Capture Observations

Capture observations on site with notes, voice dictation, photos, and drawing pins, then group them into field reports.

An observation is a single finding on site: a defect, progress on a trade, a safety issue, anything worth recording. Each one carries a type, a status, notes, photos, and optionally a pin on a drawing. You capture them fast on your phone and group them into field reports.

Capturing an observation

Start one from Quick Observation on the Home tab, or from Add Observation inside a report. Then:

1. Pick the Type (what it is, like "Defect") and Status (where it stands, like "Open"). Your admin manages these lists under Observation Types and Statuses.

2. Add your notes. Type them, or tap the mic and dictate; dictated notes are added as bullet points.

3. Add photos and, if useful, pin the observation to a drawing (both below).

4. Tap Save & Next to save and immediately start the next observation. That is the rhythm for walking a site: capture, next, capture, next.

If saving is not available, the editor tells you what is missing, like a note or photo, a type, or a project.

The observation editor

Photos

Tap the camera button to take photos, or pick them from your photo library. The camera has a torch, a grid, and pinch to zoom.

After taking a photo you can mark it up: draw on it freehand (pick a color and brush size, undo if needed) and add a caption by typing or tapping Record to dictate it. Markups are saved into the photo, so they appear in the exported report.

Photos can only be added while an observation is still on your phone. Once it has uploaded, create a new observation for additional photos.

Pinning to a drawing

A pin shows exactly where on the plans the observation sits, and the pinned drawing snippet appears in the exported report.

• From the observation, tap Tap to add drawing location, pick the drawing, then long-press on the spot to drop the pin.

• Or start from the drawing itself: open it from the Drawings tab and long-press anywhere to create a new observation pinned right there.

Existing observations show as red pins; tap one to open it. If pinning is unavailable, the app tells you why: the observation needs a project first, or the project has no drawings yet. See Drawings for getting drawings onto your phone.

Observation pins on a drawing

Finding observations later

The Observations tab lists everything, with search and filters for project, status, type, and report. Tap an observation to review it, or the pencil to edit. Admins can also update the type and status from the web after capture.

Grouping observations into a report

Captured a batch with Quick Observation and want them in a report?

1. On the Observations tab, tap Select (or long-press an observation).

2. Pick the observations. They must all belong to the same project.

3. Tap Add to Report to add them to an existing report, or Create Report to start a new one from them.

If some already belong to another report, the app warns you that they will be moved. The same works in reverse from a report's editor with Link Existing.

The Observations tab

Related

• Create a Field Report on Site: turning observations into a finished report.

• Drawings: downloading drawings for offline use and browsing them on site.

• Observation Types and Statuses: how admins manage the Type and Status lists.