Tag Archives: iOS

iPad Apps For Construction

Construction, iOS Development, ,

Essential Apps for iPad in the Construction Field

I recently had correspondence with someone planning to roll out a number of iPads in a construction business. At CMBSC, we use iPads and iPhones in the field extensively. I have tried many different apps on my iDevices and thought to review which of those apps have become the essentials we rely on.

Utility Apps

These apps are absolute must-have utilities for managing, sharing, converting and producing files of various formats within the iOS environment.

Dropbox

Dropbox is my preferred tool for managing all document files that need to be shared or that you may wish to access from multiple devices. Dropbox for iOS is free and allows opening, saving and sharing all types of files with ease. We make shared jobsite folders for all our projects including all related drawings, daily logs, inspections and a myriad of other project documents.

You can find Dropbox in the App Store here for free: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/dropbox/id327630330?mt=8

iZip Pro

Continue reading iPad Apps For Construction →

Sync-Ability

iOS Development, , ,

CrewKeeper 1.30 update submitted for Apple review this week.

Expect to see it in iTunes App Store within a few days.

Now with data sync to all your devices. CrewKeeper is updated to a universal application supporting iPad and iPhone native interface. This has been a long time coming and no trivial undertaking. The stage is now set for some really big changes to the CrewKeeper user experience.

I am still convinced that the iPhone is the best format for entry and daily documentation. I prefer real time incremental data entry through the course of the work day. This is so much a priority in my mind that I have built into CrewKeeper some road blocks to “coax” users away from other options. CrewKeeper reports, comments and status updates notably and purposely omit the option to back date entries. Inspections and safety meetings are not able to be created if the user is not on a jobsite.

The idea is a digital equivalent of the bound jobsite diary without the ability to insert pages after the fact to manipulate the data. I am convinced that this philosophy helps to train my users to do a better job and results in more trustworthy documentation.

The iPad, on the other hand, is certainly a valuable option for more in depth reference. iPad compatibility can extend the capabilities of CrewKeeper to more comprehensive note taking and reports organization. The pending update primarily brings in iCloud sync capability. This is just the first step. It was a lot of work, long time testing, and likely will require some follow up fixes and refinement going forward. But now, I can move on to some really exciting new features and extensions I have been experimenting with based on users’ feedback as well as my own wish lists.

I look forward to input from users when the update goes live. Future updates should be coming now at a much more frequent pace, keep informed of the latest by following here or at Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. See links in sidebar.

CrewKeeper 1.13

iOS Development, ,

Another new version uploaded, you can get it here.

This is mostly bug fixes and still working out some kinks as a result of changes in the new iOS7 update.

The app has a completely different look. While I was quite settled with its appearance in iOS6, this lighter styling is growing on me. I think that it suits the iOS7 aesthetic and is an improvement overall.

CrewKeeper 1.10.0

iOS Development, ,

iOS 7 Ready

It was quite a lot of work to adjust everything for the new iOS. New version is available in iTunes now. Device must have iOS7 installed to use this version. The App Store now allows devices to install the last version of an app that would work on your device so, if you are not updating iOS7, you can still get the current version and will not be missing any new features. This update is just about all appearance and layout changes.