Mobile Data Collection and Centralized Web Mapping Solution for Bridge and Culvert Inspections
Part of the Builterra Civil Engineering Eco-System includes extensive structural inspection and reporting. The Ontario Structures Inspection Manual (OSIM) clearly outlines the inspection criteria for the field engineer.
The Builterra Platform
The configurable Builterra database framework used in construction contract administration, geotechnical soils, road materials testing and utility inspection also lends itself to the standard reporting requirements laid out by the province of Ontario Ministry of Transportation for Bridge and Culvert inspection and reporting.
If you are a civil engineer or local municipality already using Builterra for project delivery, this means you can extend the Builterra platform for OSIM related data collection and reporting.
Past Bridge Data Inspections
Since bridges are mostly existing and have a set location within the province, you can “pre-load” the previous year’s bridge inspection data into Builterra using MS Excel. The bridge will appear in the mapping environment, ready for field inspection on the mobile device. Managing bridge data year after year will be much easier if your firm is dong the inspection work over a period of many years. Since the OSIM reporting is standardized, the bridge data may be shared with the Ministry of Transportation or the municipal owner as a direct link, Excel, Word or ESRI Shape file for GIS data consolidation.
Geolocated Mobile Data Collection with Categorized Photos
The OSIM mobile form is a standard Builterra data collection form with configured pages and an element table for endless data collection. The past bridge inspection data can be copied and edited for a new inspection record. Element data can be captured and photographed throughout the day using the mobile application.
Element Data and Photos organized!
Element Data, captioned and marked up photos are all collected randomly using the app as you do the inspection. The OSIM report generated will sort and organize element data by category and post photos associated with the inspected element vs randomly numbered photos at the end of the report.
Working offline – No Problem!
It can work OFF Line to provide mobile data collection in remote locations, ready to be synchronized at the end of the day or week from wifi connection.
OSIM Report Ready
As data is collected, photos are captured, the report is a by-product of the data driven database capture.
Based on the standard reporting style that engineers come to expect, the report can be generated in real-time with no user interaction.
This is a generated Word or PDF formatted document that looks exactly like the current OSIM report.
If the user were to have online connectivity, the OSIM can be previewed on the device, approved and literally emailed to any stake holder. The data resides in the cloud, so project managers can monitor inspection as it happens. Owners and contractors can use the same inspection as a guideline for meta data reporting for rehab estimates and contract administration progress reporting.
Sharing Data with Owners, Consultants and Contractors
Based on the premise of the Builterra Azure cloud, Owners can “host” the bridge projects, and request the consultant using Builterra to do the inspection and reporting work using the provided OSIM forms. This work can be viewed by the owner or rehab contractor in real-time using a web browser. The mapping environment means that the OSIM inspection data is centralized, lending itself to post-process meta-data reporting and analysis.
More than Just Bridge and Culvert Inspection
The Builterra Platform combines the use of mobile and cloud technology to enable engineers to collect any kind of geolocated data without the cost and expense of formal GIS systems and complicated training and use. Builterra was first introduced at a construction contract administration platform used for progress payment inspection and certification. It’s grown organically throughout the civil engineering eco-system as a quick and easy solution for data collection in the field without complexity.
