Your first finding

Important

This tutorial saves a real finding in the project. Choose a real defect that you would record anyway. Your colleagues see the finding, and it goes into reports once it is signed off.

What you will learn

• Outline a defect on the model and read its area.
• Describe it as a finding.
• Sign the finding off.
• Export it as a PDF report.

Before you begin

• You have the Inspector or Admin role on the project.
• You have found a defect you want to record — for example, a patch of spalled concrete — and you can see it clearly from a few metres away.
• Navigate is lit on the toolbar, and no form is open.

Step 1 — Outline the defect

1. On the toolbar, click Measure ▸ Area.

2. Click points around the defect, on sound concrete just outside it.

3. Click the first point again to close the outline.

   The outline is filled on the model. The Measurement panel shows its Area and other figures.

4. If a point is in the wrong place, drag it. Click the outline to add a point. Double-click a point to remove it.

Step 2 — Describe it

1. In the Measurement panel, click Add observation.

   The Save measurement form opens. AerTwin has already filled in a title and the measured figures.

2. Complete the form:

   Field	What to enter
   Title	Replace the suggested title (for example “Area 1.2 m²”) with a short name, such as “Spalling at the joint, bay 3”.
   Dam component / location	Where it is, in site terms — for example “Spillway > Bay 3 > downstream face”.
   Engineering assessment	The figures are already here. Add the condition, the likely cause, the evidence and how certain you are.
   Severity, Status, Category	For example medium, open, spalling. Status starts as open and Category as other.
   Recommended action, Target date	What should happen next, and by when. Leave both empty if no action is needed.

3. Click Save.

   The form closes, and the finding’s number (OBS-…) appears on the model beside the outline.

Note

Save stores the finding as a draft. A draft is in the project’s records but goes into reports only after it is signed off.

Step 3 — Sign it off

1. On the toolbar, click Observations.

2. In the search box, enter your finding’s number.

   Its card is marked draft.

3. On the card, click Review.

   The review panel opens on your finding.

4. Check the severity, and then click Sign off.

   The mark on the card changes from draft to ✓.

Step 4 — Export it as a PDF

1. Hold Ctrl and click your finding’s card.

   The card is ticked, and a bar of actions for the ticked findings appears.

2. Click Export PDF.

   AerTwin builds the report, and the PDF downloads to your computer. The view moves while each finding is rendered. The first page summarises the findings in the report. A later page is your finding: the view it was recorded from, its figures and your assessment.

If you made a mistake

• Straight away: press Ctrl+Z, or click Undo on the notice that appears. Undo works until you reload the page.
• Later: click Edit on the finding’s card and correct it. Changing a signed-off finding withdraws its sign-off; sign it off again when you have finished.

What you learned

• How to outline a defect and read its area.
• How to describe it as a finding, and what a draft is.
• How to sign a finding off.
• How to export ticked findings as a PDF report.

Next: keep the Quick reference at hand, and use Explain in AerTwin whenever something on the screen is unclear. The Tasks section covers every other job step by step.