The design and construction industry contributes massively to any nation’s economy. Unfortunately, there is one major problem limiting the potential of this industry: communication. While face-to-face meetings are great, it’s not always easy and efficient, especially when working with widely distributed teams across multiple projects. With the new 360° markups feature from HoloBuilder, this problem is about to become history.
The 360° markups feature allows you to take a virtual tour of your construction site, take notes and pass location-specific instructions. After importing a 3D model into the HoloBuilder web editor, the user-friendly interface makes it easy to draw a markup and highlight specific issues, such as the need for some machinery in a particular location, and communicate these issues to members of the team.
Once a markup is drawn and a comment is made, it becomes automatically included in the 360° MarkupList. This is where all images and comments can be tracked, showing why and when a markup was added and by whom. The MarkupList can be accessed by all project collaborators in real-time, making it easy for the relevant party to take the required action.
This feature is a great tool for seamless and efficient team collaboration and may very well reshape the future of design and construction. Ensuring the same data is available online to project participants helps keep all collaborators on the same page without the need for physical proximity.
It is also a great way of reporting ongoing activities on-site. If you’d like to know if a new door has been delivered and installed, all you have to do is go on a “virtual walk” to that section—while never leaving your desk. This, of course, can help save transportation costs, among other things.
Additional benefits of the 360° markups feature include the ability to estimate project outcomes and required materials. The system uses existing data in the framework, including markups, to make calculations about the amount of material still required for project completion. For example, the system can estimate how many more doors need to be ordered and installed in order to meet project goals. This can save a great deal of time and prevent the all-too-common wastage associated with ordering excessive materials.
Without a doubt, the design and construction industry could use more practical applications of HoloLens. The HoloBuilder 360° markups feature might just be the next big thing in the industry. More information about this feature can be found in HoloBuilder’s comprehensive tutorial.