Sortland Entreprenør is building the SKREI Museum using Oculo for full control of documentation and reporting

From on-site images with Oculo to data-driven project insight with Interaxo

Oculo is a visual, digital field tool that uses AI to combine images from the construction site with BIM models and technical drawings. All it requires is for one person to walk a certain route through the building with the Oculo camera mounted on their helmet. Then, the entire project team gets access to an up-to-date 360° overview of each floor – directly in Interaxo Project. This allows the team to easily monitor progress, identify changes and potential deviations, and add virtual annotations to areas that require follow-ups. And the best part? Not as many people need to travel to the construction site anymore.

For the SKREI project, Oculo has proven particularly valuable for linking quantity control and changes to the correct drawing version. The project is carried out in accordance with NS 8405 – a Norwegian standard contract governing traditional design–bid–build construction projects – and decisions are largely based on drawings and specifications.

“Everything goes through Interaxo. Drawings, change notifications, clarifications – nothing goes via email. That makes it so much easier to trace the basis for decisions after the fact,” Marit shares.

“If questions arise about which drawing formed the basis for construction, we can easily find and refer to the correct drawing – date-stamped and supported by image history from Oculo. That gives a lot of reassurance both during construction and after handover.”
– Lars Christian Langø, Project Manager at Sortland Entreprenør

Actively utilising visual documentation – supporting both forward planning and progress history

Oculo has proven highly useful for both cost periodisation and progress tracking during the construction of the SKREI Museum. While information such as material purchases can be traced through invoices, Oculo provides an accurate picture of how far production has actually progressed.

“When it’s time to periodise and report on finances, we can easily go back and see where we were at a given point in time. Or whether we had built a specific wall yet, or not, for example. That provides an incredbly precise picture of both progress and costs,” Marit explains. The percentage of completion is updated by period, helping the project managers maintain control over both progress and ongoing costs. “We always have an accurate overview of the project’s financial status at hand – from beginning to end,” she adds.

Photo: Andre Riise

With Oculo, the construction phase is documented on an ongoing basis – from the starting point where internal walls are still open to when the floor plan is fully completed. “We have full visibility of what the constructions actually look like behind the walls,” Lars says. “If we take the choice of floor covering as an example, this is something we can easily look up in Interaxo; including when a decision was made, when materials were ordered, and when the job was carried out. If questions or disagreements ever arise, all the information we need is right there – easily accessible and clearly documented with time-stamped images from Oculo.”

Less travel, reduced costs, and more time in return

Before Oculo, everyday work on construction projects was largely characterised by manual photography using private phones or cameras. Combine that with time-consuming storage, sorting, and sharing of images – and there was still no guarantee that the documentation needed later on would actually be available. “Although we took a lot of pictures before, as well, we often found ourselves missing the particular images we actually needed later on. Now that we have Oculo, there’s no need to worry about that anymore,” Lars tells us.

Not only does Oculo save time on tasks like image documentation; it automates processes such as anonymising the people that are visible in the images. According to Lars and Marit, internal collaboration processes are also far more efficient now that they can show progress directly in the model, supported by the Oculo images.

“During steering committee meetings, we pull up the Oculo model and show how far we’ve actually come, rather than just describing it in our own words. The same applies to our contact with architects and consultants who are located elsewhere in the country. The project has become incredibly transparent because of that.”
– Marit Anette Eilertsen, Project Manager at Sortland Entreprenør

Oculo: An investment in the future of construction projects

There is no doubt about the value that Oculo added to the development of SKREI Museum – both during construction and after completion. “If questions ever come up about what’s behind a wall, what kind of studs were used, or how technical installations were routed, we simply refer to the Oculo images,” Lars explains.

The project managers are certain about one thing: they want to keep using Oculo in future projects – especially bigger construction projects such as new-builds. They see potential to make even greater use of the tool’s functionality. As Lars concluded: “I think we have only scratched the surface here. It’s clear that there’s so much value to gain by implementing Oculo in construction projects. As project managers, there are certain situations we hope never occur, of course – but if something ever were to happen after handover, Oculo is extremely helpful to have.”