Using Tech to Work Smarter
Every cabinetmaker, trade professional or DIY alike–comes equipped with a box of tools enabling him or her to cut, drill, shape, and sand.
But thanks to technology, many of today’s cabinetmakers and trade professionals also pack a few more “tools” in their toolbox, smartphones, tablet’s, and laptops. With these devices, Cabinet Makers are now working smarter, faster, and more productively.
One device flooding the market and affecting the Joinery industry is the smartphone. And it’s no wonder–processing power and functionality continue to expand with each new model. In fact, today’s smartphones are 40 times more powerful than the first version.
The latest smartphones function as phones, compact digital cameras, pocket video cameras, GPS navigation units, high-resolution touchscreens and Web browsers that display standard Web pages as well as mobile-optimized sites.
In the beginning, I’m sure a lot of joinery workers may have resisted getting a smartphone at first, but now many find it indispensable.
They use their smartphones to quickly access and input dimensions, calculate a quote on the go, view project plans and designs, and locate a new hardware store on a map.
Mobile Devices Improve Life and Work
It’s amazing how far we’ve come in the seven years since smartphones were introduced. In many ways, smartphones and all the other mobile devices that extend our connectivity to the world around us ARE changing so many aspects of life and work for the better.
Here are just a few examples of how smartphones have benefited the joinery industry worker, professional woodworkers, today:
Take “before and after” pictures of their customer’s kitchen, showing compelling proof of the value of their work.
Take pictures of broken parts or unusual repair conditions, and instantly email them back to the shop for a consultation or for someone to verify a part number and order it, saving an extra trip.
Make impressive customer presentations that are interactive, visually appealing, and shareable.
Use Web-based project management tools to stay on top of projects, track time, and meet deadlines. These tools also enable them to share data with others and collaborate on documents. Customers can even log in or receive email updates on the progress of a project.
One valuable feature of smartphones and tablet computers is the app, short for application. Apps provide useful utilities, such as calculators and quoting and ordering.
There’s even an app that lets woodworkers use their smartphones as a level–literally turning them into woodworking tools.
