First Su Butcher tweeted about it, then Construction Enquirer wrote about it, so I had to find out more about the Snag List iPhone app.
The app is being developed by James Crowson of London-based app consultancy Creative Grid and construction project manager Scott Eggleton, and is intended to help users quickly and easily create organised lists of defects and other issues associated with construction projects.
This is not a new idea. I have written before about snagging tools such as SnagR, and SmartBuilder1 is targeting the same market with an Android-based app (post), as is Docia (post). But what potentially may make this app different is its support for voice recognition.
The developers think this will speed up the snagging process, by enabling users to describe the snag instead of typing it or selecting generic descriptions from pre-entered lists as other tools provide, and support will apparently extend to 10 or even 20 languages. But voice recognition support isn’t straightforward, and the developers need to license some third-party tools. In an effort to fund this, they have just launched an appeal to donors to ‘crowd-fund’ the $3,500 cost of the license (similar to the crowd-funding approach Pachube successfully used recently to fund manufacture of its Air Quality Egg sensors – post). Donors will get free downloads of the app once it is available on the Apple Appstore. No great enthusiasm yet, but there are 29 days to go….
Updates (25 June 2012) – The crowd-funding effort fell short, raising just $200. (3 August 2012) – The app becomes available on Apple’s Appstore on 5 August.
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Paul, Thanks for sharing with your audience the new tools that are available for the architecture and construction industries. Our app PunchLists is available in the App Store in all markets: http://itunes.apple.com/app/id511168030?mt=8
http://www.aconex.com/construction-field-management-software
New iPad App by Aconex – Field Manager.
In a workshop on mobile working and how users will engage with apps, the point was raised that building sites are often noisy environments. This is likely to impact on the usability of voice recognition. Hope this is not their only selling point.
A snagging checklist is used in the UK by astute new build home buyers to identify the defects or snags in their property. It is a cheap alternative to employing the services of an industry qualified expert to carry out a snagging inspection. A good snagging company, such as New Build Inspections Ltd, will be able to find more faults and be able to ensure the developer puts the faults right within a reasonable time. However, this is not affordable for everybody and some have no choice but to use a snagging checklist.