Bild

Bild is proof-of-work for construction: workers capture photo and voice proof in seconds; supervisors see it in real time.

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Inspiration

Construction runs on what happens in the field, but the data we found was sobering. Poor project data and miscommunication cost the U.S. construction industry $177 billion in labor every year; about $31.3 billion of that is rework alone. Almost 48% of all rework comes from poor communication and bad project information. Workers lose 14+ hours per week on non-productive work: searching for information, resolving conflicts, and dealing with rework. Yet 91% of construction teams still rely on paper, and fewer than 30% of projects finish on time and on budget.

We didn’t want to build in a vacuum. We interviewed the owner of a real construction company, who confirmed the pain: daily logs are a burden, field crews don’t always have the info they need, and proof of work is scattered across calls, texts, and paper. That conversation pushed us to focus on proof built into the job — photo and voice in a few taps — instead of another form or another app that nobody uses.

What it does

Bild is proof-of-work for construction: workers capture photo + voice proof in a few taps; supervisors see it in real time on the web.

  • Mobile (field): Join by code → see tasks (and Blueprint view) → complete with at least one photo and optional voice note (AI-transcribed) → chat with Bob, an AI that answers questions from project PDFs with citations.
  • Web (supervisors): Dashboard (completion %, blockers, task pipeline), proof viewer per task (photos + transcripts), Blueprint (draw rooms, place task pins), Bob over project docs, and reports (CSV export).
  • One backend: Same Supabase project for both apps so proof and status stay in sync.

How we built it

  • Mobile: Expo (React Native) SDK 54, TypeScript, expo-router. Supabase (auth, Postgres, storage). Google Gemini for voice transcription and proof-completeness hints. expo-camera, expo-audio.
  • Web: Next.js 16 (App Router), React 19, TypeScript, Tailwind, shadcn/ui, Recharts. Same Supabase backend.
  • Backend: Supabase (Postgres, Auth, Storage, Realtime). Bob runs in Supabase Edge Functions (Deno): bob-sync builds a Gemini File Search store from project files; bob-chat answers questions with RAG and returns citations. API key stays server-side.
  • Blueprint: Rooms and pins stored in Postgres; same schema and signed URLs for the blueprint image so mobile and web share one view.

Challenges we ran into

  • JWT + Edge Functions: With Supabase’s newer JWT signing (ES256), the Edge gateway’s verify_jwt rejected requests. We fixed it by passing the user’s access_token in the request body and validating it inside the function so Bob works for web and mobile.
  • Keeping scope tight: We interviewed a construction company owner who said: don’t make it another thing to chase. That kept us focused on “three taps to complete” and proof built in instead of extra features.
  • One backend, two clients: Keeping mobile and web aligned on the same Supabase schema and Edge Functions meant clear data shapes and shared types so both clients stay in sync.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

  • End-to-end loop: A worker can join by code, complete a task with photo + voice, and a supervisor sees that proof on the web in seconds.
  • Bob with citations: Answers are grounded in project documents and show sources; users can open the cited PDF from the app.
  • Shared Blueprint: Supervisors draw rooms and place pins on the web; workers see the same Blueprint on mobile (read-only).
  • Real validation: We interviewed a construction company owner who validated the problem and the “proof built in” approach.
  • Single backend: One Supabase project and one set of Edge Functions for mobile and web.

What we learned

  • Industry scale: Poor data and miscommunication cost U.S. construction $177B a year in labor; 48% of rework ties to communication and project info; workers lose 14+ hours/week on search, conflict, and rework. 91% of teams still use paper; <30% of projects finish on time and on budget.
  • Field reality: Only 11% of field personnel always have the project info they need; 55% of useful project data never reaches the teams that need it. Our construction-company-owner interview reinforced that daily logs are a pain and proof is scattered.
  • Product: Friction kills adoption. We kept the worker flow to a few taps and made proof required so documentation is part of the job, not an afterthought.

What's next for Bild

  • Full auth on the web dashboard (replace permissive anon for production).
  • Offline capture with a clear “pending upload” queue and sync status so proof isn’t lost on bad connectivity.
  • Push notifications for due tasks and supervisor messages.
  • Richer reports: Custom date range, by assignee/location, and one-click PDF export.
  • More construction-company feedback: Incorporate more of the owner’s quotes and pain points into the product and positioning.
  • Signing real clients and working to automate their processes.
  • AI Automations for client communication + updates

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