Dubbed an "electronic diary" by Vela Systems, Field Report is designed for superintendents, field engineers, project managers and architects who often spend much of the work day on-site yet must head to the office to manually transcribe field notes. Vela Systems estimates each user saves between five and 10 hours per week since they no longer must retype information -- and since Field Report delivers all project documents to team members, all those involved in a project have the same up-to-date information at all times, the vendor said.

Unlike some field management software, which solely accept text, Field Report also can capture signatures, photographs, mark-ups and sketches, according to Vela Systems. Moreover, since the application accepts signatures, project and subcontractor accountability is improved because proof-of-acceptance is readily available. Finally, managers can include general information such as weather conditions, the equipment on site, manpower and any notices to comply that were meted out.

Field Report lets users attach unique flags to non-conformance and quality assurance/quality control items; users can also print or email reports in the field.

Field Report can be fully integrated with Primavera, Meridian Prolog and other construction management software.