The problem
Writing up site visits and snagging lists eats evenings. If an architect makes 6 site visits a month and spends 2 hours on each typing notes, sorting photos and marking up drawings, that's 12 hours a month, and the record of work and decisions the ARB Code expects ends up scattered across emails and phones.
What the AI does
Fieldwire puts your drawings on a phone or tablet. On site you add a task on the drawing where the issue is, attach a photo and assign it with a due date. Tasks and photos are on every plan, including free Basic (5 users, 3 projects, 100 sheets); reports and exports, and unlimited projects, need Pro at $44£33€39A$63C$62 a user a month billed annually. Back at the office, export the report, read it through and send it.
A worked example
A two-person architecture practice in Norwich has 5 or 6 projects on site at once, from extensions to a small block of flats. The project architect now records issues on the drawings in Fieldwire during each visit and exports the report the same day.
Before
6 visits a month with 2 hours of write-up each: 12 hours
After
If the record is made on site and the report needs 30 minutes of checking: 3 hours
What it's worth
About $479£360€428A$691C$677 a month saved, against $44£33€39A$63C$62 for one Pro user. About 9 hours a month saved (12 hours down to 3), worth about $479£360€428A$691C$677 at an assumed $53£40€48A$77C$75 an hour, if notes made on site really need only a 30-minute check (an assumption to test on the free plan first). Cost: Pro is $44£33€39A$63C$62 a user a month billed annually, needed for reports and for more than 3 projects.
How to set it up
- Try the free Basic plan on one live project: upload the current drawings and record your next visit.
- Agree with the contractor how they will receive the reports and confirm when issues are closed.
- On each visit, pin every issue to the drawing with a photo, a clear description and a due date.
- Move to Pro once you need reports or more than 3 projects, and export each visit report the same day.
- Read every report before it goes out and file it with the project record, as part of the records Standard 4.5 of the ARB Code asks you to keep.
What goes wrong
- Basic has no reports and stops at 3 projects. Pro is priced per user and billed annually, so each extra architect adds $44£33€39A$63C$62 a month.
- Old drawings cause wrong snags. Replace the sheets in the app every time a revision is issued.
- A site report can be relied on in a dispute. Check the wording and photos before sending, so a quick on-site note doesn't read as an instruction you didn't mean to give.
- Contractors who won't use the app still need the report by email, so plan for both.