Construction Viz

Project Management Perfect

Construction software

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

Picture1

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! 
Picture2

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. 

Construction Viz Task Manager 2.0 – Gantt Charts Coming to Task Management

Project Management, Project Management Tools, Scheduling |

The Construction Viz Task Manager app for Microsoft 365 delivers a simple yet powerful way to track and report on project tasks. It is a stand-alone application in Construction Viz but can be integrated into any other application, such as RFIs, Submittals, or Meeting Minutes. With the latest update, we’ve moved the needle significantly on project task management to include scheduling, checklists, and sub-tasks!

Read on to find out more about how our updated Task Manager app can help you organize and track tasks for your projects.

What is New in Construction Viz Task Manager 2.0

We built the Task Manager so that team members have a 360-degree view of project tasks. The Task Manager includes the following views:

  • Dashboard – Displays charts of key metrics with drill-down capability.
Picture1
  • List – Provides a log of all tasks with filtering, grouping, and search.
  • Board – Displays a Kanban view for updating the status of tasks.
  • Calendar – Plots tasks on a familiar calendar with today, day, week, month, and agenda views.

With the latest Task Manager release, we are extending the functionality to include lightweight scheduling. So, if you are looking for a three-week look ahead project schedule tool or prefer a Gantt chart-style view of your tasks, we’ve got you covered.

This release includes the following updates to the Task Manager app:

  • Schedule View – A new view that displays all tasks in a familiar Gantt chart schedule. The schedule includes scheduling controls to filter and change displays.
Picture2
  • Task Schedule component – We added a scheduling component to the task form for managing start and finish dates, times, all-day events, and durations.
  • Task Checklist component – We added a checklist component to the task form to track items needed to complete the overall task. The checklist allows for drag-and-drop ordering, auto-assign completed by, and completed dates.
  • Sub-task component – We added a component to the task form to add sub-tasks to a task. Sub-tasks include fields for the required by date, forecasted completion date, status, and percent complete.
  • Visual alerts – We updated the mouse-over tooltips and added color indicators across views to display late and incomplete tasks. These visual alerts will help project teams stay on track.
Picture3

While these updates are significant, we are just getting started. We plan on further extending the scheduling capabilities of the Construction Viz Task Manager app, including dependencies and resource management. Stay tuned as we continue to deliver a leading-edge task management solution with Construction Viz for Microsoft 365!

Sign up today for a no-obligation demo to learn how Construction Viz can help your organization manage your construction projects more efficiently.

 

Training Made Easy with Construction Viz and Microsoft Stream

Collaboration |

If you are unfamiliar with Microsoft Stream, in a nutshell, it’s a video management service included with your Microsoft 365 subscription. To find out more, you can check out a prior post, “Microsoft 365 Stream for your Construction Videos.”

Stream home page
Stream home page

Stream isn’t just another file drop-off application. It is designed to manage videos specifically. The real value of Stream is the ability to aggregate and share all of your videos into a central location accessible from your Microsoft 365 login.

How can I use Construction Viz and Microsoft Stream to help with training project teams?

Construction Viz is an enterprise construction PMIS that can be deployed into a Microsoft 365 tenant. It allows you to leverage all Microsoft 365 services using your same Microsoft 365 credentials.

On-demand training videos can be made available as part of a Construction Viz deployment. With Stream, Construction Viz training videos can be easily uploaded and shared across Microsoft 365 Groups and Users, including guest users. Further, these videos can be accessed from within any Construction Viz Hub.

Construction Viz Links App with link to a Stream training session
Construction Viz Links App with link to a Stream training session

Want to create training videos and add them to Microsoft Stream, but you are not a videographer? Not a problem.

Microsoft has recently provided the ability to publish PowerPoint presentations directly to Stream. So, if you are a PowerPoint guru, you can easily make robust training videos from your existing presentations.

PowerPoint Publish to Stream menu
PowerPoint Publish to Stream menu

Sounds promising, but we like to use surveys and quizzes to test learning objectives.

You can add surveys and quizzes to Stream videos using Microsoft Forms. Survey results are automatically tabulated and made available within the Forms app in Microsoft 365.

Microsoft Forms quiz added to Stream training
Microsoft Forms quiz added to Stream training

What if we like to schedule and provide both in-person and virtual live training sessions?

You can live stream events in Stream! These events can be added to user calendars, and the recordings can be available for future on-demand training.

So, if you want to do video training, check out Microsoft Stream.

If you are looking for a project management information system (PMIS) that uses Microsoft 365, request a Construction Viz demo.

New Image Markup Feature for Construction Viz

Forms |

Our latest Construction Viz feature lets project team members mark up images on any device with or without internet access.

Adding images to a daily report, safety incident, or punchlist is critical to documenting work completed in the field and identifying any issues for potential corrective action. Construction Viz makes the process simple, enabling users to take photos with any device, with or without an internet connection, and attach images directly to the form. Our Media Map Component automatically plots the image and the location where it was taken on a geospatial map and adds this information to the form. Users can easily add comments, waypoints, and even measurements as a layer to the media map.

And because Construction Viz is a progressive web app (PWA), this is all done without users ever installing an app on their devices.

But what about marking up the images?  Our users told us that marking up images would be a handy feature and make Construction Viz's data capture even better. We listened. Read on to learn about his useful new capability.

Construction Viz image markup feature

We expanded our Image Uploader Component for construction forms based on user feedback to add image markup capability and further simplify the entire process. Here is how it works:

  • After users upload images, the app displays them in interactive cards. Adding metadata such as title or description can be done in a couple of clicks.
  • The user can expand the photos from thumbnails to a full-screen mode to draw directly onto the image canvas.
  • The markup tool lets users pick from a palette of pen colors, complete with erasing and undo functionality.

The updated Image Uploader Component can be enabled in any one of our apps or can be added to a custom app as needed.

This new functionality enhances the entire data collection and documentation experience by extending what's possible for field workers. Also, since Construction Viz stores all of the data to your Microsoft 365 SharePoint, your project information is available for further reporting and workflow using the Power Platform.

The image markup tool is one of many features that we have built into Construction Viz. For an overview of the other powerful capabilities built into Construction Viz, check out our features page.

Construction Viz image markup feature

We expanded our Image Uploader Component for construction forms based on user feedback to add image markup capability and further simplify the entire process. Here is how it works:

  • After users upload images, the app displays them in interactive cards. Adding metadata such as title or description can be done in a couple of clicks.
  • The user can expand the photos from thumbnails to a full-screen mode to draw directly onto the image canvas.
  • The markup tool lets users pick from a palette of pen colors, complete with erasing and undo functionality.

The updated Image Uploader Component can be enabled in any one of our apps or can be added to a custom app as needed.

This new functionality enhances the entire data collection and documentation experience by extending what's possible for field workers. Also, since Construction Viz stores all of the data to your Microsoft 365 SharePoint, your project information is available for further reporting and workflow using the Power Platform.

The image markup tool is one of many features that we have built into Construction Viz. For an overview of the other powerful capabilities built into Construction Viz, check out our features page.

Construction Viz Media Map Component

Image-Mark-Up_1

Construction Viz Media Map Component

Image-Mark-Up_2

Get a demo of Construction Viz today

Construction Viz is an enterprise Project Management Information System (PMIS) built by construction professionals for construction professionals. We value our client's feedback and are always looking for the most efficient ways to get the job done.

Contact us for a no-obligation consultation and demo today to learn how Construction Viz can help your team better manage your construction projects.

Construction Viz Takes the Risk Out of Risk Management

Risk Management |

From initiation through to project closeout, construction projects are subject to an endless array of risks. The Construction Viz Risk app helps you identify, manage, and plan for the factors that can negatively or positively impact your project's cost and schedule. 

Many construction organizations turn to Microsoft Excel as their risk management solution, using built-in risk registers and distributing spreadsheets via email to project teams. There are many shortcomings to this approach, including having multiple versions of files floating around, undocumented review processes, the inability to attach backup information, and a lack of mitigation processes. We've been in your shoes on projects, which is why we designed our Construction Viz Risk app to be a better long-term risk management solution.

Key features of the Construction Viz Risk app

The Construction Viz Risk app addresses all the shortfalls found in homegrown Excel and enterprise risk management solutions:

  • Set individual risk probabilities and impacts by the project within a single site.  Construction Viz can include one or more projects per SharePoint site.  Since every project can have a different set of risk factors, the Construction Viz Risk app allows you to set unique cost and schedule impact values, each with its own legend, by the project.  This feature enables you to consolidate risk management into a single site across your portfolio of projects.
  • Mobile ready. Our form technology works on any device with a modern browser. You can capture a risk on your phone while in a meeting or out in the field.  You can even enter a risk without an internet connection.
  • Track changes. The app features revision control, allowing you to create and manage multiple versions of your risk forms and track any edits by users.
  • Upload supporting documentation. Easily attach supporting information, including links to other forms and data repositories.
  • Get approvals. Route risks for review and approval via automated Power Automate or ad hoc workflows with ball-in-court tracking
  • Send to distribution. Email risks to your project team based on predefined distributions while enforcing strict permission controls.
  • Perform analysis. Perform risk analysis using configurable data grids. Create custom views for managing risks by value, ownership, status, or mitigation.
  • Communicate risks. Generate robust reports of risks and opportunities for management review and disposition.
RiskMgmt_1

Take the risk out of managing your project risks with Construction Viz

With the Construction Viz Risk app, you will be able to finally spend more time managing and less time trying to collect and track risks.  Contact us today for a no-obligation demo and consultation.

VIZualize your Construction Projects with SharePoint Spaces and Construction Viz

News |

Microsoft began rolling out SharePoint Spaces for Microsoft 365 users last year. SharePoint Spaces is an immersive, web-based platform that allows you to create and share secure and extensible mixed reality experiences.

Users can build interactive mixed reality pages inside SharePoint sites to share 360-degree images and video, 3D objects, 2D images, text, document libraries, and more. You can even play ambient sounds in the background when visitors view the site.

The functionality works best when used with a virtual reality or mixed reality (VR/MR) headset to navigate the 3D space, but this is not required. Users without a headset can navigate the SharePoint Spaces on any device with a modern browser and interact with the artifacts using their keyboard and mouse.

You can find more information about getting started with SharePoint Spaces here.

Using SharePoint Spaces with Construction Viz

SharePoint Spaces' mixed reality features provide another way to navigate, share, and visualize project data. There are several benefits to using spaces for your construction organization beyond just a shared meeting room with project content. Below is a demo of how a construction project can benefit by integrating our Construction Viz apps with SharePoint Spaces. Examples integrations include:

Stay tuned as Spaces evolves, and we continue to integrate further and build VR/MR solutions for Construction Viz.

Do you want to add VR/MR to your construction project management toolkit?

Construction Viz and our full lineup of construction project management apps for Microsoft 365 can all integrate with this new technology from Microsoft. Schedule your free consultation and demo today to learn more about Construction Viz for your organization.

If you would like expert help using Microsoft 365 to manage your construction projects, we offer business consulting and managed services at LydonSolutions.com.