ICT Tracker provides real-time job site productivity tracking and reporting. In a user-friendly interface, the app monitors construction site progress in real-time by utilizing the power of augmented reality (seen in photo above).
Contractors can quickly and accurately track project installation status for scheduling, billing, and project estimation at the job site. Data can be shared immediately with all stakeholders for better decisions based on detailed, up-to-date information, which makes the software ideal for tracking mechanical, plumbing, electric, and fire protection systems.
What's more is that the app is simple to implement in existing job site processes. David Francis, ICT's co-founder and CTO, explains more:
What do you think separates ICT Tracker from other job site productivity apps? Would you describe ICT as a field management app, or is it something more?
We are using existing intelligent information to dramatically simplify the installation tracking process and provide real-time data.
It is more than just a field management app as it also provides data that can be used to track field productivity, and data for estimating and generating 3D status models.
Who is the ideal ICT user? What is their role on a construction team and what is going to make ICT Tracker an attractive tool for them?
ICT Tracker has uses across all construction project stakeholders, but subcontractors are the first beneficiaries, then general contractors and finally owners.
The primary collector of data is a project foreman or project engineer who will feed this to their project manager for real-time field status updates.
ICT Tracker's biggest benefit is that it's simple to implement using existing models and equipment (iPads), and it is very easy to use. With the app, the customer can get data rich reports that can be leveraged and shared across many project stakeholders.
Where do ICT clients report the most bottlenecks in their workflow? What are you seeing happens during this period that holds everyone up?
The main issues are inconsistent reporting, the time required with the existing process and inaccurate or questionable data.
The current collection method is manual and as such the process falls to the wayside or is based on a subjective guess from the project foreman.
What types of safety features are built into the software to be sure that its users are able to check mark that they are working on a safe job site?
There is no safety tracking features at the moment, but it could be a future option. The use of the iPad vs a Hololens, prevents the user from having tunnel vision when working onsite and can be more observant of their surroundings.
By using this app, how much waste could a contractor eliminate?
The process can yield a 31 percent efficiency increase on collecting data, not including the improved profits due to more accurate install estimates and productivity rates.
Our product is new to the market so we are in the process of gathering data with our current customers and monitoring ongoing pilots. We are working with subcontractors, general contractors, owners reps and developers. We have also had inquiries from insurance companies.
Tell me a little bit about ICT’s development story. How did the idea for the app begin?
The app came about at a wine festival we were at. Tim Duncan (ICT co-founder and CEO) brought up the idea of finding more uses for AR (augmented reality) in construction. After chatting a while, I told him how I had been trying for years to come up with a simple way to capture field installation status with a model instead of a PDF or drawings. We worked with a startup accelerator, Coplex, who helped us develop the app and all the aspects the lean startup process.
Were there earlier iterations? What are the company’s current initiatives going into the busy construction season?
There have been a few MVP versions that took about six months to develop with a process and interface we thought met our criteria to be simple to implement and easy to use.
Our goal is get our app into more users hands, to help improve their efficiency and profit. We also want to get feedback to help shape the future expectations of the app and work on more integration with other software to streamline the process of data sharing for all contractors. We think we are just scratching the surface of what our app can do.
