Roofing – There’s an App for That!
We’ve long advocated the use of technology in the construction industry, particularly for roofing work. Digital technology is changing the ways in which we work, making it easier to plan projects, increasing both productivity and accuracy and often making our work safer. This is great news for the roofing industry as working at height (which is what roofing is all about) is traditionally one of the riskiest types of employment and we need all the help we can get to make this a safer career choice for future generations. Today we’re going to take a look at some of the apps that have been created for construction and roofing contractors.
There are several different project management apps that are designed for the construction industry, many of which are cloud-based which means that all updates are made in real time, ensuring that the information is instantly available to all stakeholders in a project. Using such an app will eliminate the need for trips to the site office to obtain drawings, forms, safety plans and other paperwork.
An app will also drastically reduce the requirement to transcribe notes and write reports at the end of each working day as the information necessary will automatically be collected and integrated into the system.
As we’ve pointed out in the past, safety is the responsibility of everybody on site. Like the rest of the population, construction workers are connected – most will have a mobile phone on the person at all times. The latest research on technology in the construction sector has revealed that a massive 92% of workers use smartphones on a daily basis, whilst more than 60% use tablets.
This presents roofing company owners and site managers with an ideal communications opportunity. With the help of an app, roofing workers who identify safety issues and incidents are able to report them in real time, meaning that any safety data is updated instantly, eliminating delays in adding the information to the system manually. This means that these problems will be resolved faster, reducing the risk of delaying the project. Encouraging site personnel to use mobile technology in this way will increase their sense of responsibility for their own safety and that of others, keeping everybody in the loop at all times.
When it comes to estimating materials necessary and pricing jobs, there are several apps that can save time and effort. Roofing Calculator is an app that’s available for both Android and iPhone – it’s fairly new and has had some “teething problems” but the creators are constantly using feedback from users to update and improve the app. It’s mainly aimed at roofing contractors in America, but could also be used here in the UK. However, there are several other apps that can be used for calculation purposes, so it’s worth having a look at a few before making a choice on what would best suit your business.