The Mobile Builder
As builders continue the search for the right mobile apps and improved connectivity, software providers and carriers are coming to market with new partnerships and technologies.
Are you prepared for a mobile revolution? Already changing the way we interact on a social basis, and a staple in the business world today, the smartphone and mobile applications could reinvent the way builders carry out processes on a job.
Mobile applications are ranked on the Top 10 technologies for 2010 from Gartner, www.gartner.com, Stamford, Conn., among such other technologies as cloud computing, analytics, IT for green, social computing, security, and virtualization, among others. Gartner predicts by the end of 2010, 1.2 billion people will carry handsets with a rich environment—the convergence of mobility and the Web.
Software providers are creating capabilities that will allow their software to be used on mobile devices in the field, as carriers are rolling out new technology that will allow builders to send larger volumes of information from the field to the office while also improving connectivity at remote locations.
Time for Mobile Apps
While mobile phone sales are on the decline, smartphone sales are growing at a very rapid rate, according to Gartner. In the second quarter of last year, mobile phone sales decreased 6.1%, while smartphone sales increased 27%. This is due in large part to users wanting to take advantage of software and applications on devices.
Scott Hutchinson, sales director, BuildIT Systems, www.builditsystems.com, Kelowna, B.C., says the days of builders being anchored to a desktop computer are over, especially with the advent of BlackBerrys, iPhones, and other handheld wireless devices that can access the Internet.
BuildIT—a scheduling technology company serving the small-to-medium-sized builder market—has invested in building an application for a new mobile development phase. With the mobile capabilities of the software, builders will be able to access information from the BuildIT system with their mobile devices.
More and more, builders are finding they need to control the project with a good solid scheduling system, and in most cases this means having the ability to access this system in the field. This is part of the reason why software providers and carriers are partnering up to provide solutions for builders.
Bruce Bocian, enterprise data solutions manager, construction vertical nationwide, Verizon Wireless, www.verizonwireless.com, Basking Ridge, N.J., says project management and scheduling will continue to be key drivers of technology adoption in the construction industry during 2010.
He points to the recently launched Droid smartphone as a good fit for small and medium construction businesses due to the fact it has no backend server to install or to maintain or manage.
“It is going to offer (builders) access to their personal data as well as their business data. There are many applications—over 10,000 applications—that will be able to reside on this device and it will continue to grow,” says Bocian.
To help bring software applications to mobile devices, technology providers are partnering with wireless carriers. As one example, BuilderMT, www.buildermt.com, Lakewood, Colo., and Verizon announced a joint venture in 2009 in which BuilderMT offers its BPM (Business Process Management) applications on Verizon Wireless mobile phones, which will link back to BPM software in the home office.
“We have found that Verizon is doing some tremendous things in vertical markets, and not only in construction, but in healthcare, pharmaceuticals, manufacturing, whole-sale distribution, retail,” says Tom Gebes, president, BuilderMT, “We have been working closely in announcing quite a bit of stuff that is going on with Verizon.”
The technology providers are currently working with some of the national construction associations, offering discounts on products and services to members of the associations. One such association is the NAHB (National Assn. of Home Builders), www.nahb.org, Washington, D.C.
“Members get discounts on these essential products and services that are going to help their company, such as using Verizon Wireless, using a data plan, using an embedded server with RIM, purchasing BlackBerrys, and using and deploying BuilderMT Wireless Scheduling,” says Gebes. “So we are seeing a tremendous push to browser-based and mobile-based applications with the turn of this market, not only in residential, but also in commercial.”
Beyond using scheduling software on mobile devices, another area that is garnering a lot of interest in the construction industry is asset tracking. According to Susan Fitzsimmons, senior marketing manager, AT&T, www.att.com, Dallas, Texas, location-based services and the implementation of GPS (global-positioning system) will be a significant area of growth for construction in the year to come.
“As asset-tracking devices evolve, these technologies should have a very positive impact on reducing material loss from theft and vandalism,” says Fitzsimmons. “The use of AVL (automatic vehicle location) solutions for monitoring mileage, speed, route, hours worked, and idle times are quickly becoming common tools for improved equipment management and compliance validation.”
TeleNav, www.telenav.com, Sunnyvale, Calif., and AT&T work together to create technology such as the recently released TeleNav Asset Tracker from AT&T. This type of technology will allow builders to keep track of assets on mobile phones.
According to Fitzsimmons, the asset tracker is a pretty small device—about the size of a deck of cards—and it can either be fixed with a harness to an electrical bus or it can use the battery that is in it. The device can be left unattended and put covertly inside a palette or other asset. Fitzsimmons says this device will ping the mobile phone on a periodic basis, so builders in the field can track an asset’s location.
“It pings that device on a periodic basis so it is not necessarily a total realtime tracking,” says Fitzsimmons. “In other words, you are not actually going to watch that things move like a 1940s movie when the plane flies across the ocean, but it is going to ping that device on a specified interval. You can kind of extend the battery life as much as you need to by sending that frequency as pings.
“It does have a much longer battery life than let’s say a phone because it is really just being pinged and delivering that information. On the backend, the admin can get some realtime reporting, if it is necessary, whether once a day or once a week or once a month. When you are done with that piece of equipment, you take the device out and put it on something else. In that regard, (it has) a much longer lifespan than something that is fixed permanently or once the battery is dead you just dispose of them.”
From an interface standpoint, Fitzsimmons says, on the backend, these are the same technologies that are being used from TeleNav to track the mobile workforce, so the interfaces are very similar.
Fitzsimmons also adds there are a lot of ways builders can go about rolling out this technology. For example, AT&T offers a program where builders can put a lease plan in place for equipment like this, making it even more affordable.
Beyond partnering with carriers, other technology providers are enhancing their software packages to include functionality that will allow the products to be used in the field. As one example, near the end of last year, Sales Simplicity, www.salessimplicity.com, Chandler, Ariz., announced the addition of mobile apps for its CRM (customer-relationship management) and sales software. With the new mobile apps feature, builders can access customer data, view option selections, view offers, and approve contracts.
Improving Connectivity
Currently there are some shortcomings when it comes to moving large volumes of data from one device to the next, and sometimes getting connectivity out in the field can be difficult.
There are many options builders can consider when looking to get better connectivity in the field. One such option may be setting up a fixed wireless terminal. According to Shawn Welsh, vice president of marketing and business development, Telular, www.telular.com, Atlanta, Ga., a provider of fixed wireless terminals, this type of technology provides a good way for residential construction companies to get up and running quickly. In the past, residential builders have been able to get a jobsite connected on the first day of construction with fixed wireless terminals.
“The real nugget when it comes to fixed cellular terminals is that they are instantly available, they can be shared, and they provide the highest level of throughput that you are likely to get at those common construction sites, and especially with remote construction sites,” says Welsh, who says these factors make such technology ideal for construction site connectivity.
Beyond basic connectivity, a growing trend in construction is the desire to move large volumes of data, such as with large design files or more robust 3D models.
John Girard, manager of industry solutions for construction and field services, Sprint, www.sprint.com, Overland Park, Kan., definitely sees this trend developing and says it is one of the reasons behind the investment the company is making in its 4G network.
“For Sprint, what that means is our capabilities in terms of 4G and how that rolls out through the … industry,” says Girard. “I think that is probably going to be the biggest trend that we see impacting them in terms of their ability to be more productive.”
Girard says up until this point many builders have communicated information in more traditional means—having hard copies of documents at the jobsite and landline phones—but this has always created some challenges, especially when builders are trying to get started on projects. In many cases, it can take quite a bit of time to put those more traditional forms of communication in, and it requires physically moving documents to and from the jobsite.
However, with a 4G network builders have access to greater bandwidth, meaning they will be able to pass all those files back and forth on their mobile devices.
Sprint is currently delivering its 4G technology—WiMAX—across the country. According to Sprint, its 4G technology is 10 times faster than existing 3G, allowing builders to download and share information in a timely manner. Construction companies can use 4G technologies in the field, sharing schematics with all project participants.
While Sprint is currently in the process of rolling out its 4G technology, AT&T and Verizon both have plans for 4G in the future. Fitzsimmons from AT&T says 4G networks will lead to more ‘rich’ data exchanged from the office to the field. This will help the construction industry take advantage of more software and applications on mobile devices.
“Integration is the buzzword in design and construction right now and it carries over into supporting technology as well,” says Fitzsimmons. “I think a lot of the work that is being done by the mobility solution providers will add yet another powerful dimension to BIM (building information modeling) in the future. We’re already seeing it used in projects where material management, percentage of work complete, and quality inspection data is being delivered back for a near realtime view of field activities.”