Construction site inspection

Task and problem

In order to ensure highest quality standards of construction works the client was performing periodic worksite inspections on his construction areas. Usually client’s project manager was taking photos with the defects on site, later transferring to computer, writing descriptions and sending by email to the persons responsible for corrections of these non-conformities. However, the information was not organized and often resulted in back-and-forth emails between company’s co-workers. Also, it was difficult to track the progress on the punch list, which resulted in many phone calls to the project manager from his superiors.

The client encountered the following problems:

• Delayed notifications of non-conformities;
• Inconvenient recording of punch items;
• No possibility to track and share the progress on the punch list items;

Lack of control and unnecessary involvement of senior managers.

Transferring worksite inspection process to the Microsoft cloud

We have implemented Office 365 cloud computing solutions for this company. Data collection and storage was transferred to Office 365 SharePoint. Information was organized by client, project and priority. Whenever a project manager takes a photo of the non-conformity, it is immediately stored in Microsoft cloud, which allows for easy access from any device and immediate sharing with co-workers.

Mobile application for worksite inspection

To improve data collection and sharing, a mobile application was developed for the client using Microsoft Power Apps technology, which made it possible to upload a photo with marked defects, categorize it by site and priority and share updates with co-workers in real-time.

The application also stores exact time and GPS information alongside the punch list data, which made it much easier for the responsible workers to track the location of the defect.

Automating notification and control of non-conformities

With the Microsoft MS Flow process automation tool we automated this process. After registration of a non-conformity, the application automatically creates a task in Microsoft planner with a deadline for the responsible person. Also informs by email responsible person about registered non-conformity and assigned corrective tasks. 

The project manager now has the possibility for better control of the progress of defect elimination. Project manager no longer has to ask constantly about the latest updates from responsible persons on the progress of eliminating the defects. He can also see the overview of tasks on Microsoft planner in one place, ensure that the highest priority items are taken care of first.

This reduced miscommunication, saved time and increased the speed with which the client can react to new issues. In addition, the management now has better control of incomplete tasks and can allocate the company resources more efficiently.

The biggest benefit for the client was that solution was developed incredibly fast, as it was done with the standard Microsoft cloud tools. After gathering specification from the client, it took only two weeks (including staff training) until the client was able to start using this solution and could more efficiently ensure the quality of his construction work.