Site Documentation to Advance Construction Projects During COVID-19

With the adoption of physical distancing policies by municipalities in Canada, it is increasingly difficult to obtain building permits and arrange site inspections. This disruption is a risk to the commencement and progression of construction projects.

For project owners faced with implementing a rapid deployment for COVID-19 response, a site shut-down for a non-essential workplace, obtaining a building permit, or, a need to simply document progress, there is a solution.

Many municipalities have enabled online permit applications. Some municipalities have created alternative inspection procedures, where a project professional can submit site photos or videos for review in lieu of a direct inspection.

Colliers Project Leaders’ Construction Solutions team has integrated a collaborative and interactive reality capturing tool that helps document construction progress using 360° cameras. Using the HoloBuilder platform, the project management team is able to rapidly document progress with 360° photos linked to floor plans and specific locations. Think of it as Google Street View for construction projects.

Starting with an initial walk through, photos are captured of the site and the location is linked to a location on the floor plan. As work progresses, new photos are captured at the same location and layered on top of older photos.

To see of sample of the HoloBuilder system in action, view a scan of our Burlington Office (best viewed with Edge, Chrome or Firefox).

Owners should expect their project teams to find creative opportunities to keep their project moving through the permitting and inspections processes. Contact us to find out how we can help.