BIW LINKS WITH CamVista TO OFFER REAL-TIME IMAGES VIA THE INTERNET

30 November 2001
 
Users of the BIW Information Channel, the UK market-leading project collaboration web service, now have access to an additional resource which enables them to view real time webcam images of their projects on site.

Provided following an agreement between web services provider BIW Technologies and CamVista, the visual application solutions provider, this functionality extends the existing free module within Information Channel which allows users to publish and view conventional still photographs. As with Information Channel, images are sent via the internet to any standard PC or Mac and are displayed in BIW's user-customisable workplace environment.

CamVista will supply, install and maintain as many cameras as the client requires, also providing full outsourcing of the internet and technical resources required to produce reliable and secure live images, as a fully supported service. The images can be static views of the project or person-operated allowing the user to pan, tilt and zoom. These live images can be viewed 24 hours a day, 365 days a year and the service also includes automatic time-stamped image archiving.

Live monitoring cuts costs by reducing the number of site visits and making those remaining more focused. It is also makes possible remote guidance - an architect, for example, can instruct an on-site contractor by phone and then check to see that the work is carried out correctly.

Through the archiving facility, all parties have a permanent visual record of what work was undertaken, when it was completed and the standard to which it was performed. Such data can be invaluable in resolving contractual disputes such as claims made by a client against a contractor over breach of performance clauses. Webcam technology can also expand existing, conventional site security and monitoring systems.

It is also a marketing tool which clients can use to allow buyers/tenants to view their property under construction. These archived images can ultimately be stitched together to produce a short time-lapse record of the whole project.

The archived webcam footage can also be a useful tool for future developments, highlighting how problems occurred and thus facilitating preventative action on new work.

Benefits also extend beyond the project team members to development funders, investors, owners and insurers who can view the project via a website - potentially a whole portfolio of property assets could be regularly reviewed at a glance.

BIW Technologies CEO Colin Smith says: "We are constantly looking for new services to enhance still further the benefits clients and project teams gain from the Information Channel. Our arrangement with CamVista, the market leader in its sector, takes this an important step forward with cost effective live imaging providing reliable and secure access to the progress of a project."

CamVista CEO Robert Kilgour says: "Our current key focus is on the construction and project management sectors. Linking forces with the leading web services provider, BIW Technologies, enables us to offer our service to a wide spectrum of clients, architects, surveyors, managers and funders involved in some of the most prestigious projects in the UK. There is also great potential to extend the service to overseas developments, where, of course, the savings in time and cost of travel to view site activity could be far greater."

Further information:

• BIW Technologies:
  Paul Wilkinson: 0845 1300 800 (mobile 07788 445920)
• CamVista:
  Robert Kilgour: 01592 652 813

Editor's Notes

• Project collaboration services from BIW Technologies (www.biwtech.com) were first employed in 1998 on UK construction projects for Sainsbury. The customer list now includes Capital One Bank, housebuilder Crest Nicholson, Marks & Spencer, Manchester Airport, the Ministry of Defence, the Welsh Development Agency, Asda, the Wellcome Trust, Kajima and developer Garbe. As the technology is adopted by each client's supply chain, growth of the BIW Information Channel user base has accelerated, with 6206 users being added in the 12 months up to 30 September 2001, compared with 2018 added in the previous 12 months.
• BIW Information Channel is a sophisticated web-based supply chain integration technology, originally designed specifically for construction projects. Each client is provided with a unique, project-specific website created around a knowledge database. Using this, all data can be made available to every project team member - from the earliest concepts and specification, through detailed design, buildability studies, pre-fabrication, construction, maintenance, operation and improvement to the eventual demolition or dismantling of the facility.
• CamVista Ltd, www.camvista.net , is a Visual Application Solutions Provider (VASP), based in Fife in Scotland with an office in London and operating world-wide. The company specialises in the design, installation and operation of webcam systems in a wide variety of business sectors, including construction and project management, exhibitions and security. Its service brings wide-ranging benefits including cost savings and greater operational control as well as marketing and PR opportunities.