Construction Viz

Project Management Perfect

Microsoft 365

Introducing Project Email Integration in Construction Viz

Emails |

Summary: Construction Viz now supports a centralized project inbox for system-generated communications, including RFIs, Daily Reports, and Submittals. Teams can use a Microsoft 365 Group email or another address to improve visibility, preserve a more complete project record, and support existing workflows without forcing a new way of working.

Email remains a critical part of construction project delivery. RFIs, submittals, daily reports, approvals, and other important communications often move through team inboxes alongside the project management system.

Rather than forcing teams to abandon the tools and workflows they already use, Construction Viz is designed to bring those workflows together.

Our new Project Email Integration gives each project a centralized email inbox, in addition to each application’s default email history, that can become part of the broader project record.

How Project Email Integration Works

Administrators can configure a dedicated email address for each project, including projects managed within a multi-project Construction Viz environment.

All system-generated communications, including RFIs, Daily Reports, Submittals, and other project notifications, can automatically copy the designated project email address in addition to the default Construction Viz email history for every application.

Organizations can use a Microsoft 365 Group email address and share access with authorized project team members, creating a centralized inbox where communications remain visible and accessible. The feature can also work with other email addresses, providing flexibility for different project structures and technology environments.

“Project Email Integration brings important communications into one shared, accessible project inbox.”

Key Benefits

  • Centralized communication: Keep important project emails in a single shared location.
  • A more complete project record: Capture system-generated communications alongside other project information.
  • Improved team visibility: Give authorized team members access to a common project inbox.
  • Microsoft 365 integration: Extend the tools and infrastructure many organizations already use.
  • Flexible configuration: Support different email setups, project structures, and workflow preferences.

Built Around How Project Teams Actually Work

Project Email Integration reflects a broader Construction Viz principle: technology should support how teams work, not force every organization into a single prescribed process.

Construction Viz is built as a modular and configurable platform within Microsoft 365 and SharePoint. Organizations can select the apps and capabilities they need, adapt workflows to their project requirements, and maintain control of their own project data.

“Construction Viz supports the way project teams work and never forces never forces every organization into the same prescribed process.”

Project Email Integration is another practical step toward connecting project information while preserving the flexibility construction teams need.

Interested in learning how Construction Viz can support your project workflows? Contact Lydon Solutions to explore a configuration built around your organization’s needs.

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Deploy a Construction PMIS in Microsoft 365 Without Additional Infrastructure

Project Management Tools |

Summary: Traditional PMIS deployments often require separate infrastructure, databases, security configurations, and lengthy implementation cycles.

  • Construction Viz takes a different approach by deploying directly into an organization’s Microsoft 365 SharePoint tenant.
  • Teams can use existing Microsoft 365 security, governance, identity, and collaboration tools while reducing deployment complexity and speeding time to value.
  • Construction Viz accomplishes what used to take months in days.

PMIS Deployment Should Not Take a Year

Not long ago, deploying a Project Management Information System, or PMIS, behind a client’s firewall was a long, complex, and expensive undertaking.

Organizations often had to spin up databases, connect applications to those databases, configure security layers, coordinate among multiple IT teams, and manage a lengthy implementation process before project teams could begin using the system. Even after launch, these environments could become difficult to maintain. Routine updates often required specialized expertise to avoid disrupting custom configurations or breaking existing workflows.

For many owners, utilities, agencies, and construction organizations, this process could easily take months. In some cases, it could take a year or more from procurement to go-live.

Remarkably, this is still how many PMIS platforms are deployed today.

But for organizations already invested in Microsoft 365, there is a better path.

“The question is not whether construction teams need a PMIS. The question is whether that PMIS still needs to live in a separate software environment.”

The Problem With Traditional PMIS Infrastructure

Construction project teams need secure, reliable, and flexible systems for managing documents, correspondence, forms, workflows, dashboards, reports, and project controls. That need has not changed.

What has changed is how those systems should be delivered.

Many traditional PMIS platforms still follow an older enterprise software model. They require separate infrastructure, separate databases, custom security frameworks, and extensive implementation support. That approach can make sense for certain legacy environments, but it also adds cost, complexity, and long-term administrative burden.

The challenge is not limited to the initial deployment. Once a system is highly customized, every future update can become more difficult. IT teams may need to evaluate whether changes will affect integrations, reports, workflows, permissions, or custom code. Over time, the system can become harder to improve because the organization is trying to protect the fragile environment it has already built.

The question is not whether construction teams need enterprise-grade project management tools. The question is whether those tools still need to be delivered through a heavy, standalone software environment.

A Microsoft 365-Based Approach to PMIS Deployment

Construction Viz was designed to challenge the assumptions behind traditional PMIS deployment.

Instead of requiring an organization to build and maintain additional infrastructure, Construction Viz can be deployed directly into a client’s Microsoft 365 SharePoint tenant. Construction Viz allows organizations to use the Microsoft environment they already trust while adding purpose-built construction project management capabilities.

“Construction Viz helps organizations move faster without giving up the security, governance, and flexibility they expect from Microsoft 365."

The deployment process is straightforward:

  • An administrator consents to the Construction Viz app.
  • Permissions are granted to the appropriate SharePoint site.
  • Users are added.
  • Settings are configured.
  • Project teams can begin using the system.
  • All data is stored in the client’s SharePoint Lists and Libraries.
  • Consent can be revoked at any time, and data remains in SharePoint.

There are no separate databases to spin up. There is no custom security framework to build from scratch. There is no need to create an entirely separate software environment just to manage construction project data.

For many organizations, what once took months can now be reduced to hours or days, depending on configuration needs, internal review requirements, and the scope of implementation.

Security, Governance, and Data Control Inside Microsoft 365

Fast deployment is only valuable if it also supports the security and governance standards organizations require.

Because Construction Viz works within Microsoft 365 and SharePoint, project data can remain inside the organization’s existing Microsoft environment. Keeping everything within the Microsoft ecosystem helps IT teams manage project information using familiar tools, permissions, and governance practices rather than introducing another disconnected platform.

Construction Viz supports alignment with Microsoft 365 capabilities, including Microsoft Entra ID for identity and single sign-on, SharePoint permissions, retention policies, archiving, backup practices, and broader governance and compliance processes managed through Microsoft 365.

The close integration between Construction Viz and Microsoft 365 matters because construction project data is often sensitive. Contracts, drawings, correspondence, change documentation, financial information, reports, and claims-related records need to be organized, searchable, secure, and properly retained.

A Microsoft 365-based PMIS approach allows organizations to strengthen project management without moving critical data into an unfamiliar system or creating a new technology silo.

Enterprise PMIS Without the Enterprise Baggage

Construction Viz helps organizations reduce implementation complexity by deploying within Microsoft 365 and SharePoint, enabling teams to access practical construction project management tools more quickly.

For organizations that already rely on Microsoft 365, the old PMIS deployment model may no longer make sense.

“Enterprise-grade construction project management should not require enterprise-level deployment baggage."

Enterprise-grade construction project management should not require enterprise-level deployment baggage.

Ready to see how Construction Viz can support your organization’s project management needs inside Microsoft 365? Schedule a free demo and consultation below.

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Perfecting the Questionnaire: Phase 4

Forms |

Over the past six months, Lydon Solutions has been on a journey to revolutionize our Construction Viz questionnaire. What started as a simple concept has evolved into a dynamic and powerful tool that can transform the way you collect data in the field, office, or anywhere else.

In our latest post, we dive into the exciting new lookup feature that takes our questionnaire to the next level. Imagine a questionnaire that not only adapts to any form type but also includes multiple data types like checkboxes, text, dates, numbers, and more. Plus, every question can have photos and comments attached by default. And now, with the lookup feature, you can pull data from global data lists to create a truly powerful data collection tool.

In part one of our series, we built the foundation of the questionnaire, covering 90% of the needs. Part two introduced the ability to add ad hoc comments to every question by default. In part three, we added the capability to include geolocated images with every question. Now, in part four, we've added a new data type: the dropdown. This new data type allows you to create a global data list with predefined values that you can use across any questionnaire in any form.

How Can the Dropdown Feature Benefit Your Project?

Here are a couple of use cases for the new Questionnaire dropdown feature:

Safety

  • For field safety inspections, you could predefine the PPE required for a project.
  • Create a global data set with values like hard hats, safety glasses, Tyvek, etc.
  • Inspectors in the field can conduct a visual safety inspection, select multiple safety PPE values from the dropdown, and even add their own on the fly.
  • No manual entry required, ensuring consistent data capture for reporting and analytics.

Materials

  • For daily reports to track project progress, you can predefine all the piping materials for a water treatment plant project.
  • Create multiple global data sets for piping, fittings, valves, and accessories, each with different dimensions and IDs for detailed tracking.
  • In the field, the user could select multiple installed materials, enter the percentage complete, and add photos of progress.

The Questionnaire component offers endless opportunities to capture data in an organized and consistent manner, making data entry a breeze. Discover more about the questionnaire by requesting a free demo below.

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Form Analytics on Steroids With the New Form Details View

Forms |

You put all of this metadata into your construction forms; now what?

The new Construction Viz form details view takes data captured in forms and presents it in a way that you can analyze until your heart’s content. No need to export to Excel, go to SharePoint, or create a Power BI to search or report on how many pieces of equipment were on the jobsite over the past five days or how many open reviews there are for all of your submittals. In one or two clicks, you can get to your data presented in familiar and straightforward interactive grids.

Check out this article to see how Construction Viz continues to push the envelope of what’s possible in your Microsoft 365 SharePoint to help you manage your construction projects!

Introducing the Construction Viz Form Details View

Construction Viz form apps are built using a combination of components; snippets of code with specific functionality such as a document uploader, review tracking, or a media map. While there are many pre-built construction form applications, components can be assembled to deliver solutions for a client’s unique needs.

Equipment tracking in a Daily Report

Some of these components capture large amounts of data, such as each piece of equipment at a jobsite, personnel and visitors on site, observations made, bid quantities completed, and stakeholder reviews.

While every form app has its own log with the ability to create views, filter, search, group, etc., the form details view extracts data from these data-intensive components into a separate view, allowing users the ability to group, filter, search, and analyze that specific component data independent of the forms.

It’s a new level of analytics that opens up many more opportunities to extract meaning from your data in real time.

Form Details of equipment from a Daily Report

So, do you feel like you are just putting a bunch of data into forms and not getting much out? Check out Construction Viz for Microsoft 365 to actually use the data you fill out in your forms. Request a no-obligation demo to learn how Construction Viz can transform how you manage your projects.

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AECOM Streamlines Submittals & Document Control for Major ADOT Project with Construction Viz

Case Study |

Arizona Department of Transportation_2024 Department Logo_Tertia

Overview

  • AECOM needed a scalable document management and correspondence solution to support a major Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) highway project.
  • Lydon Solutions deployed a tailored suite of Construction Viz apps within AECOM’s Microsoft 365 environment, enabling robust submittal tracking, streamlined collaboration, and contract compliance.
  • The solution delivered immediate value with minimal customization, preserving long-term maintainability while aligning with AECOM’s unique workflows.
AECOM_2

Challenge

AECOM, one of the most recognized and successful construction consulting firms globally, needed a comprehensive document management and correspondence solution to support the largest Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) highway project in southeast Arizona’s history.

To manage the scale and complexity of the project, AECOM needed a centralized, secure document management and correspondence solution. A key requirement was implementing a robust submittal process driven by the project’s submittal register and organized by discipline.

Photo credit: Arizona Department of Transportation

Solution

Lydon Solutions partnered with AECOM to understand the project’s unique workflows and quickly configured a tailored suite of Construction Viz apps deployed directly to AECOM’s Microsoft 365 environment.

While Lydon Solutions had previously delivered a similar solution for HDR on other high-profile ADOT projects, AECOM required custom enhancements to align with its specific review and approval processes.

For this project, Lydon Solutions deployed the following Construction Viz apps :

  • Document Binder
  • Meeting Minutes
  • RFI
  • Submittal
  • Enterprise Submittal
  • Task Manager
  • Transmittal

In addition, Lydon Solutions introduced key enhancements, including:

  • A new Disciplines field in the Personnel Settings and Enterprise Submittal Register
  • Automated reviewer assignment based on discipline, streamlining the submittal process and improving review accuracy and efficiency

This enhancement allows disciplines to be assigned to both personnel and submittal records, dynamically updating the reviewer lists for submittals and ensuring efficient and targeted reviews.

Photo credit: Arizona Department of Transportation

Benefits

Construction Viz for Microsoft 365 delivered immediate value for AECOM and the ADOT project team:

✅ Centralized Document Management & Collaboration

Construction Viz serves as the single source of truth for document control, facilitating real-time collaboration for all project stakeholders.

✅ Contract Submittal Compliance

The Enterprise Submittal Register enforces contract requirements, enabling tracking, targeted reviews, and schedule alignment from a centralized platform.

✅ Scalable, Client-Specific Customization

Construction Viz was easily tailored to AECOM’s unique processes while maintaining its out-of-the-box structure as the foundation. The flexibility of Construction Viz ensures consistency and long-term maintainability in contrast with other platforms that require heavy customization and create ongoing support challenges.

AECOM_logo-lg

“AECOM is using CVIZ on the Arizona Department of Transportation Design-Build project I-10, Kino to Country Club. The Lydon Solutions team made CVIZ setup and implementation seamless and continue to proactively support the project.”

— Brian Ravesloot, AECOM, GEC Project Manager

About Construction Viz

Built on Microsoft 365 and SharePoint, Construction Viz is a flexible project management platform offering modular apps tailored to construction workflows. Learn more about the features of Construction Viz and our lineup of construction apps for Microsoft 365.

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Relate Drawings and Specifications to Any Form with Construction Viz

Forms |

Construction forms such as RFIs frequently reference drawings. Unfortunately, searching for an RFI to find a drawing or vice versa can be cumbersome in a PMIS.

With our latest Construction Viz for Microsoft 365 release, you can now see related drawings and specifications in any form app. You can also see every related form in the Drawings and Specifications apps. Discover why this small change can be a significant help in managing project documents in the article below.

Enhancing the Construction Viz Related Drawings Feature

Construction Viz provides related drawings and specifications components that you can add to any form app. The benefit of this is that if you use the Drawings and Specifications apps, you can centralize your records in one place. Instead of having to attach files from your desktop, you can simply find and relate those records in any form. This feature centralizes drawings and specifications, avoiding outdated revisions that can circulate throughout the project.

With the latest update, we have introduced a significant time-saver with the ability to display all form app records related to drawings and specifications within the Drawings and Specifications apps.

For example, if you know the RFI you are looking for, you can easily access the related drawings within the RFI. Alternatively, if you know the drawing, you can access all the related RFIs within that drawing. This feature is available across all apps!

If you would like to learn more about what’s possible with Construction Viz in your Microsoft 365, you can request a demo here.

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