Context in Construction QA
You’ve invested in BIM and detailed drawings.
You've done advanced clash detection.
You’ve got Quality Assurance checklists.
Your team is prepared and ready to build--now the largest variable is what’s going to happen on site.
Quality control is about planning and about verification. Before and after checks. Now and Later candies. The site itself is the riskiest variable, so how can we bring all this data and pre-planning into context?
Democratize the data. Did you know you can bring your checklists and BIM into the field as a digital overlay? With augmented reality the data is overlaid on site. You can use jobsite holograms in the process of designing, iterating, and building, and then again later in inspection of the finished or in process “product.” The two step process of Now and Later is a pretty sweet deal.
Augmented Reality Use Cases for Construction Quality Control
1. Placements -
As concrete specialists, Andersen Construction was first to have the insight that perhaps you didn’t have to do concrete rework the hard way. Perhaps you can prevent it by bringing the concrete models into Augmented reality and--boom!
Quality control of structural embeds was the first Argyle AR test, and our video from that time is here: (April 2019)
Those early prototype tests are what inspired us to design Argyle--so now everyone can see their BIM in context with the Azure Cloud.
(August 2020)
But it doesn’t have to be just structural embeds--take anything in your 3D model. When you bring it into Argyle, it aligns spatially to the jobsite.
2. Pre Installation Meetings - Particularly where the plumbing looks like spaghetti on the 2D drawings. Pre-installation meetings enhanced with in-context holograms of what needs installed can be an invaluable communication tool. Help your projects reach first time quality even when you have many trades in one area.
3. Pre-coverup inspections - Before drywalling the bathrooms, let’s confirm all the blocking is there in augmented reality. AR makes this job easy and communicating your corrections even easier. Make that 100s of times easier when you're building large, multifamily residential.
4. Fabrication - Checking dimensions before fabricating parts as part of your QC plan? Augmented Reality is uniquely helpful in confirming the dimensions of anything in your BIM. Use both your device and your standard tape measure to augment this sometimes-tedious process.
How do I turn my checklists and BIM into jobsite holograms?
BIM is a powertool you’re already using for clash detection off site, now the front line workers get the benefit too--without having to be a Revit expert.
Here’s how:
1. Job Office uploads the model to the cloud with the Argyle Plugin.
2. Jobsite workers open up Argyle and “Tasks” from the navigation menu to find their checklists.
3. One click, and the checklist appears on site as spatialized hologram elements. This means a “Concrete Pour 6” Checklist will guide you through the jobsite to the embeds that need special confirmation before they get set in stone...er...concrete.
4. Interact. These elements will be highlighted in space and interactive--allowing you to “Pass” correctly built work or “Fail” and escalate work that doesn’t match the BIM. It’s quick and easy.
Anyone can do it. This is a picture of me identifying the embed placement was correct on Portland State University's 4th and Montgomery in Project with Andersen Construction.
At that time I was new to concrete, and only learned what an embed was earlier that day. How would I know if one was correct or not? Because the checklists were spatialized, I was able to easily identify correct and incorrect embed placement. It's intern-proof.
What if it's not in the Model?
Few projects model *everything* and that is just fine. Not everything has to be modeled for Augmented Reality to dramatically aid your QA.
For example, with just a plumbing model, you can QA not just plumbing placements (is this pipe correctly in the wall? or did we get off at a weird angle?) but also:
Concrete penetrations - where the plumbing meets the floor
Blocking - where stabilization is necessary before covering up the wall
Access zones - the area your workers will maneuver during installation
Think of your jobsite as a spatial computer--and your BIM, notes, and checklists are files that exist on site as holograms.
With the context of the jobsite your front line can access the metadata, notes, and checklists they need about *this* wall or *that* part simply by being on location and opening your device.
No longer just a variable, your jobsite becomes part of the smart work you're already doing with checklists, BIM, and clash detection.
Argyle updates its blog with news on Construction QA, Augmented Reality in AEC, and Argyle Product updates around 3 times a month. SUBSCRIBE to be the first to get special product offers, news about Argyle releases, and short stories about construction.