Case Study
COMPANY SNAPSHOT:
Architecture, interior design, urban design and landscape architecture
FOUNDED:
1975
Benefits
Remote visibility to monitor jobsite progress
Streamline communication with teams
Recapture costs of unforeseen conditions
Share biweekly updates using real-time visuals
Market development with stunning time-lapses
The Challenge
Accomodate a growing student population, fast
Nova Southeastern University in Florida was growing at an incredible rate — leaving senior students squeezed out of on campus student housing options. The University needed to accommodate their growing student population which meant greenlighting a fast-paced, precast concrete structure project to aid in their desired open date. In one year, the project — now Mako Hall — was complete with full sized kitchens, in-unit laundry and ample bedroom space that’s rare for on-campus living. The luxury apartment style dorms were crucial to keeping up with growing housing demand and on campus student housing options.
The Solution
Connecting OAC partners
During the project, the general contractor, Juneau Construction Company (JCC), placed OxBlue on site to capture progress throughout. The cameras, however, were not just a benefit for the GC and University, but for the architect and developer who are based remotely. Mako Hall was a P3 project, meaning a developer was also one of the key stakeholders. In OAC meetings, JCC would use the OxBlue images to highlight milestones of progress and share with the architecture team. Niles Bolton Associate (NBA), Reisha Allport-Marie, the architect and project manager for Mako Hall, said that beyond the meetings, the cameras provided the views and awareness she needed to stay updated in between site visits.
The Implementation
Monitoring precast installation remotely
Visibility into project progress was key for Allport-Marie. Although the cameras were placed at a greater distance so the full jobsite could be seen, Allport-Marie used the pan-tilt-zoom features to get details. The powerful optical zoom and on-demand images helped Allport-Marie monitor updates as they happened. Yet this project created an interesting challenge as NBA went down a precast path for completion.
“We had to approve the shop drawings ahead of having the complete construction documents. It required a lot of coordination between the precast company and us to get started,” said Allport-Marie. “The camera then helped us see how the precast was being installed. We could watch the full panels being raised and track the progress in real-time using the cameras.”
NBA’s continued to use OxBlue cameras on their projects across the country. As a project manager, Allport-Marie has to ensure the construction process is aligned with regulations and meets various jurisdictional requirements. Using cameras, she said, was a beneficial tool throughout the administrative side of the construction process.
The Results
Multi-project management, from anywhere
As NBA continues to provide stunning and award-winning service across the country, Allport-Marie uses multiple cameras in various locations. With OxBlue’s easy-to-navigate app, managing multiple projects simultaneously is simple.
“We have projects in various places so I have a view now with all five of the cameras. I can monitor them at the same time without switching back and forth or I can pick one of the views to enlarge for more details. OxBlue helps with my productivity and makes certain tasks easy.”
For Allport-Marie, OxBlue construction cameras add value for both architects, owners, developers, and GCs when working on a project. Transparency helps keep clients happy and ensure project teams have a single source of truth to refer back to.
