construction progress

Importance of Construction Jobsite Photo Documentation

Posted on

roofing work

"A picture is worth a thousand words". That's not just a catchy saying, it's a accurate assessment of how the human brain works. Whether it's called looking at pictures or "visual communication", humans have been shown in formal studies to be able to recall about twenty percent of what they read, and eighty percent of what they see. "Well, great!" you may be thinking. "If human brains are so good at this "visual communication", then there's no need to waste time on job sites playing roving photographer!" Ah, but there's a catch, you see.

Because while humans are good at recalling visual information, they're not too good at accurately retaining that information for very long. Our busy human brains can't be relied upon to remember (or accurately pass on to others) exactly what we have seen. This is why photography is so vital as a documentation tool. Especially in the construction industry, construction photo documentation is very important for the following reasons:

Photography Makes A Good Reporting ToolWritten and verbal reports can give managers and stakeholders a good assessment of what's happening on a site when they're not there, but the camera's eye can pick up images that might be otherwise missed by these methods. Pictures of the job site in general also help invested but less frequent visitors get an overview of the project and how it functions. In that way, photos compliment written construction reports.

Photography Helps To Document ProgressClients and stakeholders don't just want to hear or read a memo that the project is moving right along, they want visual proof. And from the ground breaking to the roof raising, photo documentation can provide this. Conversely, if a project is experiencing delays or other issues, photography can help to chronicle this as well.

Photography Can Protect Firms In CourtAccurate photo documentation of problems that slowed down or stopped site work can be tremendously helpful to firms facing litigation from clients, or who are pursuing litigation themselves because of actions on the clients' part.

Photography Is EnlighteningYou've got a bad feeling about staging that project in Area 51. But clients and stakeholders want more evidence than that. With photography, construction managers can share physical information including over the passage of time, about potential project areas. This can help both to select good sites and eliminate problem ones.

Digital photography has quickly progressed from pixilated disasters to stunning images at the hands of amateur photographs using mobile devices. But the right software is important.  Fortunately, in addition to being a great textual tool for daily reporting, Raken‘s contractors app allows digital photographers to quickly add unlimited HD images to reports, warnings, and notifications. Raken's cloud technology also allows those images to be filed and stored for up to ten years. And with Raken's search features, managers can quickly locate and download those photos, backing up those thousand words with stunning images.

Level up your jobsite

Try Raken for free or sign up for a demo!