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July 30, 2020

Can Construction Solutions Provide Progress and Security Monitoring?

There are absolutely construction solutions that can do both; however, progress and security considerations are usually quite different. With productivity monitoring, you want to see the entire site and each elevation of the build with a focus on progress, accuracy and avoidance of rework. In this case, you would not focus coverage on entry/exit points or materials and equipment. For security, the focus would be reversed with optimal coverage on entry/exit, materials and equipment, and other areas of interest around the site perimeter.

That being said, there are 5 key areas that contractors can achieve additional simultaneous value from the better construction solutions available today:

1. Productivity – Busy Project Managers can access cameras from any location, on any Internet-enabled device, reducing travel costs and time driving from site to site. This real-time, multi-site remote access allows for progress and compliance monitoring, helps avoid costly rework and delays with as-built documentation and collaboration, and simplifies workflow with integrations with today’s most popular construction applications such as Procore®, AutoDesk® BIM360, PlanGrid and more.

2. Collaboration – Site cameras allow project managers, trade partners, owners and other stakeholders to communicate and collaborate with ease. Remote viewing, live video streaming, image compare and markup, automated as-built documentation and even public URL’s can be used to promote transparency and build trust.

3. Security – Construction sites are often the target of theft and vandalism. As discussed above, security cameras can be used to receive critical real-time intelligence 24/7. Motion detected event notification alerts are pushed to an email or mobile device (via SMS/text) including a video clip or images of the triggering event for rapid review and response. 

4. Risk & Safety – Capturing visual documentation of day-to-day site activity, incidents and near misses, as well as conducting real-time site monitoring enables managers to quickly assess compliance with safety requirements and monitor where workers, equipment and materials are in transit to identify potential safety issues. Alerts can easily be setup for entry of restricted access zones.

5. Marketing – Savvy GC’s and developers utilize automated 4K time-lapse video and public URL’s to market and promote their work quality, integrity, environmental responsibility and completed projects. 

To learn more about the construction solutions that are providing these valuable benefits on job sites every day, click here.

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July 21, 2020

What Security and Safety Alerting Tech is right for You?

There are two main use cases for ‘alerting’ technology on today’s jobsite: Security and Safety.

Security: Security specific cameras should have a richer set of capabilities that include motion detection, low-light video and image capture, continuous video recording, and alerting. The most reliable solutions will also include battery backup and cellular service. 

  • With these advanced cameras, detected motion will trigger the camera to record, capture images (or both) and send an email or text/SMS alert to specified users. 
  • The best solutions will include a video clip or image with the alert to better inform the appropriate response. In addition, cameras equipped with battery backup can continue to record video in the rare case the system is taken down or stolen. If it also has cellular service, the video can continue to be viewed and the camera located for recovery and evidence.   

Risk & Safety: The same technology that is used to secure your jobsite can also be used to achieve safety compliance. For example, you have heavy equipment or crane work taking place in a particular area and you’ve restricted cross-traffic and worker movement in that particular zone. Using area “masks”, you can setup motion-based alerts on entry of the restricted zone so safety managers or supervisors are alerted when a worker is in an area they shouldn’t be.

It’s important to note that camera type and placement are very important to achieving security and safety objectives. Using solar/wireless cameras allows you to place cameras where they are best suited for your use case, not where power or network may be convenient.  Furthermore, construction sites are dynamic, and so you may need to move cameras as the project progresses. Solar/wireless models greatly simplify these moves.

Click here to learn more about Sensera’s SiteWatch PRO2 alerting technology. To learn about additional areas our real-time site intelligence solutions can bring value to your next project visit our Construction Solutions page.

July 15, 2020

Construction Technology: Ensuring You Choose the Right Solution, and it’s Scalable

Construction technology has come a long way and it’s important to understand how you can leverage the technology for what you want to achieve. For example, what type and size project will the cameras be used on (large commercial, residential, retail, secured utilities, etc.). What will the cameras predominantly be used for: progress monitoring, risk and safety, collaboration/communications, security, marketing or a combination? Knowing the answers to these basic questions will help narrow down the validity of available solutions and inform optimal coverage and technology features/capability requirements.

When selecting a site intelligence solution, choose a cloud-based platform that is easy to use, includes multi-site dashboards, and is feature rich. This will ensure a higher level of user adoption, that additional cameras can be added at any time, and any software updates and new features will be pushed to your system automatically. For reliability, we recommend a solar-powered solution that includes battery backup, the ability to plug into AC power for indoor use, and provides both cellular and WiFi connectivity for maximum flexibility. 

It’s also important to consider the manufacturer/provider of your construction technology. Do they cater to and understand the construction market? Are their solutions designed specifically for construction use-cases?

There are several good solutions available today, the best of which will provide all of these features and capabilities without requiring a la carte fees or expenses. Simply enable the features you want, when you want them, as you scale.  

Click here to learn more about the solutions available from Sensera Systems or learn more about construction technology through our Articles & eBooks.