Construction Viz

Project Management Perfect

Jeff Lydon

Deploy Construction Viz Securely to YOUR Microsoft 365

Construction Viz |

In the age of cloud computing, the question is, where is your data, and how safe is it? Do you trust construction software vendors to secure your data to the level that your organization requires? Is it truly your data when you have to request a copy of it at the end of the project to archive?

Lydon Solutions has been building construction IT solutions on the Microsoft stack for over fifteen years. We started the company by building and hosting custom SharePoint instances, and we haven’t stopped since.

With our Construction Viz enterprise construction management solution for Microsoft 365, we created a unique product that can be deployed for a client without using the Microsoft app store or even custom scripts. Using Microsoft’s Identity platform, Construction Viz securely stores project data in SharePoint sites, using lists and document libraries as its database. No data is stored outside of your Microsoft 365 tenant. Check out this post to find out more. A deployment can even occur on the same day. At any time, you can revoke consent for the app, and it will no longer connect to your Microsoft 365 tenant, but all of your data will remain in YOUR SharePoint Lists and Libraries.

Also, Construction Viz is a Progressive Web App (PWA), so there is no app to install on the device. It behaves just like a desktop application, is responsive, and will work on any device with a modern browser, so you don’t have different experiences and security issues with multiple apps floating around your IT footprint.

Why store your construction data in Microsoft 365?

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So, with so many benefits to keeping your data in your Microsoft 365, isn’t it time to rethink where your construction management system resides?

Why Construction Viz?

Read more about what sets Construction Viz apart from the competition in our new blog series:

Keep an eye on this series of articles, where we will elaborate on the benefits of Construction Viz over other construction management platforms on the market. You can request a free demo here to find out more about what Construction Viz can provide.

If you are new to Microsoft 365 and need help setting it up or helping you deliver solutions, you can request a free one-hour consultation below.

Get a Free Consultation

Get Just the Apps You Need with Construction Viz

Construction Viz |

Frustrated with having to pay for a bloated construction project management system that you only use a fraction of? With Construction Viz, you can select and only pay for the apps you need. Isn’t it about time the consumer has the choice of what they want to use and pay for?

Many of the larger construction project management systems focus on getting clients bought into their ecosystem, forcing their way of managing projects, and charging excessive fees for a bloated system.

The reality is that every organization, project, and project manager manages projects differently; there is no one-size-fits-all. Also, many organizations already have several software packages that they use for specific purposes to help manage projects. They don’t want to have to do double entry, confuse users with multiple systems, and might need only a handful of tools to fill in the gaps.

Pick Only the Apps You Need with Construction Viz

We built Construction Viz to be as flexible as possible, so organizations don’t feel boxed in. If you only need a Daily Report app, you can pay for that app only. If you need more in the future, you can add more Construction Viz apps at any time. Also, if you don’t like how out-of-the-box apps work or need a new app, we can build custom apps or tailor our apps to your unique needs.

Construction Viz allows you to select from over 40 industry-standard construction forms and a total of 50 construction apps, including:

Construction Viz - Construction Forms

Action Items
Contract Change Directive
Change Order Request
Daily Report
Document Binder
Invoice
Meeting Minutes
NCR/NCN
Notice
Outage Request
Commitment
Change Order
Permit

Punch List Items
Quality Assurance Inspection
RFI
Request for Proposal
Risk
Safety Incident
Safety Inspection
Service Request
Submittal
Substantial Completion
Transmittal
Work Order

Construction Viz – Construction Apps

Drawings
Specifications
Cost Reports
File Manager
Forms
GIS Maps

Payment
P6
Planner
Tracker
Scheduler
Task Manager

You can check out our app catalog here.

Why Construction Viz?

Read more about what sets Construction Viz apart from the competition in our new blog series:

If you are already using Microsoft 365 and either need a complete enterprise construction management solution or just a couple of apps, Construction Viz might be the best option. Keep an eye on this series of articles, where we will elaborate on the benefits of Construction Viz over other construction management platforms on the market. You can request a free demo below.

Get a Free Consultation

How Do You Capture Meeting Minutes in Microsoft 365?

Forms |

Construction Viz Meeting Minutes App

One of the most basic needs of a construction project is an effective way to document meeting minutes and their associated action items. For those using Microsoft 365, you've probably experimented with several options, from simple Word documents to building Power Apps. With the Construction Viz Meeting Minutes form app, we did all of the heavy lifting so you could hit the ground running. Check out this article to find out more.

When you think about what makes up a solid meeting minutes tool, you need a way to capture attendees, agenda topics, and action items. Also, the tool needs the ability to print, search, and send minutes to team members. In Microsoft 365, to deliver a meeting minutes solution, you will need to string together several applications to meet these minimum requirements. With Construction Viz, we have considered all these areas and more with our Meeting Minutes app, and if that's the only app you need, that's the only app you pay for!

The Meeting Minutes form is one of over forty form apps available in Construction Viz, but it's also one of those must-have apps to add to your toolbox.

Key Components of the Meeting Minutes App

Construction Viz apps are comprised of targeted code widgets called components that perform a specific function, can be turned on or off, and allow customization as needed. The Meeting Minutes app includes the following components out of the box:

  • Meeting Logistics. Capture the start day/time and location of the meeting.
  • Attendees. Include all users and non-users in attendance.
  • Agenda and Minutes. Create as many agenda items as needed, including minutes associated with the agenda item.
  • Document Attachments. Upload as many files as needed and capture metadata to organize your files.
  • Link Attachments. Add links to internal or external locations.
  • Include as many reviewers as needed to ensure the forms are complete and ready to be distributed.
  • Send off emails to groups and users with links to the form.

Embedded Apps

  • Action Items can be created while in a meeting minutes form and are automatically linked to the Action Item app so you never lose track of where the action item was assigned.
  • Ability to automatically carry open action items into subsequent meetings. Avoid having to re-type the action items in every meeting by including them from the menu when duplicating a form.

Reporting

  • Print to PDF one or many forms. It also includes an option to include document attachments automatically converted to PDF from Office files.
  • Dashboards display by form status with drill-downs to filtered views.
  • Ability to insert Power BI reports. You can add your own dashboards to Construction Viz by copying and pasting a Power BI report URL into the Dashboard settings.

Workflow

  • Add one or more reviewers on the fly so they can receive emails and notifications.
  • Automatically email reviewers. Upon add, email can be sent off to reviewers automatically.
  • Add Power Automate workflows. You can add your own Power Automate workflows to the app settings.

Other

  • Duplicate forms so you can reuse form templates, minimizing data entry.
  • Saved views to create project and personal views.
  • Document attachment view so you can find attached files independent of the meeting minutes.
  • File flyout menu so you can update attached document metadata (Title, revision, date, etc.) in an easy-to-use form.
  • My Action Required Toggle so you can filter any forms in your queue that need your attention.
  • Notifications Center indicates meeting minutes and action items in your cue.
  • Project-specific form numbering is available if more than one project is managed in the deployment of Construction Viz.
  • Export any app grids to Excel.
  • Permission controls by contractor already integrated into the app.
  • Availability to add Construction Viz to a Microsoft Team.
  • Data is stored in client Microsoft 365 SharePoint Online, so it's securely available 24x7

Whew. That's an exhaustive list, and I’m sure I left off a bunch of features, but you get the picture😊.

While there are many considerations for rolling your own meeting minutes tool in Microsoft 365, there is no right or wrong. It always comes down to time and money. Would you want to spend your time building the solution or leveraging one that is ready-made but can still be customized? Either way, Lydon Solutions is here to help. You can request a free one-hour consultation here or a demo of the Construction Viz meeting minutes app below.

Get a Free Consultation

New Construction Viz Document Control Features to Organize Your Files

Document Control |

Managing construction documents and correspondence is a significant undertaking, especially for multi-billion-dollar projects and programs.

Having the right tools to collect, organize, and retrieve your files securely is of the utmost importance to ensuring project success, avoiding claims, and passing audits.  Construction Viz provides many tools to help project teams better manage their files right within their own Microsoft 365.  Find out how the new Construction Viz Flyout feature works with you, so you spend less time documenting and more time getting stuff done.

Let’s face it: document controls can be a godsend or a curse on construction projects. You either spend the time organizing files upfront or more time trying to find them later. Everyone knows a system is only as good as the data input: “garbage in equals garbage out.”

Construction Viz Flyout Menu System

Project teams organize files using folders, assigning metadata, or a combination of both. While folders are the preferred method of organizing files, incorporating metadata can help improve file organization, maintenance, archiving, and search. In the latest release of Construction Viz, we added a new Flyout feature to help you capture file metadata easily when uploading files.  Simply click the open details from the file menu, and an interactive Flyout tray to capture metadata will appear on the right side of the screen.

Several features make the Flyout unique:

Preview files – A web version preview of the file is displayed in the Flyout to help when filling in the metadata or finding the file at a later date. You can also open the file from the viewer in its native application.

Simple Form to make updates – Easily update one or more file metadata fields in a simple form so users can quickly make updates without having to scroll. Once an update is made, click Apply to save changes and continue editing other files, or click Save to save your updates and close the Flyout.

Available Everywhere – This new Flyout feature is available in all form apps and document views! We’ve made it easy to update metadata for your files wherever you are in Construction Viz. Now, there’s really no excuse for getting your files organized right out of the gate and using metadata on your next project 😊.

Construction Viz Flyout Feature

Get a Demo of Construction Viz

The Flyout feature is one of many features we have added to Construction Viz to make managing construction project documents and correspondence easier. Take your Microsoft 365 to the next level for your projects with Construction Viz. You can request a demo of Construction Viz here.

Get a Free Consultation

Shouldn’t You Have the Power Over Your Construction Data 24×7?

Storage |

Construction Viz for Microsoft 365 gives you control over your construction data.

In today’s world of cybersecurity threats, do you feel safe having your construction data on someone else’s external project management information system (PMIS)? Can you be confident that they manage your data with the same level of control your organization does? How are you getting your data out of that system when you need to archive your projects? It’s your data; shouldn’t you have access to it 24/7 without worry? Find out how Construction Viz for Microsoft 365 is changing the game by giving you power over your data.

When we built Construction Viz, we wanted to follow the following tenants:

  • Quick and easy deployment to a client’s Microsoft 365.
  • Leverage the best of Microsoft 365 services in the client’s tenant.
  • Only pay for the apps you want.
  • Ability to customize and configure the product to the client’s unique processes.
  • Provide second-to-none security on the application and data.
  • Ensure clients’ data stays in their Microsoft 365 tenant 24/7.

Construction Viz is Powered by Microsoft 365 and Azure

Construction Viz follows Microsoft Azure’s application deployment model just like any other applications you might use daily in your Microsoft 365. The deployment model is simple: once consent is granted to the app and access is given to a SharePoint site, Construction Viz does the rest by hydrating the necessary lists and libraries.

Every record created in Construction Viz is stored in your Microsoft SharePoint lists and libraries and available 24/7. No data is stored outside of your Microsoft 365 tenant. Isn’t it time to get the most out of Microsoft 365 and rethink where your data resides?

You can learn more about how Construction Viz will help you securely manage your construction projects here. If you would like to see Construction Viz in action, you can request a demo here. We can also provide a trial site if you want to roll up your sleeves and try the system.

Get a Free Consultation

Notification Overload? Construction Viz for Microsoft 365 Can Help

Project Management Tools |

In today’s connected world, people are bombarded with electronic notifications at home, at work, and across multiple devices. The onslaught of these automated messages that require your attention can become overwhelming and eventually lead to ignorance, especially in the construction industry. With Construction Viz, we put you in charge of your notifications. We aim to make notifications meaningful and unique to your specific project needs. Read on to find out more.

Control Your Project Notifications with Construction Viz

Over the years of deploying enterprise construction management systems, we found that users can face burnout when inundated with notifications all day, especially when they are not actionable.

With Construction Viz, we built a notification framework that can be unique to your projects by implementing the following features:

  • Custom response statuses: Admins can create their own unique statuses for every app. So, if you have statuses like New, Open, Revise & Resubmit, Accepted, and Closed in a Submittal form, you can create those yourself and set a default status when creating a record.
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  • Actionable notifications. In addition to creating your own statuses, you can set which statuses, at each phase, will be posted to the notification center for users to take action.
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  • Dashboards. Every app in Construction Viz includes an out-of-the-box dashboard, but you can supplement it with Power BI reports if needed. Check out the link here on Power BI and Construction Viz. These dashboards display the status of all the records and notifications specific to you. Also, the dashboards can drill down into a filtered view of the records.
  • My Action Required views. Every app grid in Construction Viz includes a My Action Required toggle where you can quickly see all the records you need to action on.
  • Microsoft 365 applications. In addition to Construction Viz-specific notifications, Microsoft 365 applications can be utilized to bring notifications directly to your daily workflow.
    • Email. All of our applications can automatically send emails to users, or you can send ad hoc emails to users or groups to take action.
    • Microsoft Teams Approvals. Using Microsoft Power Automate, workflows can be used to send notifications to Teams, so if you find yourself working in Teams, you will receive a new Activity and Approval.
    • Adaptive Cards. Suppose you prefer to work in Outlook or Teams. In that case, Adaptive Cards offer a unique opportunity to surface only key fields in mini-applications that can be embedded into Outlook email and Teams chats, providing the ability to view and respond without having to open Construction Viz. Check out this article to find out more.

Instead of getting frustrated with notifications that aren’t relevant or actionable, Construction Viz can help. Construction Viz is a unique platform to manage your construction projects the way that works best for you. To find out more about how Construction Viz can help you manage your projects in Microsoft 365, you can request a demo here.

Get a Free Consultation