Electrical contractors can benefit from the arsenal of software tools and other technologies that help their workers perform better and their businesses’ bottom line.

Apps, cloud-based applications and embedded algorithms introduced new ways of managing work. From improving schedules, responding to RFPs, attaining bids, training personnel, managing materials and controlling the whereabouts of assets, there is a useful app or software to help work better and smarter.

App-driven efficiency

Construction Monkey is a software solution that offers crewHD. This web app allows contractors to become familiar with their projects ahead of time, provide a glimpse of how productivity is impacted and how teams can recalibrate.

The company website described the crewHD solution as “utilizing a singular simple data entry that takes our clients less than 3 minutes/day, crewHD replaces several best practices that otherwise eat up valuable time.”

Plan, estimate and schedule

ConEst software uses methods of takeoff, estimating, and project and service management specifically for the environments where electrical contractors work.

It is a tool to assist the contractor in each project from beginning to end. ConEst touts its software as enabling workers to “easily build an accurate list of materials and labor hours for a competitive bid, and then manage every aspect of the project from tracking change orders to daily work reports and job costing.”

The software has multiple solutions. Drawings may be used for takeoffs for material planning and estimating. Other applications allow expedient estimating for proposal development and cost control. Plus, they offer applications for project management and job scheduling.

Software such as ConEst competes with a number of other available products. However, it is part of a new battery of software products that help the contractor reduce the burden of estimating and project management and shift their focus to training, skills development and working the project to achieve on time and on budget results.

Boosting customer experience

ServiceTrade is unique. It helps ECs boost customer service with an agile means of responding to RFPs. It assists in report generation with rich documentation, facilitates work orders and accounting and streamlines change orders in complex projects.

The product is yet another tool that helps firms manage better. Without such software, someone has to manage errors, problems, nuances and anomalies in various places within project operations that help contractors and customers. Building customer experience is a secret sauce to repeat business and quality work. This software is one more brick to be used to build better relationships with customers.

Asset management

Software solutions aren’t just about material and scheduling; they are also about tracking and controlling assets. Toolwatch is focused on keeping tabs on contractors’ tools. The company states what every owner knows: “Lost, stolen or inefficiently used tools, equipment and materials can cost a job thousands of dollars in time and productivity.”

Toolwatch claims to help ECs achieve what few contractors could ever turn down as a lean operation: “No matter where you are, you can know the status of each and every tool, material and piece of equipment on a job site. And knowing important data about your job site gives you peace of mind and saves you valuable time and money.”

Be it tool management, estimating, material takeoffs, project scheduling or any other facet of managing projects in today’s world of electrical contracting, software solutions are plentiful. Contractors need ideas, innovations and new solutions to stay competitive, and exploring more software solutions is one way to do so.