The Definitive Guide to

Construction Progress Management

 Table of contents
3 Introduction

4 Understanding the types of data

5 Organize your data for project success

8 Integrate data

12 Promote data use internally and externally

14 Conclusion & resources

In this guide
Effective construction progress management (CPM) is the key to delivering projects efficiently, on time, and on budget. The tools and
platforms available are making it easier to capture and use data to inform the CPM process. Managing this data effectively will allow
you to produce the ROI for your organization.

In this guide, you will learn about different data types in a construction project and how best to use your data to improve project
performance. We will highlight the important role that people play in helping your organization to fully benefit from your data. Then
we will show you how to improve the way your remote teams collaborate by utilizing key software integrations.

Key questions answered:

• Which types of data exist in the construction industry, and how can you take advantage of them?
• How can you make the best use of your 360° photo data to effectively manage construction progress?
• What steps can you take to reap the most benefit from your data throughout the project lifecycle?

2
Introduction
Although still in its early stages, the construction industry is start-
ing to embrace technology. With the increased use of technology
Construction Progress Management (CPM):
comes the exponential increase in the amount of data that is gener-
CPM consists of three primary components, which form the
ated by project stakeholders – valuable data. Some of this data is
core of the HoloBuilder platform.
created during the normal course of doing daily business. However,
a large amount of data is being intentionally created to improve
• 360° Photo Capture: Structured photo capturing of
project performance and deliver ROI for the technology being used.
site progress using a 360° or standard camera —
automatically organized by floor plan location & time.
Alarmingly, a 2017 report on Big Data by the FMI, a leading manage-
• Digital Progress Record: A complete digital record of
ment consulting and investment banking firm for the built environ-
construction progress, created from a series of 360°
ment, noted that 95.5% of all construction data generated in the en-
photos, organized by project, floor plan, and time.
gineering and construction industry goes unused. Likely, this figure
• Remote Site Access: Access a construction site from
has not changed that much in the 4 years since. Also, this presents
anywhere, anytime via a web browser, by easily
a tremendous opportunity to leverage data to drive improvements
navigating through 360° site images to see any point in
in project performance.
the as-built progress.
Thanks to the rapid development of tools like 360° photo capture,
Combined, these components allow all project stakeholders to
you can collect large amounts of visual data from your project. This
view and interact with current and historical project progress
includes the captured image data and the cumulative data from the
information.
various stakeholders involved in the project via markups, issues,
and RFI’s.

Raw data is very much like a diamond in the rough, holding the
potential of great value once cleaned and polished. When raw data
gets cleaned, purposed, and directed in a meaningful way, the door
opens to a large array of benefits. This guide will focus on the effec-
tive use of the data that you collect using the HoloBuilder Construc-
tion Progress Management platform. This will help you to realize
meaningful ROI for your business. We will dive into 3 core focus
areas that are essential to getting the most out of your data: The
organization of data, data integration, and the promotion of its use
both internally and externally.

3
Understanding the types of data
With so much data being generated, it’s important to understand
the terminologies that are being used when working with data, and
What is Metadata? Metadata is data or information that is
what kind of data you are working with.
used to describe other data. Using a photo as an example,
the name, timestamp, category, and location information is all
Irrespective of the type of data, being able to interact with it visually
metadata that describes the photo, or primary data.
always yields the most benefit. As the adage goes: ‘You cannot com-
ment intelligently on something you cannot see’. With the amount
of quality 360° photos being collected comes the ability to use this
data to measure performance throughout the project lifecycle.

Structured data: Unstructured data: Semi-structured data:

This type of data is predominantly text
and numbers and is usually collected in a
spreadsheet or SQL database. Think of a
building element from a BIM model that
contains property and quantity informa-
tion. If you export this to a database, you
will have structured data.
Unstructured data is information that can-
not be structured in a database. Examples
of this are letters, surveys, drawings, and
photos. More than 80% of all the data that
remains unused is classified as unstruc-
tured data, and therefore holds the great-
est potential for improving project delivery
performance.
Semi-structured data is technically unstruc-
tured data that can be collected in a data-
base. An excellent example of this, which
you will use extensively for your construc-
tion progress management, are 360° pho-
tos captured in HoloBuilder. The photo on
its own is a form of unstructured, visual
data. However, the data becomes search-
able and structured when combined with
metadata like timestamps, location infor-
mation, categories, and markups.

4
Organize your data for project success
Key Goal: Maximize the reach of your captured data across
multiple business functions and project stakeholders by
providing organized, structured data that is relevant and
timely.
Resources: To see detailed guides on how to create categories,
category templates, and renaming photos and sheets here.
Nothing can deter someone more from using a set of data than
having it be unorganized and seemingly random. On the flip side,
it can be very rewarding to look at a dataset and quickly find the
information that is relevant to the task at hand.
lar and relevant to different teams, you can further categorize those
360° photos based on defined areas or specific elements within
those areas.
Organize 360° photos through naming
The other organizational method that can be used is to define a
naming structure for your captured 360° photos. This creates a
level of granularity in the data that compliments your category
structure. This is where your time is well spent early on in the
project as new 360° photos only need to be named once. This can
pay great dividends, especially when working with subcontractors
or consultants who need to get up to speed with the project in the
shortest time pos-sible. Using a naming convention that matches
the room or area zoning naming is often the first choice.

Organize 360° photos by using categories Examples for category names:

Levels Area Zones Elements Discipline
Thankfully, the HoloBuilder platform provides mechanisms for or-
ganizing your data for efficient use. On the top of this list is the Basement External Doors Architecture
categories feature that is used for grouping captured 360° photos (AR)
into logical collections. Categories can be set up as templates on the Groundfloor Exterior - Windows Structure (ST)
enterprise level or created as needed on the project level. Facade North
1st Floor Interior Columns Mechanical
When deciding on how to set up your categories, keep the follow- (ME)
ing objective in mind: You want to maximize the reach of your Roof Interior - South Beams Electrical (EL)
captured data across multiple business functions and Atrium
project stakeholders. With this in mind, it is helpful to
remember that 360° photos can be assigned to multiple
categories at the same time. This is a key feature because you
can use the same 360° photos to inform multiple functions.
Top Tip: Use a naming convention that matches the room
or area zoning naming scheme. This helps stakeholders
For example, you may start with general categories that group your
easily orientate in the project, saving time.
data based on overall project phases, but to make this more granu-

5
Adapt your category strategy as the
project evolves
The different project phases can necessitate different category
strategies. The dynamics of the project teams can change during
the project with different sub-contractors and consultants getting
involved. By all means maintain an overarching strategy that aligns
with your planning team, but don’t be afraid to expand on that as
different needs arise. A lways remember, t hat what serves t he
project best is having the relevant data in the hands of as many
stakeholders as possible and organized in a way that is logical
for their function.
Notice how the tool tip on the sheet view automatically re lects the
360° photo name. This small amount of additional data makes
locating yourself logical and e icient. This quickly becomes apparent
on large projects.
Data organization that facilitates different
project phases
Pre-construction/Design: Your primary stakeholders at this
early stage of the project are going to be Architects, Engineers,
Project Managers, and Owners. From the conceptualization stages,
you can categorize captured 360° photos of the undeveloped site
with landmarks for reference. (e.g. North boundary access rd). This
will help design teams reference and locate real-world information
without needing to go to the site. As the design develops, you
can start naming 360° photos based on room or zone names,
categorizing them based on the construction sequence planning
that is underway (eg: Your 1st-floor sheet, the perimeter offices -
phase 1, service areas - phase 2, etc.).
Construction: The above organizational structure will carry through
to the construction phase very well, as it matches the construction
documentation that has been issued. Progress can be easily
tracked and managed by the key stakeholders: Project and
construction managers, cost control and finance, architects, and
engineers.
Speaking of finance teams, this is a time when construction
manag-ers can report on the rate of completion by contractors -
logically and visually. Reports can be issued based on the
construction phase categories that have been created, tying back
to your construction sequence planning. This validated
information can be used to facil-itate speedy payments to
contractors.
Facilities management: FM teams can continue to use the cate-
gory structure if it follows the room and zone naming used on the
final as-built documents. Further to that, they can also group
larger areas based on their management strategy for the asset.
The logical naming of the 360° photos can make this process easy
and intuitive.
6
PDF Reports

The 360° photo filter has been adjusted to display only the 360° photos in the category “Roofing”.
The PDF Report that can be signed off and approved reflects the same information as it is driven by the category structure.

7
Integrate data
We feature integrations with key Autodesk products:
Autodesk® BIM 360™, Revit®, and Navisworks®. However, we
have partnered with many of the most widely used platforms
being used today and have similar integrations with these. For
further detailed information on using HoloBuilder with these
platforms, please refer to the Integrations and Add-Ins help
articles.
Autodesk, the Autodesk logo, AutoCAD, BIM 360, Navisworks, Revit, are registered trademarks or trade-
marks of Autodesk, Inc., and/or its subsidiaries and/or affiliates in the USA and/or other countries.
Although 360° photo capture data is incredibly useful, when com-
bined with data from other sources to inform decision-making and
improve quality, the sum value of all the data increases exponen-
tially.
The current integrations with other platforms not only allow for the
sharing of information resources across platforms but also helps to
maintain a single source of truth.
The single source of truth
In the world of digital project delivery, a single source of truth for
data is the gold standard. The integrations available with
HoloBuilder allow you to connect into this single source of truth to
make use of the resources found there (Autodesk BIM 360 Docs),
to augment the data found there to aid issue resolution (Autodesk
BIM 360 Field), and to receive data from other connected apps to
aid in your progress tracking goals (Autodesk Revit & Navisworks).
Making use of these integrations from the early stages of the proj-
ect ensures that the data used is consistent and always the latest
available, benefiting all project stages.
“
HoloBuilder is a powerful software program with the flexibility
to adapt to many different project needs, including design and
construction oversight, project planning, virtual site presence,
asset management, and operations and maintenance.
Allison Yanites
Immersive Technology Lead, Arcadis North America
8
Pre-construction/Design:
• Import early site development sheets from BIM 360 Docs to
guide initial on-site 360° photo captures.
• As the design develops, import Revit views to start early coordi-
nation with real world site conditions.

Construction:
• At this stage, design coordination should be near completion.
As construction progresses, import views from your Navisworks
federated model to compare with the construction happening
on site.
• It is likely that people outside of your capture team will be taking
2D site photos. This should be encouraged as more information
from different perspectives always proves valuable. Collect and
organize these logically, in a way that matches your 360° cap-
tures. This will make it easier to import these 2D photos and
work with 2D galleries in your 360° photo.
• Connect to BIM360 Field to create issues directly from your
360° photo capture that gets logged for resolution on your
BIM360 platform.

9

Facilitate remote teams
If the year 2020 and the COVID-19 pandemic has taught the con-
struction industry anything, it is the need to be flexible in the way
that we work and deliver projects. As social distancing has become
the norm, the use of cloud-based project delivery platforms like
Procore and Autodesk® BIM 360 has skyrocketed. Add to that the
exponential increase in the use of communication platforms like
Microsoft Teams.
Following our theme of having organized data in the hands of as
many as possible, the BIM360 Partner Card and Microsoft Teams
integration enhance collaboration guided by your data even in re-
mote working situations.
BIM 360 Partner Card
“
We use HoloBuilder daily to manage progress in meetings
with the team, clients, and subcontractors. It has proven to be
extremely helpful in improving all communication by capturing
comprehensive insights, which would otherwise take much time,
experience, and effort. As a result, we are saving work hours and
reducing travel time back and forth to the site. It feels like we
are always carrying the entire project in our pockets — anytime,
anywhere.
Keisuke Hagiwara
Deputy Manager, Tokyo civil engineering branch office,
Kobotoke Disaster Recovery Project, Kajima Corporation
The HoloBuilder partner card on in BIM 360 allows
you to embed access to the 360° photos right from
your BIM 360 project dashboard. With each project
member having access to their onsite data directly (at
their fingertips) from their primary project delivery
platform, they can easily reference models and draw-
ings hosted on BIM 360 for improved coordination
and progress management.
10
Microsoft Teams

The use of online communication platforms like Microsoft Teams and Zoom have become key to keeping remote teams connected. With the Microsoft
Teams integration, you have access to your onsite data in a tab alongside all your other team communications and SharePoint files. Through the screen
sharing feature, multiple team members can actively navigate and interact with the shared interface. This improves active real-time collaboration
around a single source of data.

11
Promote data use internally and externally
Key Roles:
Data Managers: This is either a dedicated role for the project,
possibly forming part of your capture team that is site-based,
or forms part of an existing digital implementation or BIM role.
Digital Champions: Advocates who have embraced the use
of a particular digital platform and experience the benefits of
using the data in their day-to-day functions.
Your people are critical to promoting the effective use of 360° photo
data in your organization as well as encouraging its use by external
stakeholders. Developing a culture of data use internally will pay
large dividends when starting to work with teams and stakeholders
outside of your organization.
The enthusiasm of digital champions from each business function
can be infectious, so it’s important to identify these champions ear-
ly. As these digital champions experience the benefits of using data
within their various roles, they will advocate for its use within their
wider team. As this influence overlaps with other teams, the culture
of data use will grow quickly.
Identify individuals from all teams that interact with your
projects whether it be project finance, project management,
cost consulting, discipline-specific design teams, or onsite con-
struction management and planning teams. Get them collabo-
rating, especially with your data managers, to devise effective
processes that streamline the flow of information.
Your digital champions are also in the ideal position to engage with
external project stakeholders and familiarize them with how you
are using and benefiting from 360° capture data.
12
Involve your stakeholders early
in the process
The HoloBuilder platform is easy to use with an intuitive inter-
face. The beginning of each project phase is an ideal time to
introduce and onboard project stakeholders to the HoloBuilder
platform and show them how the data is being used. Data
managers and digital champions can play a pivotal role in promoting
the continued use of the data from one project phase to the next.
A note for data managers: The most useful data sets consist
of data that is captured consistently and frequently. You want
the data set to tell the complete story of the project. Through
the analytics available on the enterprise dashboard, you can
monitor your progress towards this goal. For further details,
refer to the analytics resources below.

Pre-construction/Design: Integrate the use of HoloBuilder data

into your BIM processes. Your BIM execution plan can detail
category structures and naming conventions for your 360°
photos. Early BIM kickoff meetings are a good opportunity to
involve the project team in the process of capturing and using 360°
capture data.

Design: As construction teams are appointed, engage with project

and construction managers as early as possible to get them
acquainted with the platform. They will continue to expand on the
data that has been collected during the design phase. Importantly,
highlight the reporting functionality and how to integrate it
into their existing workflows.

Facilities Management: After your final as-built capture run, it‘s

time to hand the batten over to the owner and facilities manage-
ment team. Show them the historical data and how it has been
structured. This story shows how the project got to this point and
will be a valuable resource for them as they continue to add their
inspection data.

13
Conclusion
The data that you collect holds an incredible amount of value for
your projects and your business as a whole. Be sure not to let it go
to waste by using it with purpose to drive efficiency and productiv-
ity.
The tools that are available to you in the HoloBuilder platform are
powerful in the way that they can help you to achieve your data
usage goals.
Your people remain your greatest asset and are the key to unlock-
ing the true value of your data.
Resources
• A Best Practice Guide to Efficient 360° Construction Photo Docu-
mentation
• A Best Practices Guide to Construction Progress Management
Analytics (HoloBuilder Help Center)
• HoloBuilder JobSite Analytics
• Introduction into the HoloBuilder Enterprise Dashboard
Categories & Renaming (HoloBuilder Help Center)
• How to create categories in the Web Editor
• Company-wide category templates for in-project categorization
• How to rename a 360° photo or sheet in the Web Editor
14
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and within budget.

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