In late 2018, we led OnSiteIQ’s Seed round. Since then, the company has established itself as the modern risk engineering partner of choice for the construction industry’s leading owners, developers and insurers. Following the company’s exciting progress since that initial investment, we are pleased to share that we have invested again, in the company’s Series A round, which was led by Bullpen Capital.

A follow-on investment in a portfolio company is a great opportunity to reflect upon our initial thesis around the original investment. Unfortunately, some things about construction remain shocking. Workers are still being killed on construction sites every day, with the fatal occupational injury rate in construction remaining at terrible levels. The number of Environmental, Health and Safety (EHS) specialists working on construction is still largely inadequate.

At the time of our first investment, construction insurance and risk assessment was a largely neglected space. There is still a long way to go, but one thing is clear: the use of technology in this industry is increasing, and we’ve only began to scratch the surface.

Still providing eyes, on site

Construction sites continue to be exposed to all manner of volatile risks, yet risk control is still one of the most valuable and effective tools to improve site safety and even improve profitability. However, stakeholders at different points of the value chain — with high levels of financial risk — often have the least visibility and control over their project. OnSiteIQ has created the first ever OSHA-certified gig economy workforce, sourced from the construction industry, and they capture every square foot of a construction site with an off-the-shelf 360-degree camera.

For the owner or developer, the benefits are several fold: they can log in at any time, from anywhere, to monitor the progress of their construction site. They have immediate access to a full archive of the building history and images, helpful for litigation and dispute resolution as well as ongoing facilities management, troubleshooting and repair. Furthermore, OnSiteIQ helps owners/developers bring further transparency and accountability to their projects.

Forward-thinking insurers get to scale their risk engineering team and, for the first time, begin to quantify risk in the construction portfolio. Using this comprehensive visual data set, insurers can validate claims and expedite investigations; underwriters can benchmark risk and improve their underwriting results through this tech-first approach to risk assessment.

275 million square feet and counting

Since our original investment, the company has continued to invest in its computer vision technology, providing customers with a seamless Street View-like site walkthrough, with the ability to go back in time.

OnSiteIQ’s technology can help clients control losses by enabling more frequent access and inspections by different stakeholders, such as owners, developers, insurers and lenders. Enabling remote progress monitoring and project control can assure that a project finishes on time and on budget, maximally limiting risks that result in potential insurance claims down the road. OnSiteIQ’s customers recognize this: the company has now documented over 275,000,000 square feet across 12 markets.

It has been a real pleasure to work with the OnSiteIQ team. This talented and hard-working group, based at Grand Central Tech in the heart of New York, now totals over 40 people. If the challenge of improving safety and managing risk in the construction industry appeals to you, find new roles here.