Construction company decides iPad is the right tool for the job
Browsing Apple’s website, I came upon a story about a Texas construction company that has deployed iPads to some 250 employees in the office and in the field. The story estimated that the tablets save more than 50,000 work hours annually.
“Construction teams use iPhone and iPad to review blueprints, access interactive 3D design files, and manage resources on the job site,” the story said. “Keeping everyone connected with the right information means projects are completed on time and on budget.”
I was fascinated. Why would a construction company issue an iPad to almost every employee and why did they choose the iPad rather than the myriad other options including Microsoft Surface or Android tablets, as well as ruggedized products like Toughbook laptops or Motion tablets? Finally, for what, exactly, were they using all those iPads?
The company, RogersO’Brien Construction, is headquartered in Dallas and has offices in Austin and Houston. I’m sure you’ve heard of something they’ve built in Texas, such as Pizza Hut’s headquarters in Dallas; several WeWork coworking spaces in Dallas, Houston and Austin; and a huge Cabela’s store in Allen.
I spoke with Todd Wynne, Rogers-O’Brien’s director of applied technology. My first question was, “What technology did the iPads replace?” I expected to hear “laptops” or “Android tablets,” but was surprised to hear “paper” instead. He also pointed out that the iPads have reduced or eliminated a lot of walking around to assemble data.
He said the iPads are used throughout the company for capturing and consuming data. He went on to explain that they had tried Panasonic Toughbooks, Microsoft Surfaces and Motion ruggedized tablets, but found that the iPad was the most reliable and cost-effective tool in the trenches.
Among his reasons for choosing the iPad over other available technology:
Battery life is significantly better; some iPads go up to two days between charges.
Syncing data to iPads for offline use is easier and more reliable on iPads.
A cellular radio is an option on all iPads.
Third-party tools are better on iPads.
Speech-to-text is better on iPads (and they use a lot of speech-to-text in the field).
Development of custom apps is faster and easier on iPad.
For what it’s worth, the off-the-shelf software they use includes Bluebeam Revu, FieldLens and Project Atlas, a custom app developed in-house, which they later spun into its own software company.
I use my iPad mostly for media consumption, web browsing, and email, so I found it fascinating to see iPads used for real work in a real business creating real things like buildings.