Expert article
Quality assurance: inspecting without being on site
Once the as-built condition is recorded in full, the question changes. No longer "who drives out there?" but "who takes a look at it?"
Expert article by Open Experience GmbH. · As of: September 2026
What is digital quality assurance in construction?
Digital quality assurance means checking the recorded as-built condition of the site systematically against what was planned — instead of being limited to whatever happens to catch the eye during a site visit. The basis is a regular, complete capture, usually as a 360° walkthrough. Deviations are then established on screen, judged together with specialist designers and followed up as a case. The site visit does not disappear as a result; it becomes more focused.
Legal framework: Germany (Civil Code BGB, construction contract rules VOB/B, fee schedule HOAI). Other countries have different rules, and contractual agreements take precedence over the standard periods named here.
The virtual walkthrough
A virtual walkthrough is not a video call from the site but the act of walking through a recorded site on screen — at any point in time, as often as you like, with as many people as you like. The practical difference lies not in the technology but in who is able to inspect alongside you.
- Specialist disciplines without the journeyStructural engineering, building services, fire protection: those who cannot travel out every week still see the current condition.
- Preparation instead of searchingIf you know where you have to go before the site visit, you spend the time on site judging rather than walking.
- Looking at the same condition togetherArguments about "how it looked" stop once everybody is looking at the same recording.
- Even across distances that otherwise rule it outOn projects abroad, complete capture is often the only way to involve specialist expertise regularly.
What changes compared with conventional QA
The difference is not accuracy against inaccuracy, but a sample against a complete set.
| Question | Conventional | With complete as-built capture |
|---|---|---|
| *What was inspected?* | Whatever was accessible and visible during the round | The whole area walked, including places nobody looked at |
| *When was it inspected?* | At the appointment | At every recording date, retrospectively as well |
| *Who was able to inspect?* | Whoever was on site | Anyone with access rights, after the fact as well |
| *What is available afterwards?* | A report and individual photos | A continuous condition with a timeline |
The site visit remains indispensable: smell, moisture, the tapping test and close-up judgement cannot be recorded.
The as-planned/as-built comparison
As soon as the recordings are located on the floor plan or in the model, the captured condition can be held against the design: is the element there, does it sit where it was planned, does the execution match the detail. In practice this is today done predominantly by people at a screen — machine evaluation is a subject of research and has already been demonstrated for individual cases.
- Progress instead of estimatesThe moment individual elements were installed can be read off the series of recordings — useful in cases of disruption and variations.
- Checking invoices against imagesThe interim application next to the recording of the same area makes the check faster and the discussion shorter.
- A deviation becomes a caseA deviation that has been established turns into a defect with location, photo and deadline — not into a note in the minutes.
What research has contributed
The ESKIMO project, funded by the German federal research ministry, examined how far technical and commercial quality assurance can be automated: recognising visual defects such as scratches and cracks, matching recognised building objects against the topology of the BIM model, and determining position on site. Open Experience coordinated the consortium of eleven partners.
For context: these methods are prototypes from a research project, not production features. What runs productively today is the complete capture — and it is the precondition for everything that follows.
Where digital QA falls down
Irregular capture
Three walkthroughs across a whole project produce three images, not a timeline.
Recordings without a location
Without a reference to the floor plan, a 360° recording is just a very wide photo.
Nobody looks at it
Capture without evaluation produces volumes of data and no benefit.
A finding with no case
Whatever is noticed on screen has to take the same route as a defect found on site.
Started too late
The shell is the most interesting part — later on, most of it is closed up.
Better
A fixed rhythm, fixed recording points, and one named person who does the evaluation.
The capture that carries the twin
DIGIBAU 360 sits on the ordinary safety helmet and records 360° images during the round that is taking place anyway — in manual mode at predefined recording points on the floor plan, in automatic mode without any input at all. Temperature and humidity are captured alongside. The series of these walkthroughs builds up the condition against which everything is checked.
Frequently asked questions
Does the virtual walkthrough replace the site visit?
No. It moves preparation and judgement to the desk and makes the site visit more focused. Checks that call for touch, smell or measurement stay on site.
How often does capture have to take place?
Closely enough that nothing significant disappears between two recordings. During phases that close elements up that means weekly or more often; in fit-out it is frequently every two weeks.
Does the software detect defects automatically?
Not in productive operation. Automatic recognition of visual defects was demonstrated in the ESKIMO project and remains a subject of further development — today it is people who inspect, supported by complete recordings.
What about people in the recordings?
360° recordings capture everything that is in the room. Automatic pixelation of people and faces is therefore not an extra but a precondition for using them regularly.
Who evaluates the recordings?
As a rule the site supervision team, together with specialist designers where needed. Without a named responsibility the evaluation is left undone — that is the most common reason for disappointment.
What happens to the data after completion?
It becomes part of the as-built documentation. For conversion work, maintenance and warranty, a recording of the condition before elements were closed up is often worth more than any as-built drawing.
Sources and legal basis
The legal statements in this article are based on the primary sources listed below. The article is not a substitute for legal advice in an individual case.
- ESKIMO — German federal research project (BMBF) on AI building blocks for construction execution: consortium, objectives, results
- Annex 10 HOAI — basic services of site supervision: supervising execution, measurement, documentation
- VOB/B (2016 edition), official text of the German building ministry — Section 14 measurement and Section 16 payment
Inspect what was actually built.
In 45 minutes we show a real 360° walkthrough: the timeline, the as-planned/as-built comparison and the route from a finding to a case.