The Power of Photos in Construction

July 14, 2021

The Power of Real-Time Photo Collaboration for Construction Project Management

Utilizing construction photo collaboration tools such as Pixly on your project has limitless utilization possibilities. The value of having images stored and managed by date, location, and thorough data tagging is a powerful way of sharing the project progress and tracking what has occurred on your project. Having this information at your fingertips through Pixly connects stakeholders across the spectrum in ways that have never been done before. The impact on the industry will unite entities in ways we could never have imagined before.

Connecting Remote Team Members

Not everyone involved in a construction project can be physically present daily. Team members are often assigned to multiple projects, or executive members are engaged at a higher level than daily management. Sometimes, the disconnect is the distance across state lines. Whatever the reason for the separation, a construction photo collaboration mobile app like Pixly can bring teams together through a digital medium. People can see how the project is or has progressed at their leisure without planning a trip to the project. Teams will be connected at the tip of their fingers without leaving their home or office or booking a flight and hotel to visit the project.

A Glimpse at Schedule Progress

Understanding the project progression is essential, especially to those tracking a schedule or responsible for maintaining the schedule. Superintendents and scheduling managers are intimate with the trade partners, their schedule, and monitoring progress throughout the course of a project. Sometimes, the day-to-day nuances of the tasks and activities these individuals are responsible for taking precedence over keeping tabs on specific details of schedule progression. Utilizing Pixly for construction photo documentation could be a valuable resource as a look-back of sorts for those involved with schedule progression. They can see everything from a high-level to more minor details to review what has occurred with just a glimpse of the information stored within this construction photo collaboration app. 

Recalling How It Was Built

Sometimes, having a historical set of photo progression is vital to tell a story of how a set of circumstances occurred. For example, sometimes a rough opening was off, or scope of work was not completed in a timely fashion. Maybe a team would like to remember a successful installation from what was performed in the past. Having a common set of progression photos will lead to having a historical library that can be referenced at a moment’s notice. Taking regular status photos of the project will supplement this effort in ways that might not be realized until the information is pulled from the historical databases.

Safety

Everyone involved in the construction business understands the value of having a safe and secure jobsite. This is universally understood as paramount across the construction industry. Photo documentation is an excellent way of sharing information across a collaboration platform that can be quickly reviewed to ensure safety requirements are being met regularly. Safety requirements from temporary handrails to fire extinguisher locations are just some ways a regular set of progress photos can confirm measures are taken to keep the jobsite and craft members meeting the expectations from a procedural standpoint. It will also help individuals with an outside perspective give their take on the status of the project. It will be beneficial, especially if the reviewers are not on the project daily.

As-Builts and Closeout

Closing out a construction project is one of the more exciting elements of working in this industry. There is a sense of accomplishment associated with finishing up and handing the keys over to a satisfied client. It also requires a great deal of management and documentation to transfer closeout information to the owner. The construction photo collaboration mobile app can assist with the set of final photo documentation that would come in handy to the facilities management group. The catalog of progress and final photos will serve as a valuable resource that the users could reference for numerous reasons. If an expansion or renovation was to be performed, the team could reference the photos, see how the project was built, and evaluate components of the images compared to the as-builts. Suppose they wanted to understand where structural framing and mechanical, electrical or plumbing was located to make informed decisions about key elements of the renovation. In that case, the progress photos could help inform those decisions. The information contained within Pixly would be invaluable to a client long after the project team completed the closeout requirements for the project well into the future.

Keywords: construction photo collaboration tool, construction photo documentation, construction photo collaboration app, construction photo collaboration mobile app, construction progress photos platform