Inuvik Super School VR Documentation: Mid-Project Status

Over the last eight years the Construction Engineering and Management team at the University of New Brunswick have developed technologies to document the status of on-site progress. The evolving system, referred to as VR Doc, presents high-resolution, virtual reality panoramas of on-site operations in an interface that allows the user to explore the construction site throughout the project timeline. Since 2006 VR Doc has been used on six major projects, in particular on the Inuvik Super School for the Government of the Northwest Territories Department of Public Works and Services. This paper is a case study of VR Doc use. A variety of challenges have been overcome. These include temperature and lighting challenges during the photography step, processing challenges due to the low light level, and transfer challenges due to the file sizes. Continuing challenges include constraints on local personnel for on-site capture of the images as well as the integration of this new technology into traditional management processes. To date the greatest value from VR Doc has been as a communication medium for individuals within the Government of the Northwest Territories who are not involved in the project on a day-to-day basis but benefit from a fast visual record of the project. This case study is of interest to those who wish to understand cutting edge technologies for documenting construction progress. Possible roles of these technologies are: as a means of remotely monitoring project progress, as a pre-emptive means of resolving claims, as photographic as-builts for future reference, and as a training tool for personnel embarking on a similar project.