Projects · Case study

From voice memo to finished progress report.

How a construction company reshaped its site documentation with AI and WhatsApp.

IndustryConstruction and Real Estate
Deliveryaround two months
Interfacevia WhatsApp
CoreSpeech recognition and language model

How it works

From voice message to finished progress report.

Scroll to see the process step by step.

01Open projectA link in the project software opens the WhatsApp chat. The assistant recognises the project immediately.
02Photos and voice messagesThe site manager takes photos and describes what he sees. Every voice message is transcribed.
03Wrap-upSending ‘Done’ ends the capture. A language model summarises all messages according to company guidelines.
04Progress report in the project softwareSummary, weather, photos and derived tasks appear together in the project.
Site docs assistantWhatsApp
Record progress report · Project WL-014210:31
Project recognised: Lindenhof Residential Quarter, Building B. Please send photos and voice messages on the current construction progress. Send ‘Done’ to finish.10:31
0:48
0:24
Done10:42
Thank you. The progress report has been saved to the project.10:43
Message
Project softwareProjects › Lindenhof Residential Quarter › Building B
Lindenhof Residential Quarter · Building B · Progress reports

2nd-floor slab concreted, roof structure in preparation

14 Oct 2025, 10:43 · Site management · created automatically from 2 voice messages and 3 photos
11 °C · cloudy · wind 12 km/h · dryWeather at the time of the site walk, recorded automatically
Summary
  • Slab above the 2nd floor concreted, formwork can be struck from Thursday
  • Window openings on the north side prepared
  • Scaffold lift 3 on the east side not yet fully boarded
Photos
Derived tasks
Complete scaffold lift 3, east sideScaffolding · due Wed, 15 Oct
Add to to-dos
Confirm roof structure delivery dateCarpentry · due Fri, 17 Oct
Add to to-dos
Voice message transcripts 2 × · 1:12

‘Building B, second floor: the slab was concreted yesterday, looks good, we can strike the formwork from Thursday. The window openings on the north side are prepared. On the east side the third scaffold lift isn't fully boarded yet, the scaffolders need to come back to that by Wednesday. … One more thing: please sort out the delivery date for the roof structure with the carpenters.’

Illustration with sample data. Project, content and photos are fictitious.

Site docs assistantWhatsApp
Record progress report · Project WL-014210:31
Project recognised: Lindenhof Residential Quarter, Building B. Please send photos and voice messages on the current construction progress. Send ‘Done’ to finish.10:31
0:48
0:24
Done10:42
Thank you. The progress report has been saved to the project.10:43
Message
01AssignmentA link in the project software opens the chat for the right project
02TranscriptionVoice messages are converted into text
03SummaryProgress report from all messages, following company guidelines
Project softwareProjects › Lindenhof Residential Quarter › Building B
Lindenhof Residential Quarter · Building B · Progress reports

2nd-floor slab concreted, roof structure in preparation

14 Oct 2025, 10:43 · Site management · created automatically from 2 voice messages and 3 photos
11 °C · cloudy · wind 12 km/h · dryWeather at the time of the site walk, recorded automatically
Summary
  • Slab above the 2nd floor concreted, formwork can be struck from Thursday
  • Window openings on the north side prepared
  • Scaffold lift 3 on the east side not yet fully boarded
Photos
Derived tasks
Complete scaffold lift 3, east sideScaffolding · due Wed, 15 Oct
Add to to-dos
Confirm roof structure delivery dateCarpentry · due Fri, 17 Oct
Add to to-dos
Voice message transcripts 2 × · 1:12

‘Building B, second floor: the slab was concreted yesterday, looks good, we can strike the formwork from Thursday. The window openings on the north side are prepared. On the east side the third scaffold lift isn't fully boarded yet, the scaffolders need to come back to that by Wednesday. … One more thing: please sort out the delivery date for the roof structure with the carpenters.’

Illustration with sample data. Project, content and photos are fictitious.

Starting point

Site managers have little time on site. A site walk usually produced just a few smartphone photos before they moved on to the next site.

The actual documentation of construction progress then had to be done later in the office: assigning photos, writing up notes, entering everything in the system. This took time, and the later the documentation was done, the more details were lost.

Goal

The progress report was to be created right there during the site walk. As simple as a message to a colleague, with no new app and no follow-up work in the office.

Solution

  • Open project. In the company's project management software, every construction project has its own WhatsApp link. One tap opens the chat, and the system knows immediately which project the progress report belongs to, without anyone having to type anything.
  • Photos and voice messages. During the site walk, the site manager takes photos and describes what he sees in short voice messages. As many as he needs.
  • Summary. Every voice message is transcribed. As soon as the site manager finishes the capture with ‘Done’, or after one hour at the latest, a language model turns all the messages into a progress report following the company's guidelines and derives tasks from it.
  • Progress report in the system. Summary, photos, transcript, tasks and the weather data at the time of the site walk are filed together in the project. Tasks can be transferred directly to to-do management.

Result

  • No follow-up work in the office. The progress report is finished when the site walk is over.
  • Simple, with no switching between tools. Photos and voice messages via WhatsApp, with no additional app.
  • More detailed documentation. Progress reports are more comprehensive and consistently structured. Even those who weren't on site get a good overview.
  • Evidence preservation included. Weather data is documented automatically as well.

Role of AI

Without AI, the solution would not have been possible in this form. Only the combination of speech recognition and a language model turns a freely spoken message into a structured progress report.

Development itself benefited too: the integration with the WhatsApp interface, the reliable processing of incoming messages and the structured filing were in production within around two months. Without AI-assisted development, we estimate this would have taken considerably longer.

Technologies

WhatsApp Business APISpeech recognition (OpenAI)Language model (OpenAI)Node.jsVue.jsAWS

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