Members of the construction industry benefit now from a newly launched app that offers practical advice on how to manage a range of protected species commonly encountered on construction sites. The Working with Wildlife app includes information on species like badgers, bats, birds, dormice, great crested newts, otters, reptiles and
Construction workers can now benefit from a free app that has just been launched to help provide mental health information and advice for those in need. The Construction Industry Helpline is a new collaboration between Lighthouse Construction Industry Charity, construction software firm ‘COINS’ and ‘Building Mental Health’. “The app is
Pie, the tech company bringing end-to-end visibility to fleet management solutions, today announced it will launch its official, digital London Lorry Route Approver (LLRA) app, next month. The LLRA app will sync direct with Pie’s popular LLRA routing engine, currently the most up to date and comprehensive HGV routing system
Trackunit, a leader in the design, development and deployment of fleet management systems, has introduced an advanced version of its Trackunit On smartphone app, enabling equipment rental companies and fleet owners to stay right on top of machine and operator health. The new Trackunit app provides a smart solution to log
Increasingly, with the advancements made in consumer (and corporate) technology, apps are being launched to assist customers in both monitoring, and managing their relative services. This is most noticeably the case in areas concerning energy and utilities and, most specifically, Western Power Distribution has taken the decision to launch a
BDC 319 : Aug 2024
Members of the construction industry benefit now from a newly launched app that offers practical advice on how to manage a range of protected species commonly encountered on construction sites. The Working with Wildlife app includes information on species like badgers, bats, birds, dormice, great crested newts, otters, reptiles and water voles. Moreover, the app also details information on how to recognise these species and what signs to look for on site, allowing decisions to be made on whether works can continue or whether they need to stop whilst further advice is sought. As well as species information, it also contains an introduction to the key aspects of current legislation, a gallery of photographs to help identify species, signs of their presence and habitats, a glossary of some of the terms used, plus references and further reading. “The adaptation of the Working With Wildlife guidance into app form enables construction companies to easily share our guidance and puts it directly into the hands of their on-site employees. This will be invaluable in helping developers meet legislation requirements and encourage an understanding of the issues around wildlife conservation that their projects may come up against,” said John Newton, Founder and Strategic Advisor, Ecology Consultancy. The app was introduced by CIRIA and The Ecology Consultancy in order to allow contractors and construction workers to easily access key information about species on the go. “This new resource further enhances CIRIA’s commitment to champion biodiversity in the built environment. Alongside the BIG Biodiversity Challenge and Awards, we hope that this app will enable construction professionals to ensure that industry can be even more widely proactive in ensuring the future of our endangered species,” added Leanne Clowting, Executive Director, CIRIA. Working with Wildlife is available for free on the Apple App Store and the Google Play store.
Construction workers can now benefit from a free app that has just been launched to help provide mental health information and advice for those in need. The Construction Industry Helpline is a new collaboration between Lighthouse Construction Industry Charity, construction software firm ‘COINS’ and ‘Building Mental Health’. “The app is aimed at construction workers and their families and complements our 24/7 Construction Industry Helpline. We recognise that not everyone feels comfortable talking about their feelings or personal situation, so the ‘Construction Industry Helpline’ app is aimed at people who would like to find out more information about how they can perhaps help themselves or if necessary, take the next step in seeking professional help. It is a preventative tool and aims to provide support at the initial stages of a situation so that the problem does not reach a life critical stage,” said Bill Hill, CEO of the Lighthouse Club charity. The Construction Industry Helpline will offer guidance on topics such as stress, anxiety, depression, anger and suicidal thoughts. “Collaborating with the Lighthouse Club in building this important app to help support construction workers and their families has been a privilege. It is great way for COINS to give something back to the construction industry and we look forward to seeing its widespread availability and hope that it will be a great help to both construction workers and their families when they need it the most,” added COINS CEO, Robert Brown. The app was officially launched by Lighthouse at its annual Christmas Lunch at the Westminster Park Plaza Hotel in London and it is available for free on the App Store or Google Play.
Pie, the tech company bringing end-to-end visibility to fleet management solutions, today announced it will launch its official, digital London Lorry Route Approver (LLRA) app, next month. The LLRA app will sync direct with Pie’s popular LLRA routing engine, currently the most up to date and comprehensive HGV routing system available. The announcement is the first major product update from the company since it rebranded from ‘Pie Mapping’ to ‘Pie’ in March last year to reflect its wider vision of revolutionising the freight industry with a holistic solution for planning, tracking, visibility, efficiency and compliance. The app still boasts all the features of the current cloud-based LLRA, such as generating HGV compliant routes (tailored to the vehicle size, avoiding various width, weight and height restrictions) as well as securing instant, automatic approval from local councils. It also uses Mapbox and OpenStreetMap technology to deliver real-time, compliant routes with live traffic conditions and turn-by-turn instructions, as well as send alerts when the driver goes off a London Lorry Control Scheme (LLCS) compliant route. This eliminates the chance of a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN), an offence that can cost up to £500 for a first time, and £800 or more for a second. Being a mobile app, it has the added benefit of empowering drivers to plan routes straight from their vehicles, rather than using the LLRA routing engine from a computer and printing off a map or directions. As well as this, its brand new ‘Live Map’ function lets users know where vehicles are at any moment in time, which is useful when co-ordinating fleets. Pie’s 250+ customers that currently use its LLRA (including DPD, Superdrug, Next and Co-op) will be offered the new app after its release, to give them the best possible HGV planning and journey experience. Pie’s CEO, Stuart Hill said: “While we’re immensely proud of the heritage of the LLRA, we recognise that the future of fleet transport is in mobile. We’re excited to be launching our LLRA app – our entry level product – and will be following it up with a suite of other innovative software products later this year. Pie continues to strive to modernise the freight industry in a way no-one else has and pursue its vision of delivering holistic fleet management solutions that drive efficiencies and lower costs.” In 2016 Pie (then Pie Mapping) was acquired by DPD after winning DPD’s technology incubator scheme, Last Mile Labs the previous year. Since then the company has grown, appointing CEO Stuart Hill (replacing Freddie Talberg in March 2017), as well as making senior hires from the likes of MetaPack and TomTom. The London Lorry Route Approver app is currently going through final testing in beta mode and will also be compliant for nation-wide routes (not just London routes) upon its release. It will available on Android and iOS with an individual charge per user, per month. To coincide with the app launch the LLRA routing engine will also receive an update in line with the new Pie branding and product information. For further information, please visit http://www.londonlorryrouteapprover.com/
Trackunit, a leader in the design, development and deployment of fleet management systems, has introduced an advanced version of its Trackunit On smartphone app, enabling equipment rental companies and fleet owners to stay right on top of machine and operator health. The new Trackunit app provides a smart solution to log and track start-up routines together with service and maintenance requirements. Trackunit On provides a smartphone-driven checklist so operators can ensure equipment passes all pre-checks, service requirements are up to date, and submit reports of any visual damage – including providing photographic evidence. For rental companies Trackunit On can be a tool for making pre-checks before rented equipment is handed over and final checks when equipment is returned. On-site safety is a major concern, and Trackunit On will help protect equipment operators by reducing the chance of faulty and unsafe equipment being used. By connecting man and machine in a single app, Trackunit On keeps track of hours worked and equipment operated. Using Trackunit On to highlight faults and damage enables the repair process to be streamlined so service technicians can bring machines to full operational condition quickly and conveniently. In turn, this will cut costs associated with downtime, delayed servicing and repair. An intelligent management dashboard service provides rental companies, fleet supervisors and managers with key equipment metrics and utilization, customisable using dynamic widgets. Used proactively, monitoring the condition and use of machines can have a beneficial effect on lifecycle, cost of ownership and residual value. Trackunit CEO, Joergen Raguse said; “Trackunit On shows how telematics can help the digitization of the construction industry in a convenient and intelligent way, using the smartphones in everyone’s pockets. Our technology links equipment rental companies and fleet owners to operators and equipment to increase safety and productivity while reducing downtime and costs.” Available as a subscription service, Trackunit On provides the machine owner and rental company increased operational control of every piece of equipment, together with an instantly available digital record of use, repair and service. Used together with Trackunit Raw and Trackunit’s industry-leading cloud environment – Iris – Trackunit provides a complete and comprehensive fleet management system for the construction industry. For more details please click here , or visit www.trackunit.com/services/on About Trackunit A/S Trackunit is among the world’s leading companies in the Industrial Internet of Things with a focus on innovative solutions to players within building, construction and industry. Trackunit develops and provides solutions for the entire value chain, from machine manufacturers, machine dealers, machine landlords, contractors for operators. Trackunit services its customers directly from its headquarters in Denmark and through subsidiaries in Sweden, Norway, France, Holland, Germany, England and the United States of America. www.trackunit.com
Increasingly, with the advancements made in consumer (and corporate) technology, apps are being launched to assist customers in both monitoring, and managing their relative services. This is most noticeably the case in areas concerning energy and utilities and, most specifically, Western Power Distribution has taken the decision to launch a brand new app for its customers, allowing them to report power cuts directly on their devices as well as enabling them to receive the latest information on faults and issues. As of this moment, Western Power Distribution is now the only DNO with an app of this type, allowing customers increased communication with the company, and visa versa. As a company dedicated to providing the highest standard of service possible, the app is a clear move in the right direction for improving the customer experience and the level of information and support at their fingertips. Although the app won’t quite revolutionise the service Western Power Distribution offers, it does support a responsible approach to the delivery of its service by allowing the customer to keep in the know, on the move. As the app also provides the company’s customers with a live stream of communication directly to Western Power Distribution’s helpdesk, which is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, this will also allow for the easy pinpointing of fault locations and communication of advice direct to the customer. Additionally, past and present reports area also archive-able for reference at a later date. And finally, the app also allows for owners of multiple properties to monitor multiple locations simultaneously through the storage of multiple postcodes. Then commenting on the launch of the app, the Corporate Communication Manager for Western Power Distribution said: “We hope [customers] will find our new mobile app a useful addition to the range of resources that are currently available.”
