Milestones against your workplan
With a workplan set up, the report opens with milestone status, overall progress and the schedule against the survey date.
Progress tracking without a model
Can You Track Construction Progress Without a BIM Model?
Yes. SpatialSense writes a station-by-station progress report from two dated 360° walks of your site, and ties every line to the image it was read from, so the evidence comes from the walk rather than from a model your project may never have.
- 30-day free trial, no card
- Unlimited users
- 24/7 one-to-one support
The short answer
You can, as long as the question you need answered is what was built and when. A 360° walk of the site on two dates holds that evidence, and SpatialSense turns the pair into a written progress report, station by station, with each observation tied to the image it came from. If the project has a workplan, the report also opens with milestone status and overall progress against it. A BIM model adds the design as a layer when you have one, but the report does not wait for it.
What you get from two walks
- A written change listEach station gets a note on what changed since the last walk, rated by priority, in a PDF you can send.
- Evidence anyone can checkEvery observation is tied to the 360° image it was read from, so a reader opens the image and sees the same thing.
- Milestones against your workplanWhen the project has a workplan, the report shows milestone status and overall progress against it, with the evidence behind each milestone.
- Any two dates side by sideOpen two walks of the same spot from one locked viewpoint and see the change for yourself.
- The model when you have oneAn IFC model, including a Revit model exported to IFC, opens over the scan and the walks. Without one, nothing is held up.
Why do progress tools stall on projects without a model?
Automated progress tracking usually compares what a camera sees with a BIM model and a schedule mapped to that model. That works on projects that already run a mature BIM process, but most mid-size jobs are not built that way, so the software waits for inputs that never arrive.
The model is missing or out of date
Plenty of projects never get a full coordinated model, and on others it trails the site by weeks. Software that measures against the model can only measure what the model contains.
Setup takes months
Aligning a model and mapping a schedule to it is a piece of work in its own right. Contractors have described months of model alignment before the first numbers could be used.
Someone else does the walking
To keep the inputs clean, some vendors send their own technicians or partner crews to capture the site, which puts a booking and a wait between the work and the result.
Your own question is usually simpler than any of that. You want to know what changed on level three since last Tuesday, and you want to show the client without arranging a visit. Answering it takes a dated record of the site and a way to read that record, and a 360° camera on the helmet of someone already walking the floor gives you the record.
What the report looks like
A written change list, station by station
Each station shows the same spot on both dates, then what changed, in plain words.
AI proposes, a person approves
Run AI on the walk, then confirm or dismiss each detection before anything is raised.
Model-first tracking and walk-first tracking, side by side
Both approaches record progress, but they start from different places and ask different things of your team before the first result.
| SpatialSense, walk first | Model-first tracking | |
|---|---|---|
| What it needs to start | A 360° camera on a helmet and floor plans for the areas you capture. A workplan if you want milestone status. | A current BIM model and a schedule mapped to its elements. |
| Who captures | Your own team, on the walk they already make. | Often a vendor technician or a partner crew on a booked visit. |
| What you get | A dated walk, any two dates side by side, a written station-by-station report as a PDF and, with a workplan, milestone status against it. | Percent complete by element, once the model and the schedule are aligned. |
| When there is a model | IFC models, including Revit models exported to IFC, open over the scan and the walks. | The model is the basis of every number. |
| Other site data | Drone flights and laser scans from any scanner sit in the same project as the walks. | Varies by vendor. |
| Who can see it | Unlimited users on every plan, plus share links that open without a login. | Licensed users, with outside sharing that varies. |
| How to try it | A 30-day free trial with no card, or a demo on one live site. | Usually a demo and a quoted pilot. |
Start tracking progress on your site this week
You need a 360° camera, a phone and the floor plans for the areas you want to track. A model can come later, or never.
- Start the trialSign up for 30 days of the full platform. There is no card to enter, and you can add everyone on the project.
- Walk the routeWalk the areas with a 360° camera on a helmet and upload the panoramas, or book a demo and we set up the Trace capture app with you.
- Add your workplanAsk your workspace administrator to add the project workplan if you want milestone status in the report.
- Walk it againWalk the same route on the next visit, whether that is two days or a week later.
- Read the reportOpen both dates side by side and generate the progress report, then send the PDF or a share link.
Frequently asked questions
Can you track construction progress without BIM?
Yes. SpatialSense writes a progress report from two dated 360° walks of the same route, station by station, with every observation tied to the image it was read from. The report does not need a model. If you have an IFC model, it opens over the scan and the walks as an extra layer.
What do I need to track progress without a model?
A 360° camera on a helmet, from any maker, and floor plans for the areas you capture. The Trace app records the walk on your phone, or you upload the footage in the browser. Laser scans from any scanner, as E57, LAS, LAZ, PCD or PLY, and drone flights can go into the same project when you have them.
Can SpatialSense show progress against my schedule without a model?
Yes, against a workplan. When the project has one, the progress report opens with milestone status, overall workplan progress and a schedule against the survey date, then details each milestone with the evidence behind it. No BIM model is needed for that.
How is this different from AI progress tracking against a model?
Model-based tracking measures installed elements against a BIM model and a schedule mapped to it, so it needs both before it produces a number. SpatialSense starts from the walk: it compares two dated walks and writes down what changed, with the image beside each observation, which is why it works on projects where the model is missing or out of date.
Can I check what the progress report says?
Yes. Each observation in the report is tied to the 360° image it came from, so you can open that image and see what the report describes. AI proposes and a person approves: nothing is raised without someone confirming it. You can also open the two dates side by side from one locked viewpoint and judge the change yourself.
How much does SpatialSense cost?
SpatialSense has per-site pricing with unlimited users (current prices), a Lite Viewer that is free forever with no account needed, and a 30-day free trial of the full platform that needs no card details.
See SpatialSense on your project
Walk one floor twice this month and read what changed. Start the 30-day trial with no card, or book a demo and we set up your first site with you.