TrueLook camera helps monitor progress at NHL practice facility
BY NICK FORTUNA
When the Utah Mammoth opened rookie training camp at their new practice facility in September, there were cameras all around, as team videographers and local news crews worked to capture every slap shot and glove save. But in actuality, filming at the hockey facility had started a full year prior, with Layton Construction, a member of multiple AGC chapters, using a TrueLook camera to monitor activity at the fast-moving jobsite.
As general contractor for the highprofile project in Sandy, Utah, Layton Construction had installed a single highresolution camera overlooking the jobsite. TrueLook’s 4K infrared camera gave project managers real-time visibility of the entire property, allowing them to track progress, identify potential challenges early and make data-driven decisions to
minimize delays.
With uninterrupted visual access to the project, a wide range of stakeholders, including clients, architects and subcontractors, remained directly connected to its evolution, promoting clear communication and collaboration, according to Austin Lay, a senior virtual design and construction manager at Layton Construction.
“We rely on TrueLook cameras to stay on top of what’s happening on our projects 24/7,” Lay said. “With so much going on, it’s reassuring to have that second, third or even fourth set of eyes helping us. One of the biggest benefits for us has been the ability to show stakeholders what’s going on with a project at any given time, which increases transparency.”
Layton Construction, based in Salt Lake City with offices across the United States, has used TrueLook cameras for about three years, Lay said. At first, the software’s primary use was to produce time-lapse videos of progress on jobsites, a key part of keeping stakeholders
informed and marketing the company to prospective clients, he said.
Over the past few years, however, Layton Construction has realized other benefits from the technology, Lay said. Schedulers and estimators are using the live video feeds to verify the status of projects in real time, adjust their timelines and begin the procurement process for the next steps in construction, he said.
Some projects, including a recent highrise tower, have required only a single camera installed on a neighboring building to monitor the entire jobsite. Other jobsites have spanned many acres, so multiple cameras were needed to ensure complete visibility, Lay said.
TrueLook’s software platform enables construction executives to remotely monitor multiple projects at once, easily switching between jobsites and between different camera views on the same jobsite, Lay said. On large projects involving hundreds of workers, on-site managers can’t supervise all the construction activity at once, so off-site superintendents use the cameras to provide backup support, he said.
“Our superintendents have seen unsafe ladder practices happening onscreen and have been able to call the supervisor in the field to alert them to that problem,” Lay said. “Obviously, we have people walking the site to keep a close eye on safety, but it’s hard for them to catch everything. Most of the time, superintendents are looking for safety issues. With TrueLook, they look at the live feed, and if they don’t spot anything wrong, they move on to the next camera, so that makes their job easier.”
Lay said TrueLook’s software was easy to integrate into Layton Construction’s DroneDeploy, so the company now has “all of our reality capture in one place.” Ease of use was among many factors Layton Construction considered before choosing TrueLook, he said.
“Any time we employ new technology, we do a thorough vetting process, including price and functionality, and TrueLook checked all those boxes for us,” Lay said.
Making Jobsites Safe and Secure
Improving jobsite safety and deterring theft are two of the major benefits Yarrow, chief executive of the WinstonSalem, North Carolina-based technology company. For example, TrueLook recently introduced TrueAI PPE, an artificial-intelligence feature that monitors whether workers are wearing required safety gear, such as hard hats and vests, on the jobsite.
The system provides construction companies with actionable data on PPE compliance trends so they can identify training gaps and strengthen their safety programs. As TrueAI continues to advance, it will deliver real-time digital alerts to supervisors when PPE violations occur. Built with continuous feedback loops and jobsite-trained machine-learning models, the technology is designed to improve detection accuracy over time and to expand to identify other safety risks in the field, Yarrow said.
“We’re training the cameras to look for active safety violations so supervisors can go from being reactive to proactive and get ahead of those risks,” he said. “That’s the next step for AI.”
TrueLook offers fixed-view cameras, providing a steady, wide-angle view and digital zoom capabilities, in models with 2K resolution, 4K and 8K. The company also offers pan-tilt-zoom cameras with 2K or 4K resolution to provide a 360-degree view of jobsites. Cameras can be leased or purchased for as little as $1,000, and there’s a tiered monthly subscription plan ranging from $129 to $569 per camera.
TrueLook’s cameras can be powered by a 110-volt power supply or solar and can be paired with a mobile surveillance trailer for all-in-one mounting and powering.
Through the base subscription plan, customers get live viewing, the ability to create up to three time-lapse videos, security recording of the property with motion-detection capabilities, one year of media storage and technical support. Higher-level plans allow for unlimited time-lapse videos, unlimited data storage, real-time alerts when motion is detected after hours, integrations with other software platforms and additional features.
On-site cameras ensure that activity on the jobsite is documented around the clock, Yarrow said. Companies can capture clear images and videos at night with the built-in infrared technology. The motion-detection capabilities provide evidence for insurance claims and police investigations and allow contractors to confirm deliveries.
“Transparency is definitely one of the things that TrueLook offers,” Yarrow said. “All the stakeholders can see the real state of the union, and you’re going to catch mistakes early because of that realtime visibility. There’s also the value of documentation, which has different uses for different people in the construction ecosystem, whether it’s risk mitigation, preventing theft or simply proving that work was performed.”
Live Security Monitoring
Through a service add-on, contractors can have TrueLook’s off-site security professionals monitor jobsites after hours and alert them to potential threats. Contractors define motion zones – the specific areas of the jobsite that require monitoring – to help reduce false alarms. If motion is detected in those zones after hours, a security professional immediately reviews the video feed and responds as needed, Yarrow said.
When a threat is verified, the contractor is notified and can choose to request emergency services or dismiss the alert. If emergency services are requested, the security professional will contact authorities and provide a description of the threat in progress.
For enhanced security, contractors can sign up for TrueLook’s comprehensive packages, TrueShield and TrueDeter, which include features such as multiple cameras, flashing strobe lights, sirens, audio warnings telling thieves to leave the premises and the ability for off-site security professionals to engage with intruders through an intercom system.
Through data analytics, contractors can gain insights into their jobsites and adjust their schedules to minimize delays, Yarrow said. In a simple example, the software may recognize that the jobsite gets a spike in vehicle traffic each morning between 8 and 10, so managers may want to limit deliveries during that time.
The software platform also captures weather data along with video evidence of weather events, which can help contractors to justify construction delays that were out of their control, Yarrow said.
“If you’re behind schedule, that costs money, so you need to be able to show why you’re behind schedule,” Yarrow said. “Seeing is believing, so if you have weather data and video proof, that helps the contractor. You can’t hide from the camera, which is why TrueLook is a great tool for accountability and transparency.
“Everything is turnkey, so when you receive the camera, you just plug it in. It’s very easy to hang up a TrueLook camera, plug it in and walk away. It comes online automatically. You just access it through the software, and we make it easy for you to do that.”