On July 7th, Box.net and Snippies showed up in our office to begin the “program” that D 7 Consulting was selected for. As referenced in my previous blogs, we were selected out of approximately 700 entries to receive the new iPads and Box.net training and service. Snippies was on hand to video the “kick off” for two days.
I had purchased an iPad to begin our research in case we were successful in winning the contest. We had established some methods of use prior to actually meeting Box.net. On the first day, we went through the means and methods of how to use the iPad in our business model. We took the Box.net application and seamlessly implemented this into our daily life as Building Envelope Consultants. With the help of Box.net we are now able to do things that we have been dreaming about for years. The guys (Sean Lindo & Michael Smith) were able to see what we do and how we “did” it previously and assisted us in developing applications and methods of performing this work with the Box.net and iPad together. Can you say Excited!!
Snippies, which is a video production company run by Jeanne Finnerty out of New York, shot two days of video in the office and out on project sites while we actually utilized the applications we were testing. The video she produced is fantastic and I don’t know how she did it, but she even made me look good! The employees at D 7 were all doing the job in real form and Snippies took this and created a wonderful ad video for Box.net and Apple.
Terrell Woods of D 7 has been the main liaison between Box and D 7 as I was on vacation with my family the past two weeks. T (as we call him) has set up our folders on the “box” and we have been busy training each of the employees with the use of the program. Each day we learn new ways of working. On Friday July 23rd, Box.net held a conference call or Webinar with our staff to update us on the applications best suited for our business and answer questions related to our daily activities. I can truly state that Box.net is in it to develop this to the fullest extent, the company is first class all the way and we are extremely lucky and grateful to be working with this level of class!
Our next step is to use the video in our promotion of D 7 and the “new” way of bringing our service to the clients. Just today, the USPS (United States Postal Service) signed us up to perform Quality Assurance on two large projects because we are able to deliver the Daily Quality Assurance report electronically every day from the roof. They wanted an email of the report at the end of the day to the project manager. We can do that and more due to Box.net and our new iPads.
It seems simple, but what we are able to do using Box.net is completely fantastic. Getting to new projects for our field guys is now easier. Not having to depend on cell reception to get in touch with them. Being able to deliver documents (a lot of paperwork) by means of our desk top to the field through the iPad and Box.net is something that will save us time and you know what that means….Money!
Have I mentioned the frustration of clients who want information now and have to wait? We will trim that frustration out of our lives for good. Being able to deliver QAO reports is one thing, being able to compile information from the field and getting it to the office almost immediately will save an enormous amount of time for the consultants. When they come back to the office, they will be able to have it at their fingertips for review. The Admin staff will be able to stay ahead of the flow of information. If we are traveling, the information can be at our fingertips without ever going back into the office.
These are just a few things that are happening. Next week, I will be visiting our project in Freemont, California with Scott Swick our QAO who is working for RE Systems on the BART WSX project. This is a “cut and cover” tunnel expansion of the Freemont Bay Area Rapid Transit project. We will be up there for over 200 days and the iPad and Box.net program has made this truly a smooth operation. Jeanne will be there from Snippies to do some video and we will be meeting with Sean and Micheal at Box.net offices in Palo Alto, CA. I can’t wait! Take a look at the video and stay tuned for more updates as we move further toward our goal.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFFw-0qH1Hs
http://www.cio.com/article/601227/iPad_at_Work_on_Dirty_Jobs_5_Lessons_Learned
