Construction Viz

Project Management Perfect

project management

Construction Viz App Spotlight: Document Binder

Document Control |

The Construction Viz Document Binder app makes it easy to organize and find related construction project documents, images, and videos with features such as automated metadata, permissions, dashboards, reporting, workflow routing, and more.  

Most companies that use Microsoft SharePoint for documents store them in folders. They then rely on the folder and file names as a simple form of metadata for the organization. While folders seem like the most logical and quick way to organize documents, doing so comes with drawbacks:

  • Locating documents in a folder structure can be frustrating and time-consuming, especially if you use the native SharePoint UI to navigate document libraries.
  • The more folder levels used to organize your documents, the longer the URL, which impacts saving and sharing files in SharePoint.
  • You could try adding metadata directly to your documents to make it easier to search and find what you need. However, it is often challenging to get users to add metadata consistently. And if you need to re-classify documents stored in folders, now you must laboriously copy and paste between folders!
  • Finally, the folder method provides limited functionality out of the box, so you are out of luck if you want to use other features such as reviews, emails, permissions, dashboards, and reporting.

The bottom line is that you need more than just a simple folder structure to store and share project information with your teams.

Enter the Construction Viz Document Binder app

With the Construction Viz Document Binder form app, we built a way to easily group related documents while including a ton of functionality and flexibility currently lacking in your standard SharePoint document library folder structure.

The document binder app could not be simpler to use. You create a document binder form, fill out a few key fields, and drag and drop documents into it. The app automatically tags the form metadata to the attached documents, allowing you to quickly search by form or attachment.

Think of the document binder form as a cover sheet for saving your project documents that also provides the following functionality:

  • Detailed metadata tracking lets you quickly find what you are looking for using the configurable grids or search
  • Responsiveness to any device on a modern browser with offline capability letting you get to your information where and when you want
  • Integration with Microsoft Office for the web lets you open, edit, and share documents in your browser
  • Automatic file name conflict resolution when uploading attachments to prevent overwriting files
  • Quick view for uploaded files by documents, images, and video
  • Revision management for each form and document
  • Ad hoc workflow approvals with ball-in-court approval indicators
  • Email to users and distribution lists with a history log for auditing
  • Permission management by the contractor and user-defined groups
  • Dashboards, reports, and notifications so you always know where a binder is in the approval process and who needs to take action
  • Archive in place, or if required, create an archive PDF for each binder using the Form Archiving Wizard
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Get Construction Viz for your organization

Construction Viz is about choice, and it is the only construction management platform designed around how you work and where you work.

Contact us today to learn more about our lineup of Construction Viz apps and how we can help you better manage your projects.

Construction Viz App Spotlight: Substantial Completion Form

Forms |

We designed the Construction Viz Substantial Completion form app to streamline getting your project to the finish line with greater efficiency and consistency.

Substantial completion is the stage of the project where portions of work are sufficiently complete. In other words, it marks the point at which constructed items become assets, start depreciating, and are potentially handed off to the operations and maintenance teams for support. It’s also the time to collect warranties and ensure all punch list items are complete.

The owner and construction or general manager typically document achieving substantial completion in an email exchange. As we all know, email is the preferred communication tool on construction projects, and it will not go away soon. But email is not the most effective way to manage critical information at this phase of the project.

The Construction Viz Substantial Completion form provides a much better framework for project teams.

Construction Viz Substantial Completion form app

The Construction Viz Substantial Completion form app makes the turnover process more efficient and easier to manage for all parties involved. The user can track details, warranties, and punch list items for each significant area of scope, including the value outstanding and when each will be complete for turnover.  The user can run a G704 Certificate of Substation Completion report for physical signature and record retention at any time.

Construction Viz Certificate of Substantial Completion (G704) print view:

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The challenge with traditional email correspondence is responsibility and progress management. Construction Viz solves this by capturing ownership within each punch list issue and displaying that information in interactive form status dashboards, ball in court grids, outstanding response log reports, and user alert notifications. And emails are automatically generated for individual users and distribution lists for review and acceptance.

Construction Viz Substantial Completion form log:

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Get just the construction forms you need

The Substantial Completion form is part of a full suite of construction apps available for Construction Viz. You can mix and match the forms you need for your project workflow.

All Construction Viz form apps are extendable with additional components, including:

  • Document, image, and video attachments
  • Geospatial mapping
  • WBS, specification, and asset tracking
  • Progress tracking using the Construction Viz Scheduler app and integrated P6 Scheduling
  • External links and data relationships
  • Electronic review and approval
  • Ad hoc workflow capability
  • Microsoft Power Automate workflow integration
  • Power BI reporting integration
  • Ball in court Dashboards and KPIs

Schedule a free consultation to see how we can help you get your project to the finish line with Construction Viz.

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

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Construction Viz Media Map Component

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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.

PWAs and the future of mobile apps with Construction Viz

Project Management Tools |

We built Construction Viz as a progressive web app (PWA), which offers our construction industry clients many powerful capabilities out of the box. Read on to learn about PWA technology and how it is a game-changer for construction project management.  

Traditional web apps that you install on your device have been around for over ten years. Think iPhone apps. Traditional web apps typically:

  • Require users to download an app from the Apple App Store, Google Play, or the Microsoft Store
  • Are custom-built applications that live on a specific platform, separate from the fully-featured business application
  • Require frequent updates and constant maintenance
  • Only provide a reduced or watered-down version of the complete web application.

Progressive web apps take things to the next level.

The Advantages of Progressive Web App Technology

So what is a progressive web app, how is it different from a regular web app, and why is this technology critical to delivering a leading-edge Project Management Information System (PMIS) of the future?

PWAs, unlike traditional web apps, are browser-based cross-platform mobile apps. These fully-featured applications behave just like a desktop application but run in your browser.

Progressive web apps have many advantages over traditional web apps, including:

  • They are responsive across devices for a mobile workforce.
  • They work on any modern browser.
  • They behave like desktop applications independent of the browser.
  • They allow for access to device hardware such as sensors, cameras, and GPS.
  • You can work offline (yes, the entire application, not just a form).
  • They utilize push notifications such as chat, weather updates, changes to content, event reminders within your operating system.

PWAs are are considered the future of mobile app development and many companies, including Microsoft, are making the move.

Why Progressive Web Apps Matter for Construction Project Management

There are four reasons why you, as a service worker or manager in the construction industry, should want a PMIS powered by progressive web app technology:

  1. PWAs will replace traditional apps, so you are future-proofing your investment by selecting a tool built with the latest generation of app technology.
  2. PWAs support offline access critical to construction work which often entails working in remote locations without reliable internet access.
  3. PWAs are a more cost-effective solution since there is a single application across all platforms, considerably reducing development and support costs.
  4. PWAs enable you to take advantage of any sensor tech in the end user's device or hardware, opening up advanced capabilities (like geolocation) critical to construction projects.

Lydon Solutions built Construction Viz from the ground up in React, the latest in client-side development technology, to be a progressive web app. Construction Viz users can take advantage of all the benefits of PWA technology that I described above.

Construction Viz added to the Start menu in Windows 10

Construction Viz added to the Start menu in Windows 10

The entire Construction Viz application can go offline, not just a form

The entire Construction Viz application can go offline, not just a form

Video of Construction Viz Daily Report rendered on an iPhone (no app required)

Get a Free Consultation & Stay in Touch

We invite you to schedule a free demo and consultation to learn more about how Construction Viz can help your organization reduce cost, stay on schedule, and be more efficient with your construction programs and projects. And don't forget to signup below to join our mailing list, so you don't miss any future updates.

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.

Solving the Action Items Dilemma with Construction Viz

Action Item |

Learn how we integrated the Construction Viz Meeting Minutes and Action Item apps to turbocharge action item management for construction project teams.

Here is a common scenario for many construction organizations:

  • Your project teams hold meetings to review progress and capture action items in meeting minutes.
  • In most cases, team members probably document meeting minutes in Microsoft Word.
  • Next, someone likely re-enters action items into a separate log using Microsoft Excel.

Not only is this not a very efficient way to collect meeting information, but it is also error-prone and difficult to keep in sync. It is also challenging to ensure that your team is working off the most up-to-date versions of these documents.

We took a step back and analyzed the above process when designing the Construction Viz Meeting Minutes and Action Items apps. The result was a deep integration between these two tools to create a streamlined and always-up-to-date bidirectional connection between meeting minutes and action items.

How Construction Viz improves action item management

The bidirectional flow of data between our Construction Viz Meeting Minutes and Action items apps offers construction project teams many benefits:

  • You can create action items directly within the Meeting Minutes app.
  • Action items created within a meeting minutes record automatically generate entries within the Action Items app.
  • Both apps automatically generate cross-links, relating action items and meeting minutes records to each other. Now you can easily cross-reference action items and meetings, giving you a complete log as a single source of truth.
  • If you duplicate a meeting minute form, you can selectively carry forward action items, creating a history of assigned and open action items, as well as a record of the meeting in which you first entered them.

Get a free demo and consultation

Streamlining meeting minutes and action items is just another example of how our team applied our real-world construction project management experience to help organizations save time and cost. Find out how Construction Viz can help your team better manage your projects. Check out our full lineup of Construction Viz apps and schedule your free demo and consultation today.