Construction

The Construction Industry Advisor

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Webcams provide many eye-opening benefits

If you're looking for a tool to help you manage projects, monitor employees, identify opportunities for efficiencies and improve security, look no further than a Web camera, or Webcam.

Pan, tilt, zoom and upload

A Webcam system typically involves a digital camera that uploads images to a Web server continuously or at regular intervals. You can install a camera on a pole or robotic arm at a job site, and you can access the images it captures via the Internet.

Webcams can produce high-resolution snapshots and panoramic images -- and even shoot streaming video. They can also pan, tilt and zoom at the click of a mouse from any Internet-enabled computer and transmit images wirelessly in real time.

Monitor a job site 24/7

Perhaps the most obvious use for a Webcam is for security purposes. Would-be thieves are less likely to target a job site for equipment or tools if they know their activity is being monitored and recorded.

But Webcams provide many other benefits as well. Project stakeholders, such as your project managers, subs and owners, can use them to stay apprised of work in progress. They can literally see the job site to determine what has been done -- or not done -- without leaving their offices.

In a related benefit, a Webcam system enables you to better oversee your employees, because it provides a visual record of who entered and left the site and whether they did what they were supposed to do.

In addition, a Webcam system may help you identify opportunities to improve job-site efficiency. For example, by watching a series of Webcam images, you might realize that your crews aren't coordinating their efforts as well as they could or materials aren't being placed in the best locations. Armed with this knowledge, you can make adjustments to help boost productivity.

Do a little site-seeing

With benefits like these, you might consider using a Webcam to do a little site-seeing for your projects. After all, seeing is believing.