We divide construction software tools into three main functions — estimating, job costing and project management. However, sometimes we find information that doesn’t fall into those categories but nonetheless warrants a mention, for it demonstrates a simple use of technology that makes life as a contractor easier. Here we present one such example.

We recently found an article called Take Photos During Construction To Document Hidden Utilities. The article was on a blog called Helpful Advice for Home Construction Improvement and focused on how photos are a handy way to keep track of the pipes and wires running inside our walls. Ordinarily, we read blogs like that to see what’s going on in the construction industry but don’t link to them. This post, though, got us thinking.

Pictures, as the saying goes, are worth a thousand words. Photos taken at regular intervals can illustrate a job’s progress in a way that poster-sized schedules cannot. They can also save lots of trouble, as anyone who’s punctured a pipe while hammering into a wall can sadly attest. Finally, they can be good for marketing — a website or portfolio with photos of projects you’ve done certainly looks better than a page of text.

Any contractor, then, would benefit from a digital photo album. Taking photos is easy — digital cameras are inexpensive and, heck, there’s probably one on your phone. (Shameless plug alert: If you need help finding one, sister site DigitalCameraReview.com might be a good start.) Managing photos is easy, too — once you sync your camera up to your computer, your photos will end up on your hard drive (in the My Pictures folder in Windows XP and in the Windows Photo Gallery in Windows Vista). From there, you can create folders and organize your photos as you wish.

The next, step, of course, is to get the photos off your computer and into the hands of your team. Free photo-sharing websites like Flickr might work, but only if you don’t care if everyone else in the free world gets to see the shots, too. A (much) better option is to save the photos into your construction project management software. Many such software packages allow users to add attachments — relevant forms, reports and, yes, photos. If you’re not sure if your software can do this, call your customer service rep and ask about it.

Admittedly, incorporating photos into everyday construction project management will come with a bit of an initial learning curve. You’ll have to determine what aspects of a project are best served by photographic evidence, how many photos to take, how often to take them, how many to attach to project management software documents and so on. If, however, you draw on your own experience and common sense, then it shouldn’t take long to figure out how to use photos to your advantage for the purposes of project management and marketing.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, August 13th, 2008 at 7:42 am and is filed under Construction industry news and trends. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.