Why construction cameras?
Why do you want cameras on your construction project?
This is the number one question I ask when I get an email message or phone call from a potential new client. This question is important because equipment, services, and price will depend on it. In order to help you define the requirements for your construction camera system, think about these 4 aspects:
1. Live feed: Most construction camera providers today will offer a live feed service over the internet. But do not take this for granted; there are companies especialized in photographic documentation of project progress who do not automatically provide live feeds. Is live feed important to you and to your project?
2. Security: Security is one of the top reasons that prompt people to get in touch with us about cameras. A camera system dedicated to security will be very different than one dedicated to project progress monitoring. Keep that in mind when you are sourcing this type of service. Security cameras usually will point at gates, parking lots, and containers. Cameras for project monitoring will point, well, at the project.
I can’t tell you how many times clients have called me first thing in the morning asking me to review the recordings from the night before, in hopes that the theft or vandalism was caught ‘on tape.’ The problem usually is that unless you are specific enough that you need a security camera system, the recordings will not be very useful. If security will be a concern in your project, make sure to bring that to the attention to your construction camera system provider from the get go.
3. Visual record: For many project sponsors, owners, and project managers, their projects are like their children. They participate from conception to delivery, and then hand them off to the world. They are proud of it, and they should. Think about the opportunity to record the construction of your project using construction cameras. Since it is impossible to have a camera monitor every single nook and cranny of the project, think about the aspects of the project you’d like documented. Why would you want this visual record? If it is for monitoring progress as a tool for project management, think about camera positioning as to capture activities on the critical path of your project schedule. If you’d like the construction recorded for marketing purposes or ‘wow’ factor, think about asking for cameras with higher definition and lenses with wider angles as to capture as much as possible in one frame. Here’s my point: think about being able to articulate to your construction camera provider why and what you want recorded during your project. If you think about this ahead of time, it will avoid disappointments later on when “that” crane operation wasn’t captured properly because of the position of the cameras.
Cameras and Project Management?
4. Project Management: Cameras can be an excellent addition to your project management toolbox. In fact, I dedicated an entire episode of the Construction Industry Podcast to this very topic. If you already realized the power that camera feeds and recordings can bring to your gantt chart, make sure your construction camera provider is able to integrate the feed from the camera and the time-lapse recording to your project management system. Or you can just call us 🙂
4. Collaboration: Many of our projects are very remote. We’ve had projects from the the countryside of Peru to the iron mines of Labrador. In large projects which involve many teams that are located in different locations, collaboration becomes critical. Construction cameras can be a fantastic tool in collaboration, but you need to consider that before you contact your construction camera specialist. Think about the type of collaboration that cameras can provide and start brainstorming the best location for them. Cameras that provide an overview of the job site are great for multiple stakeholders to have a bird’s eye view of what’s happening.
I hope I was able to give you some ideas of things to think about when it comes to your construction cameras. We have been doing this for a long time and it is absolutely a pleasure to deliver a service to a client when it is well thought of in advance.
If you’d like to bounce some ideas off about your projects and what could be done in terms of cameras, feel free to drop me a line.
Cheers!
Cesar Abeid