You may have seen a time lapse video before. They are images taking at a regular interval by a camera, which once placed back-to-back, recreate all the events that happen in front of it, during a long period of time, in a matter of seconds or minutes. Today, these cameras are highly sophisticated and serve a large variety of purposes, including monitoring construction sites. Here is how the process works.

From Beginning to End

When a new construction project is about to start, the company that is in charge of the site will place the time lapse camera in a position where it will be able to catch all the action. It should see the first shovel of dirt and everything else happening there, all the way till the moment the owners walk in. There is no issue leaving it on site, by itself, for such a long time, since the camera is built with long duration rechargeable batteries. It enables the camera to stay on all the time. The batteries regain their energy through solar panels devoted to them. This way, they can do their job full time, which is taking care of construction site monitoring. When you remove the camera, the data it will have accumulated throughout all the days over which the construction took place, can be turned into a video, that will show the whole process, from beginning to end. It is the perfect gift for the new owners of the house, and it can serve for marketing purposes for the builders.

How does a Time Lapse Camera help Monitor a Construction Site?

The time lapse camera is the eyes on the ground. They are enabling those who aren’t there to see what is being done, every minute of the day. It is very important for managers, as they don’t have to be on location anymore. They can remain in their office and look at the data coming in through the software attached to the time lapse camera, in order to understand if the project is running smoothly or if it is falling behind. Since construction companies usually run multiple sites at the same time, it makes the managers lives much easier, as they don’t have to run from one to the other, every day.

This information is also shared with some of the key people on and off site. It is possible that the owner or the investors in the project live abroad or in another city. They can also be kept informed on the growth of the project, wherever they are. This is also true for the on-site manager, as well as other key people inside the company, who can be up-to-date on everything that is going on, at all times, simply by connecting themselves to the software that comes with the time lapse camera.

Helping to manage Workers, Equipment and Material

The data that the time lapse camera sends out provides a good idea of the situation on the site, to those who have to make decisions on workers tasks, the equipment and the material that is needed on the ground. By seeing the progression, it is possible for a manager to call upon more workers, if the delivery date is getting out of hands. Also, if there are special events happening, such as extreme weather, the manager in charge can request for a water pump to be brought on site, to evacuate the water that has pooled on the ground. They can also see if the material being used is sufficient or not, or if there are unexplainable losses, which would have to be addressed with the workers, as soon as possible.