Before the pandemic hit, time was already a scarce resource at construction sites. As COVID-19 is expected to cause project schedules to overrun, companies are looking squarely at how they can save time at the jobsite. Here are six ways construction cameras can save time and help put more productive minutes back in your workday:
1. Automate Manual Activities
For many, creating documentation — and taking photos to support it — is a time-consuming, manual endeavor. If photo-documenting your project isn’t already a part of your day-to-day activities, you’re probably still snapping photos of material and equipment deliveries or milestone events. Construction cameras automate this activity and record footage directly to the cloud for safekeeping and browser-based access — no human intervention required.
Since cameras are installed and always operating on the jobsite, you don’t have to worry about forgetting to get your mobile device out to shoot a photo. Advanced cloud-based systems eliminate the need to maintain closed-circuit camera computers and perform repetitive and time-sensitive back-ups. They run in the background and store data remotely, creating reliable and continuous visual documentation, without impacting your schedule.
2. Collaborate With Speed and Efficiency
Collaborating with crews and stakeholders takes a lot of time and can sometimes result in misunderstandings when it’s done over the phone. Sharing video footage and images from construction cameras eliminate confusion. Whether you’re communicating to a vendor where they should drop off equipment or to a divisional leader about how far along a project is, images quickly deliver the message — especially when remote stakeholders can’t be onsite.
The best part is that this can now be done from within your project management system. TrueLook, for example, is embedded in Procore, so any Procore users working on the project can review, compare and share photos and video from within the application for rapid and informed decision-making.
3. Travel Less, Do More
Not only is driving one of the biggest risks that construction companies mitigate, but it’s also time-consuming and often unnecessary. Real-time access to live video and photos from the jobsite enables project managers to stay current on what’s happening at their projects, without spending time on the road. Construction cameras offer the best way to see what’s going on without sitting in traffic to get an update — until teleporting is reliable and safe, that is!
4. Get to the Facts—Fast
Have you ever had to dig up evidence to solve a dispute or aid an investigation? Without cameras, a significant amount of time could be wasted searching for images and compiling evidence from written documents and photos stored on mobile devices or computers. But construction cameras help take the sting out of the activity, by automating the process and enabling you to maintain accurate and detailed documentation. And you can use it to help resolve disputes or claims that arise with a general contractor, trade partner, developer or government agency.
Stored footage and photos can be rapidly retrieved to provide proof of compliance during audits or OSHA investigations, or for evidence to support criminal investigations for incidents such as theft or assault. And, features such as infrared, motion sensors and time-stamping make sure you don’t miss any of the action and can quickly sort through hours of footage to get to the facts quickly.
5. Reclaim Stolen Time
Speaking of theft, time theft by employees and trade partners is single-handedly one of the biggest time-sucks at a project, and it damages your firm in two distinct ways. First, “buddy punching” literally steals time: One worker clocks in for another worker, so it looks like both are on the job. Second, time theft steals your time. Productivity suffers when workers are late to the jobsite.
With construction cameras on-site, employees know they’re being watched. Not only are they more likely to show up on time, they’re less likely to steal time if they don’t.
6. Marketing Made Easy
Photos and videos from construction cameras can be reused with little or no effort, to support marketing and branding initiatives such as websites, social media campaigns or advertising. Since you already have great time-lapse videos and photos of the jobsite, hiring camera crews and waiting through long production schedules is often unnecessary. A little HTML, and you can post high-quality time-lapse sequences showing your latest project completion on your website. Or, use a simple video editing tool to capture a snippet from your live stream to embed in a social post. With less time spent on marketing, you can focus your efforts on delivering great service and quality to customers.
Are you interested in learning more about how construction cameras can put more time back into your day? Download our eBook, Buyers Guide For The Best Construction Camera
