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User Flow: Daily Site Briefing and View State Handoff

Learn how to configure 3D camera angles and layer visibilities, capture them into View States, share them with your project team, and quickly present interactive viewpoints during site briefings.

Written by Ken Panitz

Overview

During daily site briefings or shift handovers, project leads need to communicate critical work zones, active hazards, and crane/plant movement areas clearly to site crews.

Instead of manually navigating the 3D map, turning layers on and off, and searching for BIM levels during a live meeting, you can pre-configure specific 3D snapshots called View States. Once saved and shared, any team member can apply a View State to jump directly to the exact camera angle, layer setup, and BIM element visibility needed for the briefing.

Prerequisites

Before starting this workflow, ensure you have:

  • Authenticated and logged into the SensGrid platform.

  • Navigated to the Tobe Twin vertical and opened the 4D Viewer.

  • Activated your target project from the Tobe Projects panel.

Workflow Sequence:

  1. Set Up Scene: Adjust 3D map, camera angle, and BIM & GIS layer visibilities.

  2. Create View State: Click + Create View State in the View States panel.

  3. Configure & Share: Name the view state, capture camera options, and toggle Shared.

  4. Present: Click Apply All on the saved view state during the site briefing.

1. Set Up the 3D Viewport Scene

Prepare the 3D canvas to highlight the specific area of interest for your briefing:

  1. Position the Camera:

    • Use mouse controls (Left-Click to pan, Right-Click / Ctrl + Left-Click to tilt and rotate, Scroll to zoom) to frame the target work area.

    • If working with subterranean assets or foundation works, open the GIS Menu and enable Underground Navigation.

  2. Configure GIS & Environmental Layers:

    • Open the GIS Menu from the left Work Panel.

    • Adjust Map Opacity or Global Opacity if background terrain needs to be transparent.

    • Toggle Buildings or Google 3D Tiles depending on whether urban context is required.

  3. Filter BIM Elements:

    • Open the BIM Hierarchy panel.

    • Expand tree nodes to isolate specific structural levels or categories (e.g., Level 2 Slabs, Shoring Walls).

    • Click the Eye Icon on unneeded levels or groups to hide them from the viewport, leaving only relevant structures visible.

2. Create a Draft View State

Once your 3D viewport displays the desired configuration:

  1. Open the View States panel (binoculars icon) from the left Work Panel.

  2. Click the + Create View State button at the top of the panel.

  3. A new draft view state card (labeled "New View State" and marked as "Unsaved") will appear in the list.

3. Configure and Share in the Selection Inspector

With your new draft view state created, set its properties and share permissions:

  1. Click the draft View State card in the list. The card will highlight, and the Selection Inspector will automatically slide open on the right side of the screen.

  2. In the Selection Inspector:

    • Rename: Enter a clear, descriptive title (e.g., "Toolbox Briefing - Zone B Formwork" or "Shift Handoff - Excavation Pit").

    • Capture Options: Ensure the following options are checked to save your exact setup:

      • Camera Position: Captures latitude, longitude, elevation, tilt, heading, and roll.

      • BIM Visibility: Saves which structural elements are visible or hidden.

      • Layers: Saves your active GIS layers and opacity sliders.

    • Update Snapshot: Click Capture Current to store your active viewport configuration into the state.

    • Set Share Permissions: Check the Shared checkbox. This makes the view state accessible to all authorized team members on the project.

    • Set Default (Optional): If this view should be the default starting view for team members opening the project, check Make Project Default (requires project administrator permissions).

    • Save: Click Save to persist the view state to the server.

4. Present During Site Briefings

When conducting the morning toolbox talk or shift handover:

  1. Open the 4D Viewer on the meeting room display or tablet.

  2. Open the View States panel.

  3. Filter by Shared using the dropdown at the top of the panel.

  4. Click Apply All on the saved briefing view state card.

  5. The 4D Viewer will automatically fly the camera to the captured position and apply all BIM visibilities and layer settings instantly.

Tip: You can create multiple View States for a single meeting (e.g., "1. Overall Site Overview", "2. North Crane Radius", "3. Trenching Hazard Zone") and click Apply All on each sequentially to guide your team through a multi-point briefing.

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