We thought our friend Kevin’s insight is spot-on. He has 30 + years experience in documentation for construction, and like us, his company has been here for almost 100 years. But he was the first that we know who jumped into 3D scanning and has a few laps on us in the area of the Close out tools and the use of 3D capture to optimize services for the owners and developers.
Visual data is becoming a valuable piece of the AEC documentation process. More aggressively stated, Visual Data is the new PLANS AND SPECS. We can debate if this is too extreme a statement, but if your company is involved in providing services or just supplying to the AEC and Real estate industries, the tools and services ARE CHANGING RIGHT BEFORE OUR EYES. We can debate the plans and specs comment being blasphemy or even ridiculous, but at bare minimum measurable, organized, and time stamped data is MUCH MORE IMPACTFUL and leverageable than the static PDF in the middle of the build.
We can ignore visual data’s merits to collaborate amongst the design team during the design phase in a renovation project, but what can’t be ignored is the 15-30% rework impacting time, cost and schedule during the build by using traditional site assessment and documentation methods for as built conditions. Catastrophic events in the design phase can only be realized and become catastrophic because they are discovered too late in the build phase.
But how much do we really know about the documentation process during the build? There is some digital and paper distribution at random points of the build phase, but how do our clients really document building progress and how much do we make an impact in this very costly workflow? “Pictures speak louder than words” was coined long before any of us got into business. But in our business the phrase that is becoming more appropriate is, “intelligent/measurable pictures speak louder than drawings”!
Kevin O’Keefe is an owner/operator of NAPCO, a construction Management information consulting business (formerly blueprinter), with 4+ years’ experience in providing 3D Forensics of construction progress, close out, and post catastrophe visual recording services. He was recently awarded the New Jersey Business’s (NJBIZ) Digi-tech Innovators Award, handed to executives who represent pioneers from New Jersey who have and are, introducing significant advances in the technological and digital space at their organizations, thus enhancing the overall productivity and performance of their companies.