December 26th, 2022
We’re always eager to learn about new applications for our technology and see how our customers use OpenSpace to solve problems. 2022 provided several standout, novel use cases and helped us learn even more about our specific customers’ challenges—and how they leverage OpenSpace’s powerful and reliable technology to improve outcomes.
As 2022 comes to a close, we’re taking this opportunity to reflect on our customers’ innovative work. So far in this series, we’ve presented our most forward-looking specialty contractors and impressive international clients of the year. Now, we’re directing our attention to the most unique success stories we’ve heard from our customers this year.
As the largest commercial property financier in South Africa, Nedbank Property Finance has long focused on sustainable growth. In 2018, the company extended its capabilities and began funding key opportunities in markets outside of South Africa, winning the coveted “Top Real Estate Bank in Africa” award twice since then. Yet, as the COVID-19 pandemic created travel restrictions and quarantines, Nedbank teams were challenged to find new ways to monitor and verify development projects.
In 2020, Nedbank deployed OpenSpace on four projects that required monitoring for inspections and payments. While other banks could no longer offer development finance solutions due to the inability to monitor risk on the ground, Nedbank was able to continue to support new and existing clients.
From billing accuracy and enhanced documentation to risk mitigation and improved collaboration, OpenSpace has continued to be a tremendous asset to Nedbank amid the new normal. Nedbank now offers OpenSpace to all clients it partners with and plans to apply the technology to its entire portfolio in 2023.
Learn more about how Nedbank is using OpenSpace to support real estate financing in this case study.
Astican is a large, privately-owned ship repair yard located in Spain’s Canary Islands off the coast of northwest Africa. The facility has seven dry docking lanes and more than 1,500 employees that service ferries, cruises, HSCs, containers, tankers, tugs, drillships, semisubmersibles, and more. From underwater inspections to propulsion maintenance, Astican handles major repairs on all types of vessels.
Ship repair comes with unique challenges. Ships and their parts come from all over the world, and rarely with architectural plans. As such, the leadership team at Astican knew they required a detailed and accurate 360° reality capture solution to coordinate complex repairs. They also needed technology that was intuitive enough for anyone in the yard to use, but sophisticated enough to never miss a critical view.
Upon discovering OpenSpace, Astican decided to use the technology to capture the condition of incoming ships to assess needed repairs. Field teams adopted the technology easily and saw immediate benefits. So far, Astican has used OpenSpace to generate more accurate quotes, to improve collaboration with ship owners (who are often located all over the globe), to save time, and to save—by their own estimate–tens of thousands of euros.
As one of the fastest-growing, top-ranked specialty subcontractors in Texas, CEC Facilities Group serves clients in Texas and throughout the U.S. We highlighted CEC’s work at the close of 2021, but with a use case this interesting, we felt it deserved a spot in our 2022 roundup.
CEC first implemented OpenSpace on an 80-million-square-foot solar farm in a remote area of West Texas. The team was responsible for making 2 million connections and putting in hundreds of thousands of zip ties to daisy-chain thousands of panel rows together. This would have required a 10-person QA/QC team to take photos with their phones of each connection to fulfill their inspection requirement. With the OpenSpace app and a 360° camera on their hard hats, the team captured what they needed and imagery was instantly pinned to the project plan, allowing more time to inspect the work instead of worrying about paperwork.
CEC has rolled out OpenSpace to several teams, with a focus on reducing risk exposure and improving communication with GCs. In the course of doing so, the CEC team has found the software to be highly intuitive—even for those who aren’t tech savvy—and with unparalleled ease of use.
Phoenix-based general contractor Kitchell used to spend a lot of time and manpower scanning its projects, especially those for the healthcare sector. Kitchell did everything from laser scanning to using a tape measure and jotting down page after page of notes to document its projects. In short, its documentation processes ate into employees’ hours and the company’s bottom line.
When leaders at the company heard about OpenSpace’s 3D scanning capabilities, they were skeptical but willing to give it a try. Using a LiDAR-enabled smartphone or tablet and the OpenSpace app, field teams can take highly accurate measurements that are automatically pinned to the project plan and shared with stakeholders and colleagues.
After affirming the accuracy and ease of 3D scanning with OpenSpace, Kitchell began to use the technology to document underground and in-wall utilities for as-built records and to coordinate the installation of other building features. Teams on-the-ground report that OpenSpace is 15 to 30 times faster than the old documentation process the company had in place. OpenSpace’s accurate and robust scanning and photographic documentation of each site is also saving the company significant money in rework.
Download the case study to find out more about LiDAR scanning and how Kitchell is using it to save time. You can also watch this brief video to see the 3D scanning feature in action.
These are just a few of the unique ways companies around the globe are leveraging OpenSpace. Browse our complete case study library to learn the many ways OpenSpace is helping customers win new business, strengthen remote project management capabilities, and drive significant time and cost savings.
Are you ready to take the next step and explore how reality capture can simplify your workflows, make your employees happier and more productive, and save valuable time and money? Let’s start a conversation.
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