The Top Four Benefits of Construction Inspection Software

The Importance of Construction Inspection Software

Discover the key benefits of utilizing construction inspection software for your projects.

Remember Inspector Gadget, the clumsy, cybernetic detective from the 1980s? I like to think the half-bumbling, half-heroic cyborg can serve as inspiration for every construction inspector out there. Not for his wits, of course, but for his ability to (somewhat) seamlessly integrate technology into the inspection process. Sure, he was inspecting the crime scenes of various nemeses instead of construction sites, but the core point is the same - technology enabled him to achieve what others couldn't. By leveraging construction inspection software on your projects, any inspector can turn into Inspector Gadget - animated spin-off not included.

Construction inspection software offers teams a digital solution for capturing information that was traditionally recorded in physical fieldbooks or electronic spreadsheets. By replacing these outdated methods, construction inspection software eliminates the potential for human error, rework, and inefficiency. As a result, teams experience significant improvements in communication, collaboration, risk mitigation, and time efficiency. In this blog, we'll dive into some of the specific ways that construction inspection software contribute to those improvements.

Enhance Communication & Collaboration

One of the key benefits of construction inspection software is the enhancement of communication and collaboration among team members. Construction inspection software provides team members with a centralized hub for accessing and exchanging information in near real-time. Project managers can access the data that inspectors capture in real-time, so stakeholders are informed, engaged, and can quickly make decisions to quantity issues or challenges with job site conditions. This improved access to data leads to better decision-making and problem-solving, ultimately driving project success.

David Elliott, Construction Services Discipline Leader for RS&H, uses construction inspection software to assist in project oversight. Using a combination of Appia and Mobile Inspector, he's able to query specific items instantaneously. It comes in handy when coordinating different parties on a job site:

“Just recently on a multi-phase project in North Carolina, they were having trouble finding a buried conduit that they had to connect in a later phase. They were saying it’s not there. In 5 minutes, our project manager was able to pull up the report and the photo of where it was and go out to the field staff and say: ‘Stop telling me it isn’t here. It’s here. Here it is,’” said Elliott.

Streamline the Inspection Process

In the old world of field books and spreadsheets, inspectors would often have to capture information at the job site, then travel back to a field office to record the information they captured. If they had poor handwriting or misplaced a sheet of paper, errors could arise that could throw the entire construction project off course. With construction inspection software, inspectors can capture data directly on-site using digital tools, eliminating the need for manual data entry and reducing the risk of errors. Plus, real-time syncing back to the field office eliminates the need for travel, so inspectors can spend more time in the field.

For the City of Meriden, implementing construction inspection software enabled their inspectors to spend 75% more time in the field, vastly increasing efficiency.

“[Inspectors] don’t have to rewrite anything. All their notes are in the system. Your greater savings will be on projects where there are multiple inspectors on the job, because collating that information is very complicated, this makes it very simple,” said Howard Weissberg, Director of Public Works.

Save on Costs & Potential Rework

Construction inspection software offers several benefits that contribute to cost savings in construction projects. By providing a centralized hub for accessing and exchanging information in real-time, construction inspection software enables project managers to make informed decisions quickly. This reduces the time and resources wasted on addressing issues or challenges with job site conditions. And since inspectors can spend more time in the field, many travel costs are also eliminated.

These time and efficiency gains translate into cost savings by optimizing labor and equipment utilization and minimizing downtime. Construction inspection software also helps ensure adherence to regulations and quality standards, reducing the possibility of penalties and rework costs. Overall, construction inspection software contributes to cost savings by improving resource allocation, enhancing quality control and compliance, saving time, and mitigating risks. So, if you want to achieve Inspector Gadget-like efficiency and cost-effectiveness in your construction projects, consider implementing construction inspection software. But don't just take it from us - by leveraging construction inspection software across an entire division, engineering consultant C&S Companies saved approximately $100,000/month in travel expenses.

“A lot of our highway/bridge projects were one man shows. And if you have 20 of those projects, how do you check to make sure things are being done correctly? Well now, that can be checked remotely. We don’t need to travel to the site... If we use an example of one person traveling to 20 projects to check reports, we’re probably saving close to $100,000 a month in travel expenses,” said Greg Fehrman, Principal Engineer.

Enhancing Safety & Hazard Identification

Construction inspection software plays a crucial role in enhancing safety and hazard identification on construction sites. When integrated with rover or LiDAR technology that captures the most precise location data, construction inspection software can provide project and safety managers with a better understanding of hazardous conditions on a job site. What's more, by leveraging rovers or LiDAR that can scan a larger area, construction inspectors can maintain a safe distance from the more hazardous areas of a job site. Additionally, the simplicity and effectiveness of construction inspection software helps eliminate the mental fatigue that can contribute to human error.

Implementing Construction Inspection Software

If your organization is interested in implementing construction inspection software, contact us! As the developers of Appia and Mobile Inspector, we work with over 4,000 agencies and engineering firms to implement time-saving and efficiency-boosting technology into their process.