Disney Imagineers Using iPad - Source: http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2011/08/imagineers-use-innovative-technology-to-build-new-fantasyland/

So what do you think? Will the iPad, or tablets in general, change the construction industry?

Let's start with pondering this -- has technology changed the construction industry? Certainly it has. With the utilization of cell phones, email, 3D design and modeling, and BIM; technology has certainly changed the industry. I think the iPad will further drive these technology changes into the construction industry by providing field access to those and other technologies. We might consider this the Construction Technology Revolution 2.0 -- implementation of technology to the field.

I've been seeking a field data collection device for more than a decade. My first attempts were with the original Palm Pilots. But, alas, the Palm Pilot and every device I tried during the past 10 years just didn't have what it takes for a successful field implementation. They were either too small (Palms, phones), the wrong form factor (laptops), too large and heavy (tablets), too expensive (ruggedized data collectors), or didn't have an adequate support infrastructure (applications). When Steve Jobs announced the iPad in January of 2010, I realized "This is it! Finally, a form factor that will work in the field and with the iOS infrastructure, entrepreneurs will provide the software solution practitioners need."

Why is the iPad the ultimate (almost) field device? To start with, it's the right form factor. The slate form factor is perfect for field use. What have we been using for decades to record field data? Clip boards, of course. The iPad is nearly the same form factor as a clip board. You hold it in one hand and enter data, write, or draw with the other. It's perfect. It's size combined with the fluid iOS touch interface makes it fully functional for reading and redlining plans, drawing figures or illustrations, entering data, or typing reports (with or without the aide of a bluetooth keyboard). It's also small enough and portable enough for field use. The iPad's greatest weakness is of course that it's a consumer device and it's not ruggedized. However, the iPad is a solid state device (no moving parts) which makes it pretty rugged and companies like Otterbox and Griffin have armored cases that have proven to protect the iPad. And, even if it's not as rugged as some field computers, it's price is such that replacement is cheap. Yes, I know some of you will tout that life cycle costs of ruggedized systems make them cheaper in the long run. I'm not convinced. To top it off, Apples backup and restore implementation make restoring data to a new iPad a cinch, especially with wireless syncing in iOS 5. So no, the iPad is not the ultimate field data collection device for construction, but it's darned close.

So how will the iPad be useful in the field and how will it change the industry? I think it boils down to the following:

• access to information including plans, specifications, project management documents, H&S documents, training, and on and on;
• communication - email, calendaring, contacts, video calls;
• information/data creation - proposal development, report development, field forms, field databases, photographic documentation.

I'll touch on each of these further in future posts. But, tell me, how do you think the iPad will change the industry or how are you using the iPad in the field?