Construction Viz

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construction management apps

Construction Viz Makes Handling Photos and Video Easy

Construction Viz |

The ability to take images and video in the field and store them online is one of the most asked-for features of a construction project management system. Unfortunately, most systems only allow uploading images and videos to folders. Construction Viz, for Microsoft 365, makes it easy to work with photos and video while allowing for metadata tagging, enhanced search, and reporting!

Check out this article to find out how capturing project photos and videos in Construction Viz offers many advantages over competitors in the market.

What's the Difference Between Folders and Metadata?

Most construction project management systems, including OneDrive, provide image and video management within a file explorer structure where you upload files to named folders. This approach makes it simple for the user, but that simplicity comes with tradeoffs in getting that data back out for reporting and search.

With Construction Viz, we leverage metadata to store the files, making them easy to search and retrieve.

How Construction Viz Handles Photos and Video

When a user takes a photo or uploads multiple images or videos out in the field, Construction Viz displays thumbnails in an interactive grid so that the user can add key metadata, such as a title and description, before saving the files. The key is making this step as easy as possible so the end user can quickly, easily, and correctly tag metadata.

Construction Viz provides you with three opportunities to get it right:

1. On upload of the file. Users can edit the photo and video metadata on the upload screen.

2. Once saved in the image grid. Users can edit the image grid and update metadata after saving the photo.

3. From the grid flyout menu. Users can click on a photo and open a flyout menu that displays a larger image's thumbnail and metadata in a form layout for ease of editing.

How Do I Get To My Photos?

You can activate the Construction Viz image uploader in any app. You read that right, not just a daily report or an inspection report. You can access and upload media to any of the other 50+ Construction Viz apps.

All images are available in the app grids, allowing you to sort, group, and filter them using the added metadata. And you can create custom project and personal views using the same metadata so you can easily find what you are looking for.

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How Does SharePoint Factor Into This?

Construction Viz stores metadata with the image in the SharePoint site where it is deployed. Specifically, images are stored in SharePoint document libraries, and the metadata in Construction Viz is displayed as columns. This file storage approach provides the added benefit of being able to leverage SharePoint search, view filtering, Copilot AI, and the ability to archive in place.

Streamline Your Construction Project Management

If you are interested in Microsoft 365 to manage your construction projects, you can request a free one-hour consultation with our professionals at LydonSolutions.com.

If you are looking for a turnkey construction management solution for your Microsoft 365, you can request a demo of Construction Viz here.

Request a Free Demo

Construction Viz Has Now Entered the Microsoft Dataverse!

News |

Our initial tests to deploy Construction Viz to the Dataverse have been successful. Find out how deploying Construction Viz to YOUR Dataverse opens up a whole new world of possibilities!

Construction Viz is an enterprise construction management solution deployed to a client’s Microsoft 365 SharePoint Online. While the code runs in the cloud, all client data remains stored in their SharePoint lists and libraries. It’s a revolutionary approach to deploying a construction management solution, but we are just getting started.

Dataverse, here we come in 2025!

What’s Microsoft Dataverse?

Microsoft Dataverse is a secure cloud-based database in Microsoft 365 and so much more. It began as the Common Data Service for Microsoft Dynamics but is now a pillar for the modern Power Platform (Power Apps, Power Automate, and Virtual Agents) and Microsoft Project for the Web.

Microsoft Dataverse provides the following:

  • Power Platform Integration. It is the underlying data platform for Microsoft’s Power Platform.
  • Ability to leverage all data technologies. The Dataverse is designed to work with any data type and incorporates all the major categories of data technologies that your organization needs—relational, non-relational, file, image, search, and data lake.
  • Rapid app development. Citizen developers can rapidly develop and deploy applications using Power Apps. The platform abstracts much of the complexity of database design.
  • Simplifies application development. Dataverse reduces development efforts by offering pre-built connectors, data types, and relationships. This simplifies the creation of applications, as developers can leverage existing structures rather than starting from scratch.

How Will Combining Construction Viz and Microsoft Dataverse Benefit You?

Our integration of Construction Viz with Microsoft Dataverse opens up multiple powerful capabilities for our clients, including:

  • Build and integrate your own applications. You will be able to build your own Power Apps using the same data source and integrate applications and data into Construction Viz. For example, you could create an offline daily report in Power Apps and access it in Construction Viz or even update Microsoft Projects through the Construction Viz hub in real time.
  • Integrate with Dynamics. Many construction organizations use Dynamics as their ERP/CRM tool. Construction Viz will extend the capabilities of Dynamics for project-centric applications, and you can share Dynamics data with Construction Viz.
  • Data consolidation. Aggregate all your data into a single location, simplifying security, analytics, and application building.
  • Database-intensive applications. Need something custom on a large scale? Instead of building an SQL Server database, which can take considerable effort, you can quickly spin up a Dataverse environment with all of these considerations already baked in.

Ready to Harness the Full Power of Construction Viz and Microsoft Dataverse?

The integration of Construction Viz with Microsoft Dataverse is more than a game-changer—it’s your opportunity to transform how your organization manages construction projects. From rapid app development to seamless data integration, the possibilities are endless.

Take the next step toward a more efficient, connected, and innovative construction management solution. Contact us today to schedule a free demo and see how Construction Viz with Dataverse can elevate your operations in 2025 and beyond.

Get a Free Demo

Construction Viz Document Control 2.0

Document Control |

Every company, project, and project manager does things differently in construction. Lydon Solutions continuously updates Construction Viz to accommodate our clients' unique business cases and integrate those features into the baseline product.

Document control is one of the cornerstones of Construction Viz, and we have recently made some powerful enhancements at our clients' request that you may find super helpful for your projects.

Check out this article to find out more.

Enhancements to Document Control in Construction Viz

There are several new document control features that we recently released that are unique to Construction Viz that might help you manage project documentation:

Tag files wherever you are

Most users store files in folders because they traditionally use File Explorer or shared drives. Folders are great, but metadata provides another level of document management because it frees you from a rigid nested folder structure.

Construction Viz leverages metadata throughout every application. With this latest update, we now allow users to tag files (including images and video) with metadata through the entire file lifecycle: On the upload file screen, within a form attachment grid, in a file-specific flyout menu, and the form documents view.

So, now there's no excuse not to assign metadata to your files. Your document control team will thank you, and the PMs can rest assured that they can find the files they are looking for.

Finalize document records

There are working files and final files. Working files are updated frequently by one or more team members. Final files are for end-user consumption, such as the final version of the contract in PDF format. You typically want to isolate these two types of files.

With the new finalize feature, you can select working file attachments in a form and click finalize to move them to another finalized file attachment area within the same form. This feature keeps the two file types separate and even allows them to be permission-controlled within the same form. This new component can also be added to any form to provide an additional layer of control at the document level.

Save and view files from another document library

You will likely use multiple related forms on a project but want to share a single file attachment location. For example, let's say you use two forms, like a Bid for the overall bid documents and Tasks for the bid requirement deliverables. Theoretically, you could have many tasks to complete a bid, but you don't want the uploaded associated files to reside in the individual Task forms. You might wish to have task files reside in the Bid form itself.

With this update, you can add the Bid form documents library to every task so that when you upload a file to a task, it is automatically saved to the Bid form, essentially sharing document libraries across forms. This new embedded component can be added to any form.

Simplify Your Construction Project Management

These pretty slick new features will help with your document management workflow, save your projects time and money, and avoid claims. You can find out more about Construction Viz on the features page.

Ready to streamline your construction project workflows? Discover how Construction Viz can revolutionize your project management. Request a free demo today and see the difference it can make for your organization.

Get a Free Demo

Construction Viz Offers Best in Class Pricing

Construction Viz |

Tired of paying a licensing fee based on a percentage of the value of your projects? You need reliable pricing that doesn’t penalize you if you have a good year or your company is growing. Construction Viz has flexible pricing based on the number of users and apps selected. Find out how Construction Viz can put more money in your pocket, not an IT company.

We built Construction Viz back in 2017 to be flexible, robust, and easy to use. However, we also wanted to be as cost-effective as possible while delivering the solution to YOUR Microsoft 365.

We hear the same comment repeatedly from clients switching to Construction Viz.

“Why did I have to pay a percentage based on the value of my projects, and I only use 5% of what the tool provided? It’s way out of line.”

Construction Viz Lets You Pay Only for What You Use

With Construction Viz, you pay for each user based on the number of apps you want.

  • What if my company revenue grows by 10X? Same pricing.
  • What if I add multiple projects? Same pricing.
  • What if I only want four apps? Only pay for four apps.
  • What if I want to change the system to my liking? Standard hourly bill rate for changes.
  • What if I want contractors to access my system? Do I pay for those? Depending on the number of users and what they are doing in the system, sometimes they can be accommodated without additional fees.

Many companies are waking up to the fact that bigger isn’t necessarily better, and you shouldn’t have to pay more for a bloated, overly complex software product. Isn’t it time for a solution that benefits your unique project needs and limited budget?

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 below to find out more about what Construction Viz can provide. If you are new to Microsoft 365 and need help setting it up and/or helping you deliver solutions, you can request a free one-hour consultation.

Get a Free Demo

Project Time Tracking in the Construction Viz Task Manager

Project Management Tools |

Outside of when the task was completed, how many hours it took to perform it is the second most asked question. Project Managers need to know the level of effort to compare it against estimated hours, add hours to billing, check efficiencies, or manage labor utilization. Accurate construction project time tracking is thus essential to every project.

With the Construction Viz Task Manager, we continue to extend the functionality so that everything you need to manage a task is included in the application, including time tracking.

Construction Project Time Tracking

Everything in project management, and life in general, comes down to managing a series of tasks. Effectively managing the who, what, when, where, and why of tasks can lead to a successful project.

We see task management as a cornerstone of project management, which is why, with Construction Viz, we are beefing up resource management features so that you can manage tasks how you want to manage them. One of those critical features is detailed construction project time tracking.

Key Features of the Construction Viz Task Manager App

The Construction Viz Task Manager might seem familiar to those who use Microsoft Planner and MS Project for the Web. But we designed the app for construction projects with the ability to customize it to your unique processes.

The Construction Viz Task Manager’s new Time-Tracking component can be activated in a task and works with the Schedule component. Resources and hours can be assigned daily based on a task’s scheduled start and finish dates.

The interface is simple but powerful under the hood. Add resources, the description of work, hours, and the specific day in a weekly or monthly view. Records are saved to SharePoint lists, so the data is always available for you to create your own Power BI reports.

And, because Construction Viz utilizes your Microsoft 365 SharePoint Online lists and libraries, you can rest assured that the data securely resides in your Microsoft 365 tenant.

The Construction Viz Task Manager is one of many applications that round out a suite of apps to help you manage your projects. If you want to learn more, use the form below to request a demo.

If you are not ready for an enterprise construction management solution but need help with Microsoft 365, you can request a free one-hour consultation here.

Get a Free Consultation

New eSignature Feature for Construction Viz 

Construction Viz, Project Management, Project Management Tools |

As construction organizations move from paper processes to web-based project management tools, the adoption of electronic approvals has been mixed. Clicking an approved button that registers your account name and date is standard in most construction management systems. However, some organizations and specific forms still require digital or wet signatures. While several electronic signature tools are on the market, their ease of use and cost can be a deterrent. We added a free and easy-to-use digital signature feature to Construction Viz to capture signatures in any of our forms. Read on to discover how our simple signature feature might address your challenges. 

Several signature solutions are available for SharePoint, including the new built-in SharePoint eSignature subscription service that will be available soon. The benefit of these tools is that files that receive signatures never leave your Microsoft 365 tenant, ensuring your data remains secure and in your control.  

Leveraging these eSignatures through SharePoint is great but does require additional subscription costs and administration. What if you want something simpler and at no extra cost?  

Construction Viz eSignatures Feature for Construction Forms

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With the Construction Viz eSignature feature, signatures are available on any form in the review components. For example, say you want an inspector to sign a daily report digitally. We can activate eSignatures in your Construction Viz settings to automatically add eSignatures to all your daily report forms. 

Since this new eSignature feature is built into Construction Viz, we included additional controls such as: 

  • Only the user assigned the review can sign their signatures. 
  • If a user is removed from the reviewers, their signature is removed as well.  
  • Administrators are restricted from signing on behalf of a user.  
  • eSignatures are available on any Construction Viz form! 
  • eSignatures print in form reports! 
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Our new eSignature feature is perfect if you need a simple, free solution within Construction Viz. You can find out more about Construction Viz by requesting a demonstration here.