Photo identification by text
Field workers text a photo of an unknown panel, valve, sprinkler head, or fixture. Forward identifies it, names the manufacturer and spec section, and ties it back to the approved submittal — 4 seconds, no PM call.
The pattern: “what is this thing”
Field workers find equipment they can’t name multiple times a week. The mech foreman walks past a 42-circuit panelboard with no nameplate visible from the front; the GC super spots a valve in a chase he wasn’t expecting; the inspector points at a sprinkler head and asks what model. The next move used to be: open Procore, find the submittal log, scroll, hope the photo on the cover matches.
Forward removes the steps. Foreman snaps the photo, texts it with “what is this and where”. The bot identifies the equipment class, cross-references the project’s submittal log + spec sections, and replies in seconds with the identification plus the matching approved-submittal citation.
What the bot actually does behind the photo
- Vision pass. Claude Sonnet 4.6 with vision examines the photo and names the equipment class (panelboard, butterfly valve, ESFR sprinkler head, sealed combustion water heater, etc.).
- Spec-section match. The bot maps the class to the CSI division it would live in (panelboards → 26 24 16; sprinkler heads → 21 13 13; etc.).
- Submittal cross-check. Forward queries the project’s submittals in that CSI division and finds the approved one whose manufacturer + model matches what the photo shows.
- Reply. “42-circuit panelboard MDP-3, mechanical room L1-M104. Matches submittal 26 24 16-001 (approved 3/22). Tap for sheet E-201.”
If no clear submittal match: the bot says so, and offers to draft an RFI to the engineer of record asking for clarification.
Where photo-ID actually pays off
- QA inspections. The inspector points at something they don’t recognize; the GC super photos + texts; the answer comes back before the inspector is even done writing the punch item.
- Punch-list walks. Foreman doing a final walk-down finds an out-of-spec piece of equipment and needs to flag it. Photo + “was this approved?” → answer.
- Substitution disputes. Mech sub shows up with a different model than the approved one. Photo + “is this what we approved?” → spec citation settles it.
- Onboarding new field staff. Junior super or a sub’s rookie foreman doesn’t recognize a fixture they’re installing. Photo it; learn what it is.
The hard rule we enforce
Forward will NEVER make a structural / life-safety call from a photo alone. The system prompt is explicit: “Still NEVER make a structural call from a photo alone.” If the question is “is this beam sized right”, the bot refuses and routes to the engineer of record. Photo-ID is for equipment / fixtures / commodity items, not stamped design.
The audit story
Every photo + identification round-trip is logged: the field user’s phone, the inbound media URL, the vision-model identification, the submittal Forward cited, the timestamp. Useful when a sub’s install gets disputed and you need to show the field flagged the right item at the right time.
How to try it
Text a photo of any piece of construction equipment to +1 (682) 300-6750 with the prompt “what is this and where”. The live demo runs against a synthetic commercial project; the bot will name the equipment and pretend-cite a submittal for anything it recognizes.
Drop your email above for early access to wire your real project’s submittal log so the bot can cite the actual approved item.
Try Forward right now
Drop your email above for early access — or skip the form and text +1 (682) 300-6750 from your phone. The live demo answers anything you can ask a project manager in plain English — no signup needed.