In the old days, home contractors used pencils and paper to help accomplish their tasks. Today, though, it’s a different story– technology has transformed nearly every industry, including the home contracting industry. It’s not unusual to see home contractors using smartphones and tablets to get their work done.
Digital Record Keeping
Perhaps the major change in industries over the past twenty years is the move from paper to digital records of everything. Therefore, you’re now more likely asked to “go online” to “access” your building plans and permit applications. Instead of using a pencil and paper to fill out traditional paperwork, nowadays you use a computer keyboard and type in data into a computer database. Instead of seeing things on paper, you’re much more likely looking at things on screens. One of the major innovations in recent times is the ability to show detailed 3D renderings, such that you can get a feel for what a new room will truly look like before it’s remodeled or built for the first time.
Information One Screen Tap Away
Meanwhile, phones have become used for much more than just making calls. Because they’re small, mobile and powerful, a smartphone of 2018 can do so much more than, say, a “flip phone” from a decade ago. Contractors today utilize their smartphones to not only communicate with clients and bosses, but to also look up information on various websites. You’d be hard pressed to find a contractor who doesn’t carry a smartphone with them.
One of the reasons digital gadgets like smartphones are so ubiquitous in the home contracting industry today is because they allow the transmission of instant “changes” in instructions and orders. They’re also popular for taking pictures or videos of interior spaces before they become closed-in, and to show people located elsewhere what’s “going on” where construction is taking place. Today, a person living in Buffalo, New York, and having their winter home in Tallahassee, Florida, “worked on” can literally “see” exactly what’s going on in “real time” thanks to modern technology. Things like “Facetime” and “Skype” allow people to communicate face-to-face and place-to-place, instantly.
Construction Management Software
Since so much work is now done “online,” there’s such a thing as construction management software. It provides a framework for jobs to be done. It allows anyone involved in a project the chance to log in and see what’s being discussed and/or done. Basically, construction management software brings all the details of a job into one place online, including plans, plan changes, budgeting/billing, and real-time communication. It’s used by developers, builders, construction workers, and others involved in the construction or remodeling of various spaces and places.
Safety
Technology has helped make home contractors better off when it comes to avoiding harm on the job. For instance, there are certain modern developments in items such as earplugs and masks that utilize technology. Certain earplugs, for example, can block out dangerously loud noises while still allowing normal voices to “come through.” So, instead of construction workers going deaf, like they might of years ago, their ears are better protected from problems.
Drones and Other Advances
Finally, the most recent thing to transform construction sites would be… drones. These remote controlled airborne devices can do surveillance of construction sites. They can help monitor progress from above, even in remote places. They can also be used to access areas that would otherwise be hard for humans to get to and see. With the use of drones, home contractors can even zoom in on the details of their work and find any minor or major mistakes that may need correcting– drones are like an extra set of eyes for contractors.
Nowadays, more and more work is being done by computers and robots. They can carry out tasks like designing, building and monitoring projects. They don’t get tired, they generally don’t make mistakes, and they can actually be more precise than humans, when it comes to foundations, perimeters, and corners, for example. Laser-guided excavation is now a “thing,” as is laser-based survey equipment. GPS technology also comes into play for construction projects.
Thanks to technological innovations, construction projects can be done quicker, more efficiently, and safer than before. Fewer actual workers are needed, as computers and devices have streamlined processes.
Could the day come when a home could totally be built by robots, without the physical assistance of humans on a day-to-day basis? Yes. For now, though, people and machines work together to do things like remodel kitchens, add on rooms to existing homes, and design/build brand new custom homes. In Tallahassee, Florida, Reynolds Home Builders does these things, and does them well. Please call 850-508-5076 for more information.