
How Tablets Will Transform Construction - rsuttongee
http://techcrunch.com/2012/03/11/tablets-will-transform-construction/
======
pg
PlanGrid shows how wrong people were to think the iPad was just a toy. It
turned out to be the last remaining thing the construction industry needed to
go digital. I doubt Steve Jobs knew that when Apple released the iPad. Nor did
we know it when we published RFS 6 (<http://ycombinator.com/rfs6.html>). But
they knew and we knew that they were onto something.

What other industries have been waiting for the iPad? If you want to build
what they need, we'd love to fund you.

~~~
muhfuhkuh
Since I'm not competing in that industry anymore, I'll chime in.

If we can solve the problem plaguing small (1-5) to mid-size (5-10+) private
medical, dental, and veterinary practices with a single, seamless interface
for their various specializations and needs (hook into Front Office, back end,
supply chain, mgmt of outsourced services like crowns/bridges/dentures and lab
cultures/tests).

Everything I've seen working with practice management software is that the
only difference is the hook into either AMA (CPT), ADA, and VM/VT (for
veterinary practices) codes for procedures and conditions. Everything else is
standard app stuff in my estimation.

Hard to pull off, though.

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sopooneo
I don't get it. If there is such a need for this, why wasn't it met with
software on any of the sylus based tablets that came out over the last 15
years? Was their hardware to heavy and clunky? Because it seems to me that for
serious work, especially making fine notes on a blue print, the accuracy of a
stylus over a fingertip would be very valuable.

~~~
coopdog
I'd say the reason it didn't happen earlier was wireless communications and
batteries.

There just weren't any devices with enough wireless bandwidth to throw huge
design prints around, and the batteries on small devices that use a lot of
radio have only just got over the 8 hour mark needed to get through a work
day.

------
sbierwagen
I've worked from prints in construction, (HVAC, electrician) and I've got a
question and a couple general objections.

1.) Do capacitive touchscreens work through work gloves? I'd use a stylus, but
it'd have to be big and thick to use with gloves.

A.) The tablet would have to be waterproof and more durable than the current
model ipad. Battery life isn't so much of a problem. (I plug in my flashlight
and work phone at the end of the day anyway)

B.) It also has to be cheaper, because ruggedized models will get destroyed
anyway. (Dropping them off the tops of scissor lifts, scoring the surface of
the screen, etc)

All this seems to imply that wearable displays (ala Rainbows End) would work
better for construction.

~~~
unicron
Hence why all my family members who work in construction have very cheap Nokia
phones. The problem is solved.

They work in crappy environments, cost $20 to replace (my father in law has 5
of the things in his truck) and last days on a battery. They also tend to
still work if you drop them lots.

Also, technology doesn't really help construction that much really unless it's
on a large scale (which actually makes up a very small proportion of actual
work done).

------
wensing
I grew up in my dad's architecture firm (literally, he worked day and night so
when I was sick from school I used to bunk between massive cabinets of
blueprints ...), so I've seen (and run) more blueprints than 99% of the humans
on the planet. I can't help but think of all the scribbles and marks and
pencilings that happen on a blueprint, not to mention physical seals and
architect's signatures, etc. There's so much more to paper than just the
initial drawing. What timeframe and technological advances are you counting on
before widespread adoption and replacement ("adios blueprints!") really
becomes feasible?

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OoTheNigerian
Woobious (Swombat's startup) has been in this space for while. I am rather
surprised that they have not done stuff with the tablet form factor.

WoobiusEye is <http://woobiuseye.com/> is practically made for the tablet.

Edit to give feedback on the site: ==================================

It would help to have screenshots of your app to show (Architects are
visual)how it is different from any normal document manager. I guess it is,
but I do not really have time to download and find out.

It is a good idea, addressing a big market. Good one.

------
someone_welsh
First of all, I should probably disclose that I am a construction industry
professional of some sort (architectural training, science training, currently
an MEP engineer).

Several problems with the article.

The "poor guys in the field". Who are they? Why have they "gotten worse and
worse"? Have they? (They have a far greater financial interest in improve
efficiency than it is for the more "professional" end of the construction
industry - at least in UK)

These "guys in the field"... something tells me it'll be a while before a main
contractor starts giving all his workers ipads.

What's the cost per tablet? how many would be needed? How much training in the
use of various software would be required? (for people who may not be
particularly prone to... using elaborate software). A typical construction
worker might work for a main contractor (via various subcontractors) for a
total of 6 months. I'm sure they'd be happy to leave with an extra bonus of a
tablet after that. How well does a tablet perform when its screen is caked in
concrete?

Then there's the issue of the software. Some of this "amazing software" - (i'm
going to pick on Revit as that's what I'm most experienced in) requires a
supercomputer to run. If that's how the information is organised, then where
is it going to be filtered down to the needs of the contractor in question,
(who is "asking the question of the architect")

(According to the article, Revit architecture = amazing software. This I
wholeheartedly dispute. For many reasons, but that's another story)

At this point I should point out that the "much better communication" bit is
quite inaccurate where it details the process of an RFI. For a start - paper
is a cheap way for all workers to have the information at hand - ie with them
there and then - not in the "trailer".

Once these over-estimates of the time currently spent are taken out, the two
are broadly similar. Replace "looks at problem and makes notes on plans" with
"looks at problem, cleans his hands, tries to navigate clunky over elaborate
BIM model on underpowered tablet, finally finds relevant part of large and
complex building, annotates it, uploads to central server via wi-fi.

The bit about tablets being already massively adopted in construction industry
has a link to someone using their ipad essentially for accounting purposes.
Sure. People already do this all the time, with smartphones. Nothing to see
here.

There's a throwaway comment about green buildings in there as well. To which I
say the following:

The typical design lifespan of a building nowadays is 40-60 years. What about
when they're demolished quicker than this though, perhaps because they're
shit? How green is it to cut costs everywhere to result in a nasty piece of
urban fabric which is subsequently destroyed, to be replace, even if it's
covered in eco tech? What's the lifespan of a really well considered building
which grows and flourishes with the love of those who experience it?

Also, new “BIM” software is often marketed as being able to enable “greener”
building design. My current experience suggests it will be 5 years or so
before its even slightly adequate at this. The calculation procedures offered
are terrible, constrained and offer nowhere near the flexibility or creativity
of a good old spreadsheet. Yet they slow down the spatial modelling process
and provide inertia to change, iteration and flexibility. There's a lot to be
said for centralising information storage (whilst contextualising it with a 3D
model), yet at present this is beyond the practical means of most hardware (I
personally doubt this, and attribute it to sloppy/inefficient software design.
But this isn't my field – I imagine everyone else @ HN knows a lot more on
this)

It may seem that I'm an anti tech luddite from this post, but nothing could be
further from the truth. I'm reasonably young (late 20s) and generally embrace
technological progress.

Also, it can't be denied that the construction industry is very staid and has
much inertia against change.

However, I think that there is a lot of external pressure on the industry to
adopt new technologies imposed from outside, as they are "the future" etc. In
many cases, the technology is not appropriate to the situation at hand.

Building design is then adapted to the needs of the software, rather than the
other way round. This results in a lot of terrible buildings (which are, it
goes without saying, produced cheaply and efficiently). This is a massive
shame, as buildings are part of the shared cultural capital of our
civilisation and are unavoidable. Just because you don't work/live in a
building, it doesn't mean you don't have to experience it.

Anyway, that's probably enough for now. I can probably elaborate on all sorts
if people are interested.

~~~
Anechoic
_I'm sure they'd be happy to leave with an extra bonus of a tablet after that.
How well does a tablet perform when its screen is caked in concrete?_

Repeating part of a comment I made a few days ago:

Folks have been talking about tablets being a natural fit for the construction
market, and frankly I don't see it (at least for field work). Construction
sites are nasty places - dust, concrete, bentonite, slurries, oil & grease,
rain, snow, heat these are not good things for an expensive tablet to be
around.

Furthermore, the trades guys are hard are their equipment. When it's time to
go to lunch, stuff gets thrown in the trunk bed or on the passenger seat of
the truck as they rush off. Even if a tablet survives the abuse, those guys
rarely lock or raise the windows of their trucks on the job, so I wouldn't
expect the tablet to be there when the contractor gets back from his break.

I think the potential is there, but tablets need to become more "disposable"
first. On the other hand, there may be decent acceptance from engineers and
supervisors.

 _Also, it can't be denied that the construction industry is very staid and
has much inertia against change._

I would disagree with that, construction is generally such a low-margin
business that (IME) contractors are willing to try new things if it can mean
lower bids or higher profit margins. But they have to be convinced first that
change makes sense.

~~~
Retric
It's standard operating procedure in many palaces to drive a truck over a new
mobile phone model then dunking it in a bucket of water before accepting them.
There is no reason that tablet's can become at least that rugged.

Second, there are a fair number of 200$ tablets out there bumping that 50$ for
a rugged case and you can make something that lasts long enough for minor
increases in efficiency to quickly pay for it. So, IMO the real question is
can a tablet increase the average construction workers efficiency by 2+% with
good software and I think that's vary doable. (2% efficiency for someone
making 10$ an hour would pay for tablet in a little over 6 months getting the
average lifespan of a tablet to 6 months seems vary doable.)

~~~
ynniv
_It's standard operating procedure in many palaces to drive a truck over a new
mobile phone model then dunking it in a bucket of water before accepting them.
There is no reason that tablet's can become at least that rugged._

Structural integrity declines exponentially. An 1/8th inch piece of glass the
size of a credit card is pretty durable. That same piece of glass the size of
a sheet of paper is rather delicate. On top of that, a phone screen provides a
smaller target for falling debris.

So, even if touchscreen phones become popular on the jobsite, it will take
significant additional engineering to get tablets there.

------
drewcrawford
My father has been in the commercial construction industry for 30+ years. I am
an iOS developer that runs a contracting company where we write software for
niche professional markets. Let's just say I've spent a long time thinking
about iPad projects for the construction industry, none of which are active
projects. Let me tell you why.

The construction industry operates with a margin that reasonable people think
is insane. If you're a software developer, it's a total paradigm shift.
Companies do $500M in construction and post $500k net profit. One mistake and
you're so far in the red you will never get out.

If you think software development has competitive pressure e.g. from overseas,
you ain't seen nothing. Unless you are designing Apple stores, you are doing
bid work. Although construction is composed of many expert disciplines, each
of which have competitive protection, on a broad level one general contractor
is as good as any other. You may have two master electricians serving an area
that are basically insulated from competition with other electricians, but
they may contract to 10 general contractors who interface with the client,
companies that have no real competitive differentiator from each other than
price. This forces the 10 general contractors to compete for the client's
business, often comprised of an overlapping set of skilled trade personnel,
essentially on the basis of how many corners they can cut and still pass
inspection.

And you want these people to buy a bunch of iPads? While they are debating the
merits of breaking the building code to save costs? You can sell this to
specialty contractors, to the people who build Disney parks and Black Mesa,
but not the vast majority who answer RFPs.

Yes, this product has the potential to prevent mistakes, but contractors carry
insurance for that. Unless they get a break on the E&O rates that exceeds the
cost of deploying the iPads, it's not going to happen. Not in an environment
when "sue me" is your standard conflict resolution mechanism.

Next problem. A general contractor's job is like herding cats. You're lucky to
get a drywaller who shows up on time and works 8-hour days. Never mind reads a
set of _paper_ plans. Never mind goes to training to use an iPad. You have
some shot at getting the office people, all five of them, using a system like
this, but five seats per job site at $50/seat doesn't sound like a business
model to me.

Next problem. Architects like to plan fancy IP games with blueprints. Want a
third copy of that blueprint? You must take it to our specialty printer who
kicks us back a royalty on every blueprint plan they print. Not everyone is
like this, but the low-priced architects are. And now you can't get the plans
to put into your iPad system.

Kudos to these guys for trying, but there's a lot more to be solved here than
just "hurr durr put a PDF on an iPad" product. There are fundamental realities
of the construction business model that have to be hacked to make writing iPad
software for that market into a sustainable business. I certainly hope these
guys prove these problems are solvable, because there are many niche products
I've been thinking about doing in the same market, but the TechCrunch writeups
I've seen so far don't really explain how they are going to solve these
problems (perhaps deliberately; if it was me I wouldn't want to tell everyone
how to solve these problems if I knew).

------
mynegation
Blueprints, communication and analytics are great. But really revolutionary
technology for construction would be something like that:

[http://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2011-01/grasp-
lab-q...](http://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2011-01/grasp-lab-
quadcopters-construct-towers-autonomous-swarms)

------
noonespecial
Just an OT anecdote, but I can't tell you how much better my iPad has made me
at fixing cars. Especially cars with lots of forum space.

I never even wonder what size that bolt is on my Ford pickup because someone
on a forum already has detailed, annotated pictures of the whole procedure.
Its been years since I've even cracked a Chilton's.

------
jguimont
Do you guys have an API? I have a web solution for construction contractor
that could benefit from that: <http://ontakeoff.com>

------
agumonkey
Samsung is starting flexible screen production.. live blueprint in roll ?

