Mobile App Construction Photo Reporting Makes Work Super Fast

設備工事で重要になるのが「目に見えない部分」です。例えば床下などに這う水道の配管などは「目に見えない部分」ですし、屋外の道路下を通る電気配線も同様です。これらの工事が疎かな場合にはそのリスクも甚大です。

火災、漏水などのリスクは発覚した時点で既に手遅れとなっているケースが少なくありません。水道の配管などは色で明確に区別するなど工夫されており、施工時の綺麗な写真の撮影もまたリスク低減において必要な条件といえます。

工事写真の撮影と管理は、社内ノウハウを蓄積する意味でも、完工後のトラブルを避ける意味でも非常に大切です。

また、写真報告書を綺麗に作成してすぐ引き出せる場所に保存することは、施工業務の標準化にも繋がります。

1. What are the characteristics of equipment that are advantageous for construction photography?

Can be used with a smartphone

The less equipment you bring to the job site, the smaller and more efficient your work will be. Increased motivation of field workers will also lead to increased customer satisfaction. The ability to use a smartphone camera for taking construction photos is a unique advantage of construction photo applications.

Easy on the pocket

Smartphones are more portable than digital cameras. Since you will always have your cell phone with you, you will not need additional equipment if you can complete the task on your phone. In comparison to a digital camera, for example, the act of taking a picture out of your pocket is no different with a smartphone. And since the smartphone is always connected to the Internet, the use of cloud applications eliminates the risk of data loss due to malfunction or other reasons.

*Related article , “What is the Cloud?”

Small but high performance

Cameras on smartphones are actually very powerful. It can take beautiful close-up shots, etc., so construction photo reports can be made beautifully. Handy and convenient for creating beautiful ledgers, construction photo apps can help improve work efficiency.

2. 3 advantages of introducing smartphones

Install Anywhere

The construction photo application can be installed basically anywhere, so you can start using the application even when you are on the road. This makes the footwork lighter than using a digital camera, which must be brought along each time.

Economical free software

The advantage of free software is that it is free. Free is often thought of as inferior in terms of performance and insecure in terms of security, but free software (apps) for smartphones are free but still maintain high performance and robust maintainability. Construction photo apps are similarly free and offer high performance.

Related article: “What is the Security of Free Software “Apps” for Smartphones?

App is available to everyone

工事写真アプリは誰でも簡単に利用を開始できます。外部の工事会社に仕事を依頼する際に、利用開始の手順や操作を説明するのが困難なシチュエーションはほとんどありません。取引先と自社で共通のアプリを利用して同じデータを常に共有できるのも、大きなメリットといえます。

物件にIDを招待すれば、互いのアプリから同一の写真報告書を確認できる

3. Easily attach photos to reports

Zero Excel editing work.

The camera on a smartphone can take pictures very easily and cleanly. Using this camera, a construction photo application can quickly create a construction photo report that fully meets the resolution standards of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. This is because the report is created instantly at the time it is taken. Image quality and image size are automatically adjusted, eliminating the need for editing in Excel.

Related article: “Excel is competitive! Five Points to Automatically Adjust in the Construction Photo Ledger and Report Layout.”

Easy and convenient confirmation of close-up images

Photographs in a report sometimes require close-up shots of details. Taking detailed pictures of where components were installed and how wiring was tied is important in construction of hidden parts of the building, such as electrical work. With a smartphone, unlike a digital camera, you can check the images on a large screen.

 

Construction photos can be used as a reference not only for confirmation after completion of construction, but also for construction at similar properties. Taking a large number of beautiful photos is a good way to accumulate know-how, but on the other hand, the conventional practice of taking a large number of photos makes it time-consuming to organize the photos and prepare reports, a contradiction that has existed in the past. With a smartphone application, the time required for organizing photos is reduced to almost zero, thus resolving this contradiction.

*Related article: “Simple work is just a pain. The only way to make the task easier is to reduce the number of photos.”

Capable of shooting in tight spaces

Photographs of construction sites, for example, under ceilings and floors, are important documents for construction verification. Using an application with an electronic blackboard on a smartphone, it is possible to take pictures even in a confined space. It will be very useful for taking pictures in places such as behind ceilings.

Related article: “A must-see for those in charge! Electronic Blackboards to Increase Productivity at Construction Sites│Know-how to introduce them” (Japanese only)

4. Send construction photos at the touch of a button

Easy sending of construction photos

One of the factors that contribute to customer satisfaction is the speed of work. Construction photos taken with a smartphone can be instantly ledgerized by the application and quickly put in a single report.

The report can be completed on the spot from your smartphone without having to boot up your computer every time. By submitting the photo report via URL, you no longer have to worry about PDF file size and the amount of traffic on your phone.

If all employees are using the same cloud application, the paperwork of “sending photos” itself is eliminated, as all they need to do is access the application to check the photos.

Photo reports can be shared in real time via URL.

 

Easy and quick to make

The construction photo app also makes it easy to reorder photos. With a digital camera, photos had to be sorted using paid packaged software or Excel macro, but the construction photo app makes it possible to sort photos with a finger. Of course, if the app is in the cloud, a large number of photos can be edited from a computer. The “speed” is different because of the increased efficiency.

Quick delivery of photo ledgers

With the construction photo application, sending ledgers is very easy. Since the files are stored in the cloud, they can be viewed from any device that has access to them. The advantage is that files other than construction photos can be easily retrieved. The system can be operated with a smartphone, tablet, or PC.

5. Conditions for secure data storage

Safety of cloud storage

One of the weak points of digital cameras is the use of storage media. Although modern media are high-performance, the risk of failure is not zero, and there is a risk of data loss in the worst case. Cloud storage covers this drawback.

Safe in case of server failure

デジカメ用に社内サーバーのスペースを利用することは多いですが、サーバーはクラッシュのリスクがあります。クラウド保管は、サーバーよりも信頼性の点で優位に立ちます。複数拠点に暗号化され分散保管されているからです。

どこかの拠点の情報だけではデータは抜き取れず、1箇所のデータが飛んでも、残りの拠点のデータで復元できる仕組みが確立されています。重要な写真の保管では、より効果的です。

Ledger management from multiple terminals

複数の端末からアクセスが簡単にできるのは、クラウドならではの利点といえます。台帳をクラウド上に作成すれば、急な顧客の提出要望にも素早く対応が可能です。

もしくは社内納期を遵守するため残業する必要もありません。データ受け渡しを待たず、写真報告書の確認、修正作業に取り掛かれるからです。

From taking photos to completing the report and reporting

6. Eliminates the need to organize construction photos by property

The app can also be used to organize construction photos.

Beginners often have trouble making construction photos on a computer, but with a construction photo application, there is no need to worry about how to make them.

With the ability to create a ledger as a template, the work can be completed simply by copying a ledger of another property created by a senior worker and replacing the photos. This eliminates the problem of not knowing where to take a picture or forgetting to take a picture at a necessary location.

The application also allows for photo organization, resulting in quick and standardized reports.

Related article: “More Efficient with Photo Ledger Preparation” ( Japanese only)

Blackboard function can also be utilized.

パソコンで写真報告書を作る時は、写真に関する文章を都度、手入力する必要があり、結構な手間です。しかし、工事写真アプリなら、電子黒板の機能を利用することで文章が自動で転機されます。

電子黒板の文字が写真報告書の文章に転記される

Management by construction photo report

While photos via digital camera media are saved as a mixture of photos from multiple properties, with the construction photo application, photos are saved in the order they were taken in the ledger unit. This makes it easy to find the photos you are looking for, which is useful when resubmitting reports.

What do you think? As you can see, there are many ways to speed up your work by using a smartphone.

The Mirai Construction Support Desk will support you not only in the introduction of the application, but also in the introduction of smartphones, from the consideration of models to the signing of contracts.

Please also refer to the example of the time-consuming work improvement in organizing photos for each property.
What is a useful photo report app for “home inspections,” which are conducted frequently in the field?