Stop and take a look at the world around you. It’s easy to find people pausing to check their smart phone or tablet for email or conducting business out of the office. Mobile devices combined with productivity applications are greatly transforming today’s modern construction jobsite. Located in Oakland, California, DADO is surrounded by technological innovation and we are well aware of the demand for accurate project information that can be accessed any time, any place. From construction executives to field crews, the need for instant and reliable project information is an industry requirement.
In this DADO post, we highlight 6 compelling reasons why voice driven intelligent search is vital on an active construction site.
1. Field teams have instant access to all project data everywhere.
It’s time to use voice driven intelligent search to harness project data. Armed with a hotspot and tablet or smart phone, anyone can access project data. This access allows field crews to locate thousands of construction documents on an active construction site. The problem is most of these documents are buried in very deep file structures. Voice driven intelligent search understands construction. In one voice command, Intelligent Search quickly finds the right information and reduces errors that come with referencing and making decisions from the wrong information.
2. Field teams gain enhanced levels of collaboration.
Using file-sharing applications, like Box or Dropbox, the field crews access construction documents to their hearts content. Referencing floor plans, site plans, and purchase orders via tablet is easy breezy. Unfortunately, one project may have files hiding under deep file structures located on multiple cloud platforms. Voice driven intelligent search takes away the time-consuming burden of digging through file structures to find the right information. With the right construction data at their fingertips at the right time, builders more effectively collaborate.
3. Field teams can be on the move AND armed with reliable data.
Before tablets, when a field person needed further clarification, they left the construction site, walked to the jobsite trailer, referenced the construction drawings, hiked back out to the construction site, eyeballed the problem, penciled in notes on the plans, hiked back to the jobsite trailer, scanned the plan, logged on to their computer, launched their email, sent the scan to the information source and then walked back to the construction site. (I burned calories just writing that sentence!) Fortunately, today, a field person that has a tablet with voice driven intelligent search can find the smallest detail, tag and make a note of the issue in question, and send the mark-up via email. Modern field crews stay on the move, and access accurate, timely information without ever leaving the field.
4. Field teams easily locate and view the latest project drawings.
Viewing a drawing via tablet offers more clarity than referencing a black and white drawing. With voice driven intelligent search, field crews easily locate and reference the most up-to-date drawings in layered detail by color. The tablet user can easily zoom in and out. A magnifying glass is no longer needed to view the fine details.
5. Field teams effectively collaborate by finding the right drawing changes and adding mark-ups.
Via intelligent search, field crews quickly locate drawings and identify overlay changes in the drawings. They add mark-ups and cross-reference drawings with auto-hyperlink, as opposed to flipping through the entire set of drawings.
6. Voice driven intelligent search allows quick project reporting for construction executives on-the-move.
Busy executives are using tablets to stay informed about the status of their projects. With intelligent search in hand, construction executives can easily access project status reports, review project costs and make sure the project is on budget, and identify whether the project is on schedule.
A mobile device armed with voice driven intelligent search is not just a tool but a window allowing us to see into the future of building. We are embarking on a new era of construction. In the spirit of technology and innovation, it's essential to connect and exchange ideas on how these tools can be used to better serve our projects, enhance team collaboration, enable efficiencies, and build structures that will be celebrated for generations to come.