THE DOCTOR'S CASEBOOK #3 - MEASURING UP FOR THE PLASTER CAST
February 17, 2020 | 4years | Doctor Spanners Toolbox
As a Doctor I am used to seeing lots of breaks and cracks in projects and businesses. However, in the surgery this week I saw a plastering contractor whose system of measuring up his work was so badly shattered that his whole business was in traction.
The contractor’s problems started as soon as a project was sent to him for pricing. The documents and drawings issued as part of the project information pack are normally issued in a PDF format, although in some instances clients just use photographs. In this instance, the contractor had no method of taking the tender information and extracting the data required to accurately prepare his tender.
As a small business he did not have the facility to print the drawings off in a large format to the correct scale. Even if he did invest approximately £800 in a suitable printer, he recognised that the ongoing printing would incur significant costs to his business. His normal practice of either carrying out a site measure or printing off drawings in an A4 format and then trying to work out the correct dimensions, was not only time consuming but also highly inefficient, resulting in measurement errors constantly creeping into tender prices.
If this was not bad enough, his condition was made even worse when changes or variations were added to the project as he had no way of overlaying his original measurement with a new layout. He also struggled with recording and distributing revised drawings and it was not uncommon for him to find out that his site team were working to old drawing revisions with outdated information.
The final business bone crusher was when he looked to get paid. Yet again he had to go back to his old paper print outs, if he could still find them, and try to correlate his site measurement for work done against his original take off.
So, the Doctor’s diagnosis this week is a simple one; Store, Share and Measure all the project documents using the Apsis One-Share document control component. This simple to use feature can record all your project measurements and documents without the need to own or operate multiple software platforms.
Although this week we were visited by a plastering contractor this ailment is common to all small businesses, whether you are a Roofer, Joiner, Electrician, Plumber, Ceiling Fixer or Floor Layer, you too could be infected. Although it is not just small businesses who are showing symptoms of the virus. This disease has also spread through many medium and large organisations that are also in need of treatment to increase their business health.
This time saving feature, along with over 50 more business fitness functions, can be administered by the Doctor to your business now for as little as £100 as part of the Apsis One-Share health supplement software.
Remember, if you would like to hear more from Doctor Spanner’s Toolbox connect with us through social media or visit our website www.apsisbc.co.uk where you will find the tools to maximise your business productivity and profitability.
LinkedIn - /apsis-business-components
Facebook - @apsisbc
Twitter - @apsisbc or @DocSpannersTool
The contractor’s problems started as soon as a project was sent to him for pricing. The documents and drawings issued as part of the project information pack are normally issued in a PDF format, although in some instances clients just use photographs. In this instance, the contractor had no method of taking the tender information and extracting the data required to accurately prepare his tender.
As a small business he did not have the facility to print the drawings off in a large format to the correct scale. Even if he did invest approximately £800 in a suitable printer, he recognised that the ongoing printing would incur significant costs to his business. His normal practice of either carrying out a site measure or printing off drawings in an A4 format and then trying to work out the correct dimensions, was not only time consuming but also highly inefficient, resulting in measurement errors constantly creeping into tender prices.
If this was not bad enough, his condition was made even worse when changes or variations were added to the project as he had no way of overlaying his original measurement with a new layout. He also struggled with recording and distributing revised drawings and it was not uncommon for him to find out that his site team were working to old drawing revisions with outdated information.
The final business bone crusher was when he looked to get paid. Yet again he had to go back to his old paper print outs, if he could still find them, and try to correlate his site measurement for work done against his original take off.
So, the Doctor’s diagnosis this week is a simple one; Store, Share and Measure all the project documents using the Apsis One-Share document control component. This simple to use feature can record all your project measurements and documents without the need to own or operate multiple software platforms.
Although this week we were visited by a plastering contractor this ailment is common to all small businesses, whether you are a Roofer, Joiner, Electrician, Plumber, Ceiling Fixer or Floor Layer, you too could be infected. Although it is not just small businesses who are showing symptoms of the virus. This disease has also spread through many medium and large organisations that are also in need of treatment to increase their business health.
This time saving feature, along with over 50 more business fitness functions, can be administered by the Doctor to your business now for as little as £100 as part of the Apsis One-Share health supplement software.
Remember, if you would like to hear more from Doctor Spanner’s Toolbox connect with us through social media or visit our website www.apsisbc.co.uk where you will find the tools to maximise your business productivity and profitability.
LinkedIn - /apsis-business-components
Facebook - @apsisbc
Twitter - @apsisbc or @DocSpannersTool
