really affect profitability, especially on larger projects.
Well-organized and sharable visual jobsite data can greatly improve efficiency and timeliness when dealing with RFIs, particularly if the data is updated on a weekly or bi-weekly schedule. Imagine being able to easily locate and identify problems from the field or right from the office and immediately share as-built images with trades, architects, your GC, or any relevant stakeholder.
But it only works if your data is of a certain quality level—sharing blurry, dimly lit, or photos that don’t clearly show the problem is not going to help anyone.
“Good data informs good decisions,” explains Russ Bollig, Director of Solutions at Multivista. “Conversely, bad data can lead to mistakes, or missed opportunities to catch issues before they become costly.”
Founded in 2003, Multivista is the world’s most experienced full-service construction documentation company. Working alongside project teams, they capture digital photographs of as-built job conditions and link them to cloud-based interactive floorplans. In September of 2020, they launched a 360 Photo product, which sees specialists working on-site at set intervals to thoroughly capture construction progression and key milestones (slabs, cover-up, pre-inspection, etc.).
“We spent 14 months of research and development,” Bollig says, “to ensure our service captures the best quality data possible. That means construction professionals can count on quality imagery from the same important jobsite locations, week after week. Dependable, consistent information like this allows the project team to incorporate their jobsite data into daily workflows. So, when you need to immediately inspect a potential plumbing issue in the western hallway of the 15th floor, the images will be clear, well lit, and will ultimately provide the information you need. That isn’t always the case with a DIY helmet-mounted camera or frames pulled from poorly lit video footage.”
DIY options also come with additional work, which creates additional responsibility and risk. “The idea behind hiring professionals to capture top quality data takes some of that risk and responsibility off your plate so you can better focus on building the best project possible,” Bollig says. “Offloading those duties to a current project team member who already has other duties on site can lead to things being rushed or overlooked, not to mention what happens if that person gets sick or takes holidays—key data can be missed.”
Bollig adds that the construction industry has been hiring specialized contractors for years to avoid the risk and distraction of self-performing. “Construction documentation is no different,” he says. “When you hire professionals, you can be sure that your jobsite data is captured with the quality needed to empower you to build better, faster and, most importantly, smarter.”
