A study conducted in 2014 claimed that nearly 60 percent of adults in America possessed a smartphone and spent nearly 3 hours on it every day. Granted that these are average numbers, the modern professional is likely to spend at least twice as much for business, not to mention the fact that there are now a plethora of apps that can aid a construction consultant in their line of work. For people who are constantly on the go, these apps afford an easy way to keep on top of client information and even last-minute modifications to construction designs without having to open a laptop for every single change. Broadly speaking, there are three types of apps available for the construction professional to access. They are CAD and measurement apps, construction planning apps and entertainment apps, and many of them are available across iOS, Android and Windows platforms.
In the case of CAD apps, they are usually a portable or simplified version of more complex 3D drawing software used to design construction plans. While apps like Construction Master Pro, AutoCAD and PlanGrid can be used to create or edit construction files, apps like BIMx are used solely for presentation. Other apps that are useful in quantifying and converting real time measurements into malleable data are BuildCalc, iHandy Carpenter and Architect’s Formulator to name a few.
Not all of construction has to do with building. Good time management and team work will ensure a project is delivered on time and in its best quality. For this, Construction Manager, Fieldwire, Viewpoint among others can be used to allocate teams for specific tasks and conduct meetings. In fact, apps like Safety Meeting and iSafe are specifically designed to help discuss safety issues of a project with onsite and offsite members.
For the discerning professional who has a little free time on their hands, consider playing a quick round of Sim City – BuildIt or Buildanauts for a fun outlook on construction without investing anything but time to build a megapolis.