OpenSpace has enhanced LandSouth’s operating standards, offering real-time insights and a time-saving documentation workflow, with easy-to-use technology that has improved productivity and comprehensive client updates.
The challenge
Over the years, LandSouth’s project documentation system became burdensome and time consuming, with team members taking numerous photos, standard requirements changing from project to project, and human error factoring in for uploading and not capturing needed information. The result has been an incomplete visual record when questions arose later—especially during warranty.
The catalyst for change
LandSouth had a project with demanding issues that highlighted a need for change in operating procedure and a need for time-saving technology to produce results.
The issues included:
- A lack of behind-the-walls project documentation.
- A general superintendent’s time consumed searching for issues.
- Cutting into finished walls to locate MEPs leading to future costly repair.
A suggested OpenSpace solution from multiple sources:
- A LandSouth project manager suggested evaluating OpenSpace to streamline the documentation system.
- An electrician doing work in the field was noticed wearing a helmet with a 360° camera mounted on top. When asked what the camera was for, he was enthusiastic about sharing how OpenSpace works and its overall benefits.
How a pilot program became the solution
In May 2025, LandSouth piloted OpenSpace on a project already in progress. The rollout happened late enough in that job’s schedule that the team couldn’t apply it everywhere, but what they saw when using the technology was enough.
After walking their team through the results, LandSouth expanded OpenSpace to its other active jobs. In under a year, adoption grew from that one pilot project to six active projects representing more than $410M in combined contract value, spanning market-rate, HUD/affordable housing, and mixed-use across the Southeast.
“The cost is relative to what OpenSpace brings to the project, and it’s worth it for us. From video as-built records to warranty benefits down the road, to not needing to be on a jobsite in person to solve problems, the value is beyond measure.”
The results
Since adopting OpenSpace, LandSouth has seen measurable improvements across documentation, coordination, and quality control.
The insurance policy: pre-insulation capture
The highest-value use case across LandSouth’s projects is pretty straightforward: capturing their projects in real-time with a helmet-mounted camera while they walk the site. It’s the closest thing the company has to a guarantee that if a warranty issue surfaces behind a finished wall, the answer is a search—not a demolition.
“The major key for us is to do the OpenSpace walks before we go to insulation. That’s our biggest insurance policy—not having to cut holes. We can avoid a lot of headaches.”
From 60-70% to 100%
For LandSouth’s assistant superintendents, the daily reality of pre-close-up documentation was a problem: a single 300-unit apartment can call for 40+ photos per unit before walls, underground sewer, and storm drain lines are covered up. While fulfilling this task manually, LandSouth estimates only 60-70% of a project’s behind-the-wall condition was captured and took two days of labor. With OpenSpace that same walk takes about 15 minutes and gets substantially closer to complete 100% coverage.
Design coordination without travel
By incorporating OpenSpace technology, LandSouth’s project teams now walk a project site the day before an owner-architect-contractor (OAC) or design consultant meeting, then pull up the capture live on the call. Architects and MEP engineers who would otherwise need to travel to walk a clubhouse or unit in person can review the same footage remotely.
Full-coverage QA/QC
LandSouth is currently building Catchlight Crossings, an affordable housing project in Orlando, Florida, built for Universal Studios employees. This is one of the company’s most complex MEP scopes to date, and OpenSpace Capture is a required part of quality control on the job. The team walks every unit and documents every pipe run before it’s closed in, ensuring the highest standards are met.
Drone imagery for progress and design review
Led by General Superintendent Bailey Ghazi, LandSouth uses OpenSpace Air, which offers quick access to 360° captures, drone imagery, and laser scans all in one place—for complete project clarity, more efficient field workflows, and real savings. Bailey uses this technology specifically for progress meetings and to work through design issues with architects and MEP engineers.
LandSouth’s pilot project—The Monarch Apartments located in Fort Myers, FL—is nearing completion, and Bailey is planning a full 3D drone scan of the finished site to pair with the project’s earlier capture history, creating a complete before-and-after record anchored by the clubhouse, one of the project’s standout spaces.
Workflow analysis: before OpenSpace vs. after implementation
- A full pre-close-up documentation pass that once took two days now takes 15 minutes.
- Coverage of a unit’s behind-the-wall condition has gone from 60-70% using a manual process to 100%.
- Adoption scaled from one pilot project to six+ active projects, representing $410M+ in combined contract value, in under 12 months.
- Ownership groups get real-time visual access to job progress through client-facing shared folders with no in-person site visit required.
- Zero usability escalations post-orientation: field teams have adopted the tool without recurring support requests once onboarded.
Looking ahead
LandSouth believes the biggest financial payoff is still ahead. As more projects move into warranty, the complete visual record they’re building today will help resolve questions faster, avoid destructive investigations, and reduce costly rework.
LandSouth is already exploring what’s next in their partnership with OpenSpace:
- Piloting the OpenSpace and Procore integration for Observations workflow.
- Evaluating handheld LiDAR and point-cloud capture for full 3D interior as-builts ahead of installation.
- Exploring AI search across captures. For example, the ability to search by phrases such as, “June, Building 1, Floor 5 framing” and get straight to the relevant images and captures.
By incorporating OpenSpace into daily operations, LandSouth has been able to deliver results well beyond the contract, helping reduce costs, improve accountability, and strengthen client relationships.
