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Wherein I reflect on several days of using my iPad for construction inspections

By on April 8, 2012 | Category: Link

The iPad is an ideal tool for construction inspections, replacing a clipboard full of paperwork, and expanding the opportunities for improving the inspection process.

Via AECforensics.com

Self portrait in a stranger's bathroom using an iPad for documenting construction defects

I had a chance recently to use my iPad for some construction defect litigation investigations I took part in. Overall, I found this to be a vast improvement over using pen and paper. Not having to lug around several binders of inspections materials was an added bonus. Read the full article for more information about how I was able to pull this off.


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The new iPad overheats following exposure to sunlight

By on March 20, 2012 | Category: Link

Well this doesn’t bode well for using the new iPad during construction inspections (which frequently involve exposure to direct sunlight)…

Did you spend a few hours in line this weekend waiting to buy Apple’s much-heralded new tech toy, the iPad? Then you might be disappointed to learn that the $500 gadget can shut down in direct sunlight. According to some furious tech bloggers, exposure to the sun’s rays can prompt a black screen and the ominous error message, “iPad needs to cool down before you can use it.” With reports estimating as many as 700,000 iPads sold, could this glitch become a big P.R. problem?

via The Atlantic Wire


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WWSHD: What Would Sherlock Holmes Do? (Advice for Consultants)

By on December 1, 2011 | Category: Article

Mark Haas has another great post up at the Institute for Management Consultant’s Daily Tips for Consultants blog. In it, he compares the work of consultants to that of detectives, prompting the invocation of the world’s most famous fictional detective, Sherlock Holmes. When asking What Would Sherlock Holmes Do? Haas came up with the following list of recommendations:

  1. Keep an open mind, not being swayed by the preponderance of opinions as to the “obvious” solution.
  2. Employ deductive reasoning, based facts you have confirmed.
  3. Investigate all possibilities thoroughly, especially ones that at first seem implausible.
  4. Look carefully at the details, again especially at those details that may seem irrelevant.
  5. Look for connections, relationships, consistencies and inconsistencies.
  6. Ask lots of questions, and don’t automatically accept the first answers you are given.
  7. Wear a disguise (OK-you might want to scratch that one!).
  8. Be relentless in pursuit of the solution.

I don’t know Mark, sometimes a disguise may be in order!

In my work as a consultant in the construction industry, especially in the field of forensics, these suggestions become the requirements for professional success. Although admittedly, there seems to be a lot of overlap from one project to the next, we still need to approach each situation with an open mind, exhausting all possibilities before reaching conclusions.

Link: IMC USA


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Why the new Amazon Kindle Fire isn’t ideal for construction inspections

By on September 30, 2011 | Category: Article

Amazon's Kindle Fire

On Wedenesday, September 28, Amazon announced a new tablet – the 7-inch Kindle Fire. Amazon’s CEO, Jeff Bezos, put on his best Steve Job’s impersonation for the announcement, which also included updates to the entire Kindle line. The most amazing detail of the Kindle Fire has to be the price: $199. Will this replace the iPad as the tablet of choice for construction inspections?

No. Let me explain…

The iPad 2 vs. the Kindle Fire

For construction inspections (home inspections, property condition assessments, reserve studies, forensic investigations, quality assurance observation), the most important requirements are usability, battery life and wireless communication.

  1. Usability – In terms of usability, the iPad’s screen size seems to be just about perfect for construction inspections. Slightly smaller than a letter-size piece of paper, the device remains lightweight, despite the large screen. The Kindle Fire weighs about 1/3 less than the iPad, and has a 7-inch screen. Looking at floor plans or construction details on a 7-inch screen is going to be taxing for some of my colleagues with less than 20/20 eyesight.
  2. Battery life – Since the Kindle Fire is smaller than the iPad, that also means less room for the battery. According to Amazon’s technical details, with wireless turned off, the device will support up to “8 hours of continuous reading.” Reading from a tablet generally uses less power than interacting with the user interface. The iPad’s 10-hour+ battery, unlike the Kindle Fire, should easily last through an entire day of inspections.
  3. Wireless – This, to me, is the real deal-killer. The Kindle Fire only supports WiFi, whereas the iPad supports 3G cellular connections on either AT&T or Verizon. Unless your job site has an open WiFi network, you’re going to run into problems accessing and synchronizing data.

Some advantages for the Kindle Fire

The main advantage the Kindle Fire has over the iPad is durability. According to Amazon:

Our state-of-the art Kindle Fire display is chemically strengthened to be 20 times stiffer and 30 times harder than plastic, making it extra durable and resistant to accidental bumps and scrapes.

That sounds a whole lot better than the scratch-prone and crack-prone glass iPad screen. Construction sites and delicate glass screens don’t mix particularly well.

Another advantage that one could argue the Kindle Fire has over the iPad, is the support of Flash. Personally, I am 99% fine without Flash.

What’s the Point?

Much more so than the iPad, the Kindle Fire is clearly marketed as a content consumption device. Although the iPad isn’t going to replace a computer for writing reports, filling in spreadsheets, doing take-offs, and managing large media files (photos, video, etc.), it handles a lot more content creation than I anticipated before I actually spent time with one. I can now type fast enough on the iPad that it is my note-taking tool of choice. I can also make minor edits to word processing documents, mark-up PDFs, and have created decent looking presentations – all using just my iPad 2. While I haven’t used the camera on my iPad except to test it out, the absence of a camera on the Kindle Fire confirms my assessment.

Where I think that the Kindle Fire will really take off, is for kids. I may be the exception to the rule, but I prefer the Kindle app on my iPad for reading over Apple’s iBooks app. And, I still love my old-fashioned Kindle. Add in the ability to watch movies, play games from the Android marketplace, play Flash games, and this device becomes an ideal personal media device. In fact, I’m thinking this might make a great gift for my son’s 10th birthday in a couple weeks. The durability of the screen and the more kid-friendly size mean that the chance of it being destroyed in the first week is much less.

In conclusion, I think that Amazon stands to gain a strong market share with the new Kindle Fire. I do believe it will compete well with the iPad. For those of us that do more with tablets – such as construction inspections – the iPad is still king.

All images courtesy Amazon.com


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An Alternative To The iPad For Field Notes & Sketches

By on August 30, 2011 | Category: Article

For over a dozen years, I have been working in construction consulting, especially in the area of construction defect investigations. I’m always on the lookout for ways to improve the process of collecting data in the field. In the past I’ve written about:

While I obviously see a lot of potential for the iPad as a device for capturing notes, sketches and checklist type information, there are some drawbacks. For one thing, the device is fragile – not an ideal characteristic for something used on a construction site. Secondly, there is the problem of adoption by senior professionals. This is by far the most challenging aspect of integrating new technologies into the construction consulting field. A new product from Wacom may offer an alternative.

Introducing the Inkling by Wacom

The Inkling by Wacom

The Inkling by Wacom

According to the product page for the Inkling:

The Inkling digital sketch pen captures a digital likeness of your work while you sketch with its ballpoint tip on any sketchbook or standard piece of paper. Designed for rough concepting and creative brainstorming, Inkling is ideal for the front end of the creative process. Later, refine your work on your computer using an Intuos4 tablet or Cintiq interactive pen display.

In addition to capturing your sketch, stroke by stroke, Inkling allows you to create layers in digital files while you sketch on paper. Digital files are transferred to your computer using the Inkling Sketch Manager software, and later, exported to applications such as Adobe® Photoshop® and Illustrator®. Files can also be opened with the included Inkling Sketch Manager software to edit, delete, add layers or change file formats.

Check out the video for a demonstration of how the device works:

What’s The Point?

By utilizing a pen and paper, the Wacom Inkling means that the learning curve for implementing such a tool won’t be very steep. I see no reason that the receiver couldn’t be attached to a clipboard capturing input from the user in the field. Then it is simply a matter of downloading pictures from a camera and downloading the files from the Inkling receiver.

In my opinion, this is yet another excellent option for construction consultants, forensic experts, home inspectors, etc., to capture information in the field digitally.

The Wacom Inkling comes out in mid-September and will cost around $200.


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