inspecting by skype 1

[rowingengineer]

How do people feel about using Skype and web cam for site inspection on structural concrete pre pour inspections? For example say footing and slab or piers?

I find it a bit unnerving relying on someone to point in the right direction and show the correct stuff however it could save a lot of time for deep bush inspections. I am also concerned that maybe the big picture will get lost, with large problems slipping into the gaps.


An expert is a man who has made all the mistakes which can be made in a very narrow field

 

[patprimmer]

I think it can be an additional tool, not a full substitute.

A lot depends on how much confidence you do and can have in the person pointing the camera and doing the talking, AND on the quality of the camera and the skill of the photographer.

Regards
Pat
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[hokie66]

Probably would work for simple things, but for anything complex, I think you need to see it in three dimensions.

 

[Ron]

RE...agree with Pat and hokie. All of us have used photos from time to time for familiarity and clarity when talking with the person on site.

Pat is right about the quality. If you use a good quality camera and the person using it has some videography capability, then it can be very useful, particularly in "real time" when you have direct contact with the on-site guy. An attorney friend of mine has been trying to push us in that direction for a couple of years. Maybe he's just looking to represent the other side!!

One caution to your videographer...if he thinks he's moving the camera too slow, have him slow it down a bit more!

 

[dgowans]

In essence, all you're attempting to do is simulate the inspection process. I would treat this as any simulation should be treated:

All the simulation (or inspection by proxy/Skype, etc.) in the world is worthless without validation that your simulation correlates with real-world conditions.

Maybe try to do an inspection via Skype which is then followed by an onsite inspection? You'd probably learn where the pitfalls are. This isn't my area of expertise, but I'd be worried about the little things getting missed, not the big ones as you suggested.

 

[PeterStock]

I would suggets that you make sure the camera is operated by someone on your payroll, not the contractor.

Also, I would think it should be more using the video to document, not perform the inspection.

Peter Stockhausen
Senior Design Analyst (Checker)
Infotech Aerospace Services

http://www.infotechpr.net

 

[MacGyverS2000]

Meh, they do medical diagnoses by video these days, why not inspections... ;-)

Dan - Owner

http://www.Hi-TecDesigns.com

 

[TDAA]

I could see using it as a tool when someone on your team (not the contractor) has a question about what they see. That way you can talk through it in real time, and get different views. I think this would be better than relying solely on photos e-mailed to you.

If it was something I felt I should look at in the first place, I would not do it by video.

 

[patprimmer]

Obviously it should not be done by the contractor. A trusted competent third party might be OK.

I believe the issue driving the question is the isolation of some sites in the Aussie outback and consequential travel time, cost and sometimes discomfort.

Regards
Pat
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[hokie66]

I agree with others that this could be very useful in cases where you have an engineer or inspector on site who needs to discuss a situation with someone in the office. For instance, the young engineer in Darwin who isn't confident about something, so he shows it to the design engineer in Adelaide.

 

[patprimmer]

Or if the structure is being built somewhere along the Barkley tablelands or at Woomera maybe and a junior engineer is on site.

Regards
Pat
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[apsix]

A useful tool, but I wouldn't want to use it as the basis of an inspection sign-off.

 

[plasgears]

I do not use skype routinely, but I have experienced viewing my son's quarters overseas with very good fidelity. By the way, I tape over the camera port unless I am using it.

 

[plasgears]

3D effects can be had by viewing a subject from two or more vantage points. Take your house, for example: view the front from the left corner and the right corner. Then draw closer and make several sweeping closeups of the entrance area. I have been able to draw reasonable accurate plot plans from photo sources. Features can be plotted on the plan by cross sight lines indicated on the photos.

 

[FreddyNurk]

Considering the location, its often the case that the communications medium that you'd rely on to carry out an inspection via skype isn't there either.

I can think of at least 3 or 4 locations where we have facilities that don't have NextG comms or anything else with suitable bandwidth to allow for such technology to be used.

Some places have that option, a lot don't, and given the fact that the locations that are most likely to benefit from such techniques are the same ones that don't have good communications, its a difficult issue. I don't see it being solved completely in the short term either.

Grainy low resolution images that may be able to be supported by a dial up connection are probably not good enough to be the basis of an inspection anyway.