According to Apple, there’s an app for that…but not necessarily if you’re in demolition.
Inspired by an afternoon spent playing with the new JCB Attachments Selection app on our trusty iPhone, we thought’s we’d take a browse through the iTunes store to see what other smartphone-based treats were lurking there for the tech-savvy demolition contractor.
Turns out the answer is “not a lot”.
Oh sure, search on the word “demolition” and you’re presented with more than 80 iPhone games based loosely on the concept of blowing up matchstick buildings; and a few less for the iPad. But what of the genuine business tools designed to make a demolition professional’s life a little easier and a little more mobile?
Well, as we mentioned, there’s the JCB app which is nicely designed and totally intuitive although we can’t help thinking there will be very few occasions when you’ll desperately need to spec an attachment “on the go”. There’s also a very nice Caterpillar news app which is similarly pretty to look at but which covers the entire multitude of market sectors in which the US equipment giant is represented. If your sole interest is demolition, you may have to wait a while for a relevant news story.
And, of course, there’s our own iPhone/iPad app which an increasing number of demolition professionals are using to get their daily fix of industry news.
But where are the business tools? Where is the app to aid in the estimation arena? Where is the scrap app that provides a live price for ferrous and non-ferrous metals? Where’s the waste app that helps contractors find their nearest landfill or recycling centre?
Admittedly, app developers looking to strike it rich are probably toiling away in the social media arena. Demolition is a relatively small and vertical market with very specific needs.
That said, just about every demolition professional these days packs a smartphone as part of their business armoury. So surely it’s about time the app developers realised there is some untapped potential over here?
If you use any iOS or Android apps in your business, please share them with us in the comments area below.
