An investigation into the most promising applications of digital
image photography by architecture and construction firms
Digital image photography defined
A whole new way of taking pictures, digital photography captures
images electronically, making them instantly available for computer
processing and output. Consequently, the image is far more
versatile than a traditional photograph, which requires extensive
processing. Once downloaded to a computer, the image, like any
other electronic document, may be printed, enhanced, filed in a
database, or transmitted to remote locations. Computers thus play
an integral role in digital photography. Digital cameras have
evolved to an important stage - they are actually easy to use. If
accepted and integrated with design and construction processes,
this technology has the potential to change the way architecture
and construction firms communicate. Currently, there are a
significant number of firms in the building industry that are
considering the use of digital cameras to replace or augment
current photographic services. Few however, have begun to take
fully take advantage of this technology. The goals of this research
are to:Demonstrate the feasibility of architecture and construction
firms successfully using this technologyBegin to assess the
potential impacts of digital image technology on the design and
construction process
MethodologySurveys, interviews and trial
applications were used to investigate the feasibility of
architecture and construction firms using digital photography and
related technology. The strategy of this research was to show that
existing expenditures on photographic services by architecture and
construction firms are comparable to the costs of a digital image
system, and thus encourage the use and experimentation of this
technology in the industry. Surveys were distributed to Seattle
area design and construction firms that explored the existing use
of photography on various types of projects and contracts. Surveys
also requested existing expenditures made for photographic services
in order to assess the feasibility of investing in digital image
technology. Several open-ended questions explored the current
understanding of and interests in digital image technology. Several
survey respondents were contacted and interviewed in person to
examine how digital image technology may be integrated into their
work processes and services. Trial applications of digital
photography were also performed to gain first-hand experience using
digital imaging tools. Finally, three case studies were initiated
in which digital technology has been used on building projects.
Currently in progress, these case studies will focus on determining
the potential benefits and improvements in project communication
that result from using digital image technology.
Industry
surveyA survey of 25 architecture and 25 construction
contractors assessed current areas of photographic use and
expenditures on photographic services on a per-project basis.
Respondents were also asked to suggest what types of projects and
contract types result in increased needs for photographic
documentation. Lastly, the survey assessed current experiences with
and further interests in incorporating digital photography into the
design and construction process.
Survey data and analysis:
Fifteen architecture and 15 construction firms responded to the
survey. Per project and Annual project expenditures were
categorised into six different areas of current photographic use:
Site Analysis, Monitoring Project Progress, Record Keeping,
As-Built Record Keeping, Marketing and Other
. The
respondents rated each category in terms of the frequency of use of
traditional photography using a scale of 0-3, three being the most
frequent. Estimates of expenditures on photography in each category
were also provided. Current experiences with and future interests
in digital photography were compiled in a short answer format. The
data collected was averaged and summarised for three areas of
focus: Areas of Use, Current Expenditures on Photography, and
Interest and Experience in Digital Image Photography.
Areas of
useThe architecture and construction firms responding indicated
that there are extensive needs for photography in their
organisations. While both types of firms use a large volume of
marketing photos, architecture firms have greatest use for
photographic documentation during initial site analysis
.
Construction firms rely more heavily on photographic documentation
of Project Progress
. Respondents were also asked to compare
their use of photography on different types of projects, e.g. New
Construction, Renovation Projects, Tenant Improvement/Fit-out,
Infrastructure and Other. Most agreed that all projects require
photography and varied amounts depending on size and duration.
However, renovation work and new construction required many more
photos for site analysis and project documentation. These photos
were normally medium quality colour photos taken by in-house
employees. Finally, comparisons of photographic use were made
between projects with different contractual arrangements, e.g. Lump
sum, Negotiated, Design-build, Cost-Plus and Other. While most
firms indicated that there was no difference, several contractors
pointed out that the higher the risk of litigation or disputes, the
more photos are taken to document site conditions and project
progress.
Current expendituresFor each of the same areas of
use, expenditures were averaged for both types of firms responding.
Architecture firms spend an average of $18,000 per year on
photographic services, approximately $2,314 of which supports site
analysis. Contracting firms spend an average $35,725 per year, on
photographic services, approximately $13,000 of which supports
monitoring project progress. Expenditures were also evaluated on a
per project basis to determine if it would be feasible to purchase
and use a digital camera for site analysis or project documentation
on a single project. While architecture firms were found to be
spending the most money per project ($916 average) on high quality
photos for marketing purposes, they are also spending close to $750
per project for site analysis, monitoring progress and record
keeping (services most easily replaced with digital images).
Construction firms were found to be spending up to $5000 per
project for site analysis, monitoring progress and record keeping.
Both of these figures were then compared to actual costs of an
example digital image management system.
Current industry
interest and use of digital image photographyExperiences of the
respondents who are currently using digital photography have been
positive. They have found added benefits in the speed in which
images are available for use, compatibility with electronic media,
and in the actual management of images. Two common problems
experienced were the quantity of storage space and the management
of large numbers of images. Several existing field applications of
digital image technology were examined to gain insight into the
benefits and motivating factors experienced by users. Experiences
of architects, contractors and owners ranged from general
experimentation to full-fledged digital image management systems.
Architecture firms have begun using digital image technology to
assist in the design process. In one case, digital photos were
taken of an architectural model and used to make a presentation to
a client in a remote location. Many images were displayed with a
computer, and the need to transport the model to the client's
office was eliminated. In another case, images were combined with
CAD drafting overlays to produce construction documents for a
renovation project. Discussion with several architecture firms
reaffirmed that the highest use of photography outside marketing
was for site analysis at the onset of projects, in particular,
renovation projects. Construction firms were found to be using
digital cameras to capture daily progress photos for historical
record keeping purposes. It was found that the highest need for
images is on renovation projects where the need to show "before"
and "after" conditions is often necessary. Images were stored on
disks and archived for future reference, eliminating the need for
cumbersome photo albums. Several design, engineering and
contracting firms have also begun to use advanced systems that are
designed to catalogue and transmit images between remote locations.
Owners were found to be driving another application of digital
photography - the inclusion of images of construction projects on
Internet web pages to provide owners and project participants with
up-to-date progress photos of a project. Galleries of recent photos
can be created using the most basic HTML code. Real-time images can
also be included as they are captured by conventional video
cameras, digitised by a computer and downloaded automatically to
web pages at pre-determined intervals. This application could
easily be adapted for time-lapse analysis of on-site operations. It
has been envisioned that in the near future, project sites equipped
with advanced teleconferencing systems will allow project
participants in remote locations to participate in a real-time
project walk-through using digital image technology. By far, the
most extensive users of digital image technology are owners.
Organisations like Boeing, Microsoft, the GSA, and the US Postal
Service have begun to transfer their project documentation from
traditional photography to digital image format. In many cases, the
use of digital image photography on a particular project was found
to be driven by the owner. Overall, the use of digital cameras by
architecture and construction firms was found to be very limited.
Actual applications that were observed were limited to basic tasks.
Almost every firm contacted, however, expressed a strong interest
in this technology, and intentions to explore its use. In the
future, the respondents envisioned using digital photography in the
following ways: To enhance and improve existing use of photography,
especially for site analysis and project documentation Transmission
of real-time progress images by Internet bidding and documentation
of existing damage to job sites before work beginsDevelopment of
manuals/presentations for methods and safety training Video
presentations Making alternative working drawing methods using
photos of details from previous projects If transfer of digital
images was as easy as pasting text into a CAD drawing or document,
then actual photo images could be used in renovation/remodel sets
to show changes Documenting renovation projects and as-builts
Trial applicationAn example digital image system was set up
and tested by the research team. This application was performed to
gain first-hand experience with several popular and readily
available products. The application included researching available
tools and acquiring and setting up the necessary hardware and
software for a basic imaging system. Images of sample projects were
then captured, viewed and archived as they would be on trial design
and construction projects. The products used for the application
included: Kodak Digital Science 40 camera: capturing images
$800PhotoEnhancer Software: transferring images to a computer
(existing)Computer with 133MHhz processor: view and use images
(existing) QuickSolve Image Database: manage images $600 Iomega Zip
Drive (storage): share/archive images $200 Netscape Software: add
images to web pages (N/A) PowerPoint Presentation software: present
images at meetings (existing) Total: $1600The above tools were used
to capture and manage sample images. These images were then used
for a number of practical purposes including: Capturing images from
a site investigation and cataloguing in a database Superimposing
images of an architectural model onto images of a prospective site
Viewing images on a high-resolution screen to analyse site
conditions in detail Including images on a sample project specific
web pagePresenting a project proposal with images in a PowerPoint
presentation
Results The tools used in this application were
very easy to use and readily available. Images were most clearly
viewable on a computer monitor and printed on a laser printer.
Images were also very easily added to project reports, PowerPoint
presentations and web pages for dissemination to project players.
The image database allowed large numbers of images to be stored,
sorted and retrieved effectively by using key words and captions
created by the users. The Zip drive allowed up to 80 full size and
300 compressed images to be stored on one 100Mb disk, which was
essential once a large number of images were acquired. One drawback
of this system was that images were recorded in a format that
allowed them to be edited or altered. This is considered to
potentially make them inadmissible as evidence should they ever be
needed to resolve a dispute. Several methods are available,
however, to store images in a format in which they can not be
changed. These include writing the images to a compact disc
(physically burns image onto disk) and several proprietary systems
that prohibit alteration of images once they are downloaded from a
camera. The training needed to learn how to use the tools in this
application could easily be accomplished in a day. It was estimated
that a project engineer on site would require approximately one
hour per day to annotate and archive 25 images taken on a daily
project walk-through. This time would be added to the time needed
to complete daily project logs and progress reports. In summary,
the products used were easy to work with, and produced useful
results. The cost of the necessary tools ($1600) was also found to
be well within the range of typical expenditures on photographic
services for a single project ($914 - $5000). The advantages of
easily accessible site analysis photos to architects combined with
the simplicity of combining images with design information make
this technology of great interest to the architecture profession.
Documenting large numbers of progress photos also proved to be
quite feasible and attractive to construction contractors.
RecommendationsThe goal of this study was to assess the
feasibility of, and best applications for using digital photography
in the building design and construction process. It is evident that
the graphical nature of communication used in the design and
construction process can be immediately enhanced by the capability
to capture and exchange images of site conditions and work
progress. By evaluating existing use and expenditures for
photographic services, as well as the affordability of digital
cameras, it was found that most medium to large firms could easily
begin replacing traditional photographic services for site analysis
and project documentation with digital photography. This initial
change would allow the advanced features of this technology to be
explored, largely driven by client needs and marketing initiatives.
An effort was made to determine what type of projects and
contractual arrangements require an above average amount of photo
documentation. Renovation projects, above all, have the highest
need for photographic records for both architecture and
construction firms. For the most part, however, the need for photos
is driven by two factors: project location and potential
litigation, regardless of project type or contract arrangement.It
is feasible, if not cost effective, for architecture and
construction firms to begin using digital image technology. In many
cases, the benefits are already being experienced by firms who have
purchased digital cameras and begun using them on site. One
important trend to note is that more owners are beginning to expect
the kind of high quality and timely progress reporting that digital
image photography can provide. It is envisioned that eventually
this service will be required of architects and contractors, and
should therefore be offered during marketing proposals.Three
factors will continue to encourage architecture and construction
firms to use digital photography. First, there may be specific
needs and requests of clients to provide digital photography
services on a project. Second, digital image photography can
replace traditional photographic services at some savings and in
many cases, with improved management and versatility of images.
Third, digital image technology can be used to improve the
communication of site conditions and work-in-progress between
design and construction firms.A recommended strategy to encourage
experimentation with this technology is to replace existing use of
traditional photography for site analysis and project documentation
with digital photography. In time, as the need arises, the use of
the technology can be expanded to some of the more advanced
functions discussed above. The following practical lessons learned
through the trial application and case studies are provided as a
practical guide for setting up and implementing a basic digital
image photography system.
Future researchIt is evident that
the use of digital image photography will continue to grow in the
building industry. As a result, more avenues to take advantage of
this technology will surface. Questions being asked by architects
and contractors are not whether or not to use this technology, but
how to best put it to use to improve design and construction
processes. In response to this question, further case studies will
be performed to determine how the ability to share current images
of the site and construction progress can be used to and improve
project communication and the productivity of designers and project
managers.
( 1999 CEROCompiled by Arlene Martin