How AI Can Streamline the Construction Industry

OnSiteIQ has developed a data set for construction photo documentation that is unparalleled in the industry. With over 300 million photos of documentation across their portfolio, the company hit a point where knowing how to use those images became just as important as being able to gather the images in the first place.

Here is a good way to think about the development of artificial intelligence (AI) in OnSiteIQ’s technology. Consider a toddler learning a language. Before a toddler can tell a story, or talk in complete sentences, it must first learn the alphabet. Once they’ve gained a baseline understanding of what letters are, and what they represent, then they can start learning how to write in sentences. Once the toddler has a firm grasp on sentences, then it can begin to construct stories and conversations in an intellectual and sophisticated way.

In many ways, the development of AI is following a similar path, and OnSiteIQ is paving the way for the industry.

Development of AI for OnSiteIQ

If we’re using the same analogy of a toddler learning a language, it is safe to say that OnSiteIQ is at the point in the development of their AI where they are learning how to write complete sentences. They are in the process of assembling an artificial intelligence infrastructure that is capable of providing real-time context to owners and developers of construction sites.

By September of 2019, OnSiteIQ had grown a reputation as a breakthrough tech company that provides construction photo and video documentation to owners and developers of construction sites. 360 Photo documentation in and of itself has been a gamechanger for the industry, as OnSiteIQ’s technology allows their customers to reduce risk, and ultimately keep a better construction schedule and bottom line.

However, OnSiteIQ was not satisfied and noticed a growth potential in May 2020. They determined that their 300 million photos they were sitting on across their portfolio of construction sites, was a data set that no other company could compete with. Rather than have those images sit around and collect dust, they thought about the potential of what an AI integration with their technology could do for their customers. Thus, their AI search engine was born.

With that data, OnSiteIQ developed a “neural” system by which AI technology can identify key elements of a construction job, and provide a real-time assessment of its progress. It is at the point where it can identify over 60 items common with construction sites, and derive an assessment based on the image.

For example, users of this artificial technology could enjoy typing in the word “window” and watch the OnSiteIQ technology, with help of its AI integration, provide both the context and progress of how the window installation portion of their construction project was going. This breakthrough now elevates the remote accessibility of an owner to an even higher level, because now owners can get contextual information within their photo and video documentation.

The Four Core Reasons AI Technology is Valuable in Construction Documentation

The evolution of OnSiteIQ’s technology to integrate with AI reporting should not be understated. Previously, an owner was left to arrive at an assessment of the job site’s progress based on imagery alone. Now, along with the photo documentation, the owner can enjoy an assessment of the percent completion, contextual story, and ultimately the quality of the build.

The AI search engine in OnSiteIQ provides four core values:

Context: The most critical value AI technology brings in the construction photo documentation business is context. In this article, we have explained how with AI, not only do you get the photographic material, but an assessment of the percentage completion of a project along with the photo acting as visual data. The context these assessments provide is valuable to a construction owner whose time, money, and resources are being poured into this site. Being able to look at an image or a set of images, and receive the context, storyline, and historical timestamps that go along with it provides much more visibility into how your build is progressing.
Safety: These assessments can help with risk mitigation during development, and help avoid legal involvement. Again, knowing the real-time situation of a build can help decision-makers identify safety issues and remedy them promptly, while still keeping a project on schedule.
Quality Control: Whether the project is ahead, or behind, the reports being provided along with visual documentation can make quality control easier. When decisions are made in real-time, efficiency and quality are gained. Furthermore, the value in being able to find issues onsite through AI helps mitigate risk, which ultimately improves the quality. Remember that AI technology can help avoid costly errors which need to be fixed down the road, which can also save a lot of money. Being able to conduct inspection with the support of AI technology is the best possible combination for a qualitative project.
Progress: This can also be referred to as percent completion. With AI, you can cross-reference your progress with the original timeline, and redirect the project if needed. Furthermore, AI technology can let you assess granular portions of the project to derive the percentage completion for specific tasks too (i.e. framing, or window installation)

Summary

At the end of the day, the owner and/or developer is responsible for the success or failure of a build. Why not have a tool that offers the best visual data, and soon, a real-time platform giving you the context behind the safety, quality, and progress of your project?

Request a Demo see OnSiteIQ in action!