When members of our team started Vela Systems in 2005, there were very few applications useful to field workers in construction. Now, we might have the opposite problem; contractors I talk to often complain about “app fatigue.” With such a range of software and hardware available, it’s exhausting for teams to weed out which tools are best for what they actually need -- never mind trying to stay on the cutting edge.
Photo and video management is a challenge across all sectors, but it hits the AEC industry especially hard. According to McKinsey’s 2016 report “Imagining construction’s digital future,” construction is one of the slowest industries to adapt technology. The result? “Due to lack of digitization, information is delayed and may not be universal... [team members] often work from different versions of reality,” hurting productivity and returns. And efforts to go digital are often still held back by a lack of “data freedom,” an idea championed by leading industry consultants like Nathan Wood, who argues that teams need data that can adapt across systems and platforms in order to work efficiently.
At Newmetrix, our “integration-first” approach tries to answer this need for flexibility. The app is designed to meet your data where it’s already at, and create value from there; no new field processes or equipment, no training, and no more “app fatigue”. And we’re happy to announce our latest release includes a brand-new integration with Autodesk’s BIM 360 Field (formerly a Vela Systems product - full circle!)
Here’s a quick rundown of how it works:
- BIM 360 Field users can sign up for a Newmetrix trial here. Once you’re in, set up an integration at the project level by entering your BIM 360 Field login and choosing what content to integrate with. And that’s it -- it takes less than 90 seconds to set up!
- Your BIM 360 Field photos automatically flow into Newmetrix and become searchable via image recognition, thanks to our internal engine “Vinnie”.
- All synced photos are organized into weekly views and can be shared with others in your organization, both individually and as groups of pictures.
So who needs this? Automatic visual analysis has both immediate practical uses, and the potential to improve a wide range of workflows. Our users include teams in safety, operations, marketing, and IT. Have you ever had to pore over your BIM 360 Field library, looking for a picture needed for a claim? How could automatic detection of safety hazards in site photos help elevate your company’s risk management?
We think one of our new users explains it best:
“We’re excited to be able to automatically pull out photos from BIM 360 Field and use Newmetrix’s tagging to streamline how we find and use field imagery. From safety, to marketing, to operations, we have a lot of interest in field photos across the company.”
--Joshua Lannen, QA/QC Manager, BOND Brothers
Sign up for the BIM 360 Field integration to reduce symptoms of app fatigue, and find the data you need in the content you already have. And watch the blog for more integrations coming VERY soon!
