The best way to work on the road.

Over the past few years, I’ve enjoyed many conversations with ConSol users about how they use ConSol to manage their work. The most memorable experiences have been with the smaller companies and sole traders who have invited me onto the job site, home office (sometimes doubling as the kitchen) or at a local cafe. Conversations are no-nonsense and focus on the underlying concerns that many of us share: how can I reduce all of the fluff around actually doing the job? I heard countless tales of ‘doing the books’ in front of the TV at the end of the day. Quite often, it was their life partner who doubled as the company bookkeeper.

One thing in common was that portability and simplicity was critical. ConSol had to move with them as they went to the next job site or while sitting down for lunch. And so, ConSol Mobile was born (at least as a concept). We selected iOS as our preferred platform for evaluating a simplified user interface, highly efficient workflow, and some pleasant little bonuses brought on by the native iOS services. Want to look at all of your jobs on a map? Easy. Need some directions to the job site? Simply click on the pin to open the device’s navigation software.

Providing access to your ConSol work orders as a portable experience removes the cumbersome need to print job packs to bind and take with you to the job site. On ConSol Mobile, every member of the crew can have a copy, too! Think of the savings on printing (at least 6 cents a page) and time better spent by administrative staff! Documents accessed on ConSol Mobile can be edited on your device and uploaded back to the order without ever needing to consider chopping down another tree for pulping.

We also looked at the other apps and tools that crews used in the field. These tended to vary depending on the work, but the obvious candidates for digitising were the hand-scrawled location, order number and customer reference on a whiteboard placed within the photo of the completed work. Automatic watermarking of images captured within ConSol Mobile is one of the most popular features as it removes error and reduces time taken at the job site.

In 2019, we’re looking to expand into other workflows available in ConSol. We will also embed other tools to enable true digitisation of all activities (such as attaching test logs, digital signing of JSEAs, and more). We’re always keen to hear your thoughts on what would benefit you next, so please feel free to get in touch.