Yepic, a revolutionary new photo-based app for tradespeople, is already making life easier and simpler for the UK’s 2.5 million tradespeople.             Now available in app stores, Yepic http://www.yepic.com uses your work photos taken on your smartphones to record and manage jobs and has been designed for all trades, including electricians, plumbers, builders, decorators and joiners.             Rapidly gaining momentum within the construction trades sector since its full launch in May this year on mobile and desktop, Yepic and its new pay-for upgrade, Yepic+ have a user-friendly, intuitive interface designed to empower the country’s tradespeople.             Leeds-based Yepic is the brainchild of former electrical contractor and tech entrepreneur Sam Overment from East Yorkshire, who has been backed in his vision by a multi-million-pound investment from Labora, the parent company of City Electrical Factors’ (CEF).             “Yepic is so easy to get started – all tradespeople need is a phone number and the app downloaded,” said Sam.             “When you take a photo on your phone, the app captures the exact location and creates a ‘job’ in the app. You can add a caption like a customer’s name, and include notes and tasks to help manage the job, while choosing to have every visit you make and every photo you take automatically added using GPS, accurately recording addresses, eliminating time-consuming manual data entry.”             Automatically finding all job photos on your phone, Yepic allows tradespeople to quickly sort and categorise thousands of images into job albums, tracking hours spent at each job capturing precise arrival and departure times.             The Yepic app is free and has so far been downloaded by more than 12,000 tradespeople with a target of 50,000 downloads by the end of the year in what is one of the UK’s largest sectors by employment, including 800,000 self-employed tradespeople among the 2.5 million people employed across the country’s construction trades industry.             “It’s a massive market and every tradesperson has the problem of needing to record their work movements and jobs with many relying on their memory alone, adding stress to their workday,” added Sam, who brings industry expertise and a deep understanding of tradespeople’s needs having spent years as a time-served electrician.             “Yepic’s real USP is about putting tradespeople at the centre of everything we do. It enhances tradespeople and has no real barriers to allowing people to use it.”             The proof is in the pudding, and Yepic has certainly struck a chord with users.             Kai Fletcher, 19, is from Wellingborough and a second-year electrical apprentice on a four-year course at Northampton College’s Booth Lane campus.             Working for Appleby Electrical, a family-owned firm from the town, he first caught sight of Yepic on TikTok, and he says, ‘I’ve been on it ever since.’             The young electrician’s workload is a lot of solar PV installations, so panels, batteries and meters, as well as domestic rewires and new boards.             And he says he’s finding Yepic really useful for tracking his jobs, creating portfolios for his college course and supporting his employer’s clients.             “Yepic is very easy to use. It has a brilliant interface and shows me what jobs I’ve been working and lets me select, add and keep new job-specific photos in one place. I’ve been using it every day for things like keeping track of what cables have been installed behind what wall board or floor.             “It’s also helping me with my college portfolio by keeping jobs together, showing ‘before and after’ photos.”             Kai has shown his employer, mentioned it to his course tutor and shared it with his apprenticeship course mates.             Kai’s experience is echoed elsewhere across the country as tradespeople have discovered how easy to use – and useful – Yepic is to them.             Simon Bowler, a joiner and landscape architect from near York, has been using the app for the last couple of months.             “We’ve just finished a compositie decking job in Harrogate and throughout that project we’ve been using Yepic to help us track what we’ve been doing and when we’ve been doing it, adding photos, notes and tasks.             “Yepic is going to help us tremendously on future projects.”             Yepic’s Chief Technology Officer, Gary Worthington, feels that Yepic’s automatic visit tracking is a key feature that will attract tradespeople.             “Although [automatic visit tracking] is a highly technical solution, it is really simple for our users to make use of. When people see it in action, you can see that ‘magic’ moment when they realise how useful it will be,” said Gary.             This is being born out in the workplace where Michael Abbott, who runs Relyon Gas Services in Ilford, Essex, and has found Yepic’s photo location feature particularly useful.             “One of the best things about Yepic is that you can go about your business, take photos and just set up the job when you want to, at the start or at the end when you’re going out the door. You can also automatically migrate all your photos from a specific job from your phone’s gallery into Yepic.”             Successes like these have encouraged Sam and his team of Leeds-based app developers and designers to launch new, advanced features which are now available in the pay-for upgrade to the app, Yepic+.             Yepic+ has additional functionality and advanced features that include job sharing, videos, timesheets and job reports and is available on either a monthly or annual paid subscription*.              Yepic’s App Tester, Ash Winter, said: “The Yepic+ job reports function has something for loads of different Yepic+ subscribers. If you are a sole trader looking to showcase work or working on a big site and you need to export your time. Even for students with assignments to pull together.             “We have built it to be flexible, so you can access time on the job, photos, notes and tasks. It’s something you can use for your needs, rather than what we think your needs are.” To

Integrating design and planning can increase profitability Contractors are in a tough business, and business leaders are no doubt fatigued by the headlines positioning the sector as operating in a world dominated by Murphy’s Law (if it can go wrong, it will go wrong). This is unfair, as while projects do frequently overrun, construction is so incredibly complex, perhaps the real question is why it does not happen more often, says Jonathan Hunter, CEO of specialist international software provider, Elecosoft. As we all know, a project involves so many moving parts, whatever the build size: potentially millions of components, the weather, the phased approach, the materials’ shortages, skills gap, and having the right people on the site at the right time…I could go on, but you get the picture. Then there is the communication challenges; telling people what’s changing and what this means, making sure that it is all recorded; and the fact that, for example, the glazing delays will have a knock-on effect with the HVAC installation. So, if we know all this, why do construction projects still, on average, run over 70% of their original project duration? It is not that contractors are unrealistically optimistic, thinking that this project will be different, like Del Boy’s idealistic mantra, “this time next year, we’ll be millionaires”. Far from it. It is the combination of the factors outlined above with the UK’s tendering and planning system. Positively, the industry is taking steps to solve these longstanding issues. Working alongside the UK’s largest contractors, I have seen four emerging trends enabling them to reduce project and cost overrun. Here are just a few of my favourites: Modelling The first is around project planning, scheduling and risk mitigation. Currently, the most innovative contractors are focusing on planning, taking past project data, and identifying common pinch points from adverse weather, staff shortages or materials delays. Then they produce revised schedules which allow them to present the likely impact and outcomes of various possible build challenges, with consideration given to contingency. It is a simple, but effective, operational tweak. Always planning Too often, planning and scheduling is focused on the pre-construction phase, and an all-too-common, blinkered approach views scheduling as happening before construction. Even McKinsey is guilty of this in its recent construction report. Instead, it is about ensuring that planning and modelling run across the project, reacting to challenges as the worst happens. Similar to design, scheduling is an iterative process, and needs to be seen as such. It does not just stop when the shovels go in the ground. Those contractors who are unlocking scheduling are taking planning to another dimension, adding time to the model to improve scheduling by using Active 4D BIM. This integration of design and planning is different to common working practices. Yet, despite going against the grain, it is reducing risk and project over-run while increasing profitability 4D BIM is not new within construction. Here the schedule is added to the architectural model, empowering clients and project teams to see whether a build is on the schedule. Its potential to achieve greater precision on construction timelines and minimise financial risk is well known to business leaders and planning teams. Yet, despite high levels of awareness, 4D’s implementation is often flawed. A persistent over-reliance on outdated “2D” processes and a lack of understanding of 3D models as effective planning tools is to blame, hindering the wholesale adoption of 4D BIM. This situation needs to change if persistent efficiency headaches are to be cured. However, there are a number of contractors – including Mace and Cimic in Australia – that successfully use 4D models to plan and forecast, updating as they evolve, rather than “passively” using the designs as a visualisation tool. This integration of design and planning is different to common working practices. Yet, despite going against the grain, it is reducing risk and project over-run while increasing profitability. Involvement I have also observed the significant effect of moving client communications beyond passive emails and PDF exports to a more inclusive activity, with more regular catch-ups accompanied with visual demos, outlining what is happening on the project, and what the impact of decisions is in real terms. It is joining up the dots for more clarity, reducing misunderstandings which can lead to error. For example, the contractor will explain the trade-offs and benefits to the client – that, by choosing this construction approach, you will have 230 fewer deliveries on site, and completion will be 18 weeks sooner. This more active approach can be further enhanced, using visual aids such as a dynamic schedule, or even AR headsets to ensure that  clients are much more involved in decision-making, design choices and with the project teams. If people are involved in decision-making and feel that they have contributed to it, they will take a more positive view, think it is higher quality and be more invested in the project This taps into something known as the endowment effect. If people are involved in decision-making and feel that they have contributed to it, they will take a more positive view, think it is higher quality and be more invested in the project. Innovation Finally, there is further innovation, from leveraging data, and AI tools through to MMC approaches. Recently, Willmott Dixon presented a comparison to Warwick University for its Interdisciplinary Biomedical Research Building, demonstrating how choosing offsite construction over a traditional build would result in half the disruption to staff and students. The project team were also able to model the benefits of this approach to the project’s climate footprint, which ended up reducing site deliveries by 40%. I have only scratched the surface, but what is clear is that taking a more serious and considered approach to planning and scheduling can pay dividends for contractors, particularly when margins are tighter than ever. As the hackneyed adage goes, “fail to plan, plan to fail”. Banal? Yes, but it has never been truer for construction than it is now. Building, Design

Embarking on a journey toward a career in architecture can pave the way for a rewarding and sought-after profession post-college. Architects are the builders of tomorrow, leaving a significant imprint on our surroundings. They enhance lives and contribute to making our world a more aesthetic place to live in. If you decide to study architecture or are already an architecture student, there will be many obstacles in your way. There will be hours of lectures, tedious academic papers, and loads of other college issues that you have to take care of. However, these aren’t the main points of studying architecture in college. The main point is to earn the knowledge and skills that will help you become a professional architect in the future. To do this, you might have to find a trusted paper writing service to occasionally ask someone to write my college essay for you as you focus all your time and effort on professional growth. And in the 21st century, this means mastering the right technology. In this guide, we will tell you about the best software tools that every architecture student should master! 1.  AutoCAD AutoCAD takes a deserved place in pretty much every rating of the best architecture software. This tool was released back in 1982 and still remains one of the most irreplaceable ones. The company that developed it—Autodesk, is a proven leader in software designed for architects, engineers, manufacturers, builders, designers, and production teams. So it’s definitely a must-have. With AutoCAD, you can turn your line drawings into 2D or 3D projects. The tool might be somewhat tricky to master. However, once you learn all its tricks and shortcuts, you will be able to create precise models and drawings like a pro. 2.  Adobe Photoshop We bet you all know this tool. But does it have anything to do with architecture, you may wonder? Although Photoshop isn’t specifically an architecture software, it really comes in handy in this niche. Adobe Photoshop offers a plethora of creative possibilities, such as melding sketches with real-world images or infusing more texture into your illustrations. It’s no surprise then that proficiency in Photoshop is often a prerequisite in job postings, underscoring the need for students to master this skill during their college years. 3.  Rhinoceros The next one on our list is one of the best-known 3D software tools out there. Rhinoceros (or Rhino 3D) was founded in 1978. For decades, it has been widely used by 3D artists, engineers, and, of course, architects. So it’s another software you must master as an architecture student. With the help of Rhino 3D, architects can freeform parametric facades, roofs, versatile shapes, and even complex structures. Once you explore this tool to the fullest, it will really come in handy in your personal projects and future career. Another thing worth noting about this program is that it is compatible with many different file formats. That is, whatever tool you use to create your 2D work, Rhino will always let you translate it into a 3D model and add more texture and visualization elements to it. 4.  Adobe InDesign This program is a popular publishing and page layout design tool. It was introduced by Adobe Inc. in 1999 and has always been widely used by artists, graphic designers, marketers, and publishers. As you can easily tell, this software isn’t meant specifically for architects. Still, it is another tool that you can use to your benefit. Most commonly, architects use InDesign for portfolio organization purposes. With this tool, you will learn how to lay out your work in a cohesive and appealing way. It will help you craft an attention-grabbing portfolio that will set you aside from the competition and help you land an excellent job after you graduate. So don’t hesitate to start mastering it ASAP. Give up on boring essay writing and other homework, and devote some time to start building your winning portfolio for future success. 5.  SketchUp SketchUp is another 3D modeling software on our list. It was released in 2000. The tool has plenty of design and drawing applications, including in architecture. With its help, you can add details and precision to your 2D drawings and complete a wealth of important tasks. Earlier, we mentioned the importance of learning Rhino 3D. Although SketchUp is a similar-purpose software, it also should be in every architecture student’s arsenal. Unlike other similar tools, SketchUp is known for its simplicity and user-friendliness. It is incredibly easy to master, which is why it really makes 3D modeling for everyone. Thus, it can be a perfect program to get started in 3D. Besides, it can be a great tool for performing quick and simple modeling tasks in your projects. 6.  DoMyEssay Architecture is certainly a creative career that, however, requires a lot of precision. Due to this reason, one thing every architecture student must focus on while in college is acquiring hands-on experience. Working on academic and personal architecture projects must be your number one priority. But what should you do with the rest of the boring and time-consuming college tasks like essay writing? In order to keep your grades high and, at the same time, have enough time for your projects, you can enlist the help of the best essay writing services. DoMyEssay is an excellent option. This service can write, rewrite, edit, or proofread any academic assignment for you. Thus, though it’s not architecture software, this is something every architecture student needs to succeed in school. The Bottom Line In the contemporary landscape, technology is intrinsic to the field of architecture. Architects of the modern era leverage a variety of gadgets and software to streamline their work. Thus, mastery of these tools is paramount for budding professionals. The good news is you now have a clear direction to follow. Each tool highlighted in this article is an essential asset for architecture students, poised to enhance your professional desirability and simplify academic responsibilities. So, make sure to incorporate these tools into