Construction software that combines aerial imaging with on-the-ground data from sensors and smart phones to provide a comprehensive overview of what’s happening and where on any project has been launched today.
OnePlace allows individual stakeholders to talk to each other and respond to queries and concerns in real time, either from the office or the job site
The software has been developed by Unearth, based in Seattle, which was founded by Brian Saab, Amy Hutchins and Nate Miller.
The platform’s real time collaboration improves alignment between a host of stakeholders, including landowners, general contractors, subcontractors, and regulatory agencies for transparent communication of day-to-day activities and unexpected issues.
It has been in beta form for over a year and has been tested launched with US top 10 contractors as well as smaller firms.
“The ability to have live interaction from the office to field and field to the office utilizing Unearth has streamlined our communication process,” says Casey Dougherty, Unearth customer and construction manager at IMCO construction. “It allows us to be more efficient, better prepared, and more profitable. The historical documentation we are able to compile from the product helps reduce claims, quantify materials and production, and helps build a solid jobsite portfolio."
CEO Brian Saab describes its software as “Slack meets Google Earth”, and the basic idea is to give everyone involved with a project a platform through which to share all information and make critical decisions.
The company has announced backing for the venture from a funding round of $3 million led by Madrona Venture Group with participation from Vulcan Capital.
OnePlace brings together real time construction data – aerial and ground photography, site maps, blueprints, and drone surveys – to create a live and transparent record of build progress accessible from any browser, on any device.
Designed for horizontal and vertical construction on large-scale commercial and civil projects.
“The construction industry is slow to change, but over the last several years data from drones, IoT devices and mobile phones has been flooding outdated systems based on decades-old approaches,” says Saab. “We’re taking advantage of this explosion in technology and its rapid pace of adoption to build a truly unique lens that lets you view what’s happening in a construction project.”
Unearth says that its new tool improves documentation and points out that a record of what was built and why is necessary to effectively communicate change orders and progress.
“It’s also essential for protection in legal disputes and incredibly useful for operations and maintenance of the life of the structure. Unfortunately, creating this record is a painstaking and manual process.
“Until now, no one had really figured out a way to simplify and automate documentation. Unearth solves this problem by using a combination of aerial imagery, mobile devices, and IoT to organize construction by place automatically, instead of manually within files and folders,” says the company.
The OnePlace feature list is growing almost weekly, and includes:
- Integration of plans, aerials, photos and more into one simple, place-based view;
- Automatic organisation of photos by place within aerial surveys or plans using GPS metadata;
- A simple staking tool to perfectly align blueprints to aerial imagery;
- Software access from any browser, anywhere, on any device;
- The ability to track change over time, including volumetric measurements;
- Support for a wide variety of file types and imagery including 360° photos.
OnePlace launches today at www.unearthlabs.com. The company is offering free access to the software for 30 days through their self sign-up feature
Over the last several years data from drones, IoT devices and mobile phones has been flooding outdated systems based on decades-old approaches. We’re taking advantage of this explosion in technology to build a truly unique lens that lets you view what’s happening in a construction project.– Brian Saab, Unearth
