Risk Assessors - The Apps

Some Apps to help you out on the job. Tablets & phones.

Risk Assessor Lite: Fully working version of the successful Risk Assessor App – Try it out for free, and if you like it, simply upgrade to enable unlimited emails, edit risk assessments and add multiple reference photos.

Risk Assessments are important and potentially life saving. People are scared of them, of getting it right and including everything necessary on the report.

Risk Assessor produces the risk assessment report for you. Simply photograph the area in question and drag ‘n’ drop the pre-loaded risks over the photo. Next choose the most relevant Control Measure, Worst Case outcome and Likelihood and you’re done. No paperwork, and a fully personalised, professional PDF Risk Assessment report is created. Video here.

You’ll still need to make sure that the Risks & Control measures you choose are relevant to the site your assessing, but the hard work is done for you, leaving more time to fully consider the risks.

Key Features

•Drag and drop risks over photo

•Fully personalised PDF report

•Preloaded, editable risks & control measures

•Add your own risks & control measures for easy repeat use

•Save & email the report from app

•Save paperwork time, enabling a more focussed Risk Assessment

•Sync your saved assessments with iCal – set reminders

iRisk Assess: Comprehensive risk assessments on your tablet and smartphone. Risk assessments are quite often carried out at a desk and significant details are missed. 

With this application the assessment can be carried out at the point of work more accurately, thereby minimising the chance of overlooking vital hazards for the assessment.

It contains a comprehensive library of hazards with associated control measures (and the option of adding new ones). This will assist in creating good quality assessments. For both Android & ios.

Video here.

 

Safety John is the future of OHS Management Systems and Risk Assessment Tool Through Workplace Safety Apps. Simple highly useful tool to streamline unproductive areas of OHS/ HSE compliance. Hazard / Near miss reporting is as simple as sending a text message or email. Risk Assessment are no longer complicated with Safety John. Simply take your iPad / iPhone along and assess all the hazards, place controls where possible and there they are, right there in your email.

With in the Hazard report; users record the hazard information , including photos or video, the initial risk of their hazard and may record their suggested or actual controls in the report with an updated risk rating. Once finished just send vial email. All reports are one page PDF. Great uses for this App include Hazard or Near miss reporting, General Risk Assessments of hazards in the workplace and documentation and archiving of this data in a timely and cost effective manner. Video here.

Easy OHS - Hazard & Risk Identification Record (Australia): Easy OHS is a powerful Hazard & Risk Assessment Record Keeping Tool. A truly mobile and powerful way to capture and record incident details and subsequent treatment. Never again will you need to keep extensive and confusing paperwork. Features Include

• Easily capture vital Hazard Information including site of dates, control, action required and action taken
• Attach Photo & Video evidence to clearly record potential workplace hazards from camera roll or Dropbox 
• Filter and Communicate OHS Hazard Reports via Email & Dropbox.

Easy OHS also stores all of your content on iCloud which automatically syncs OHS records between all your devices with iCloud. Video here.

HazPad: HazPad is a logical thought process tool designed for the workplace which supports Job Planning to help achieve "Safe Job" outcomes by recognising, evaluating and managing hazards through energy categorisation. In addition, HazPad allows identification of Risk Reduction Actions and “Stop the Job” interventions in advance of performing activities.

New Robot Could End High Rise Glass Problems

Filip Sobotka says his robotic building inspector could be a major money-saver.

SAM the robot could inspect Toronto highrises: Entrepreneur Filip Sobotka says the solution to Toronto's falling glass problems could be a robot named SAM. The device, which was developed by his family, could speed up the way building inspections are done, and give engineers more information to determine the health of a building, he says. The invention comes at a time when Toronto has been site of a number of incidents involving highrise glass crashing onto the streets below. "The amount of highrises that are going up in this city and the issues that keep coming up … it keeps going so we think this is very important, before someone gets injured," Sobotka told CBC News. Right now, most building inspections are done by engineers using a swing stage or bosun's chair, inspecting a few selected spots to determine the overall health of the building. Sobotka says SAM can scan the entire exterior of the building in a lot less time and for a fraction of the cost.

Inspectors "pick and choose where they want to go on the building, what they note down, what to take pictures of," he said. "Sam is pretty unbiased — it's automated, it captures everything, and then you go and inspect it and you can have multiple people look at it," Sobotka said. The setup involves an SLR camera attached to a motorized platform that travels up and down two metal cables. Rigging on the roof and the ground keep SAM steady, allowing it to take photos of the exterior of a building.

The robot is controlled via a WiFi connection to an iPad. The photos taken can show engineers everything from window seals to poor caulking to cracks in cement or brick. He says SAM could detect cracks in balcony glass or other deficiencies that could lead to problems later on. "We scan everything. When a person's up there they can make errors, they can miss something; they only have one shot unless they go up again to view it," Sobotka said.

$200K startup: SAM was developed by Sobotka, his brother Thomas and father Jozef. The elder Sobotka, a tradesman, came up with the idea six years ago when he saw building inspections that were incomplete and problems missed. They developed the prototype over the last two years, sinking $200,000 of their own money into the nascent company. Recently they pitched the idea to the CBC Television program Dragon's Den. They're waiting to hear if they make the cut in the fall. Sobotka said the industry has been slow to take to the idea because there is no other product to compare it to, but says the need is there. But whether SAM could detect the problems that have led to falling balcony glass it up for debate.

Doug Perovic at the University of Toronto's engineering department says the problem is often traced to microcopic inclusions or impurities in the glass that went undetected during the manufacturing process. He says it would be hard to detect that with just a camera. "The robotic camera can help find some problems so it's certainly a help but it's not going to solve this main problem that we've seen responsibile for the … large majority of the glass fractures we've seen in Toronto going back to last summer," Perovic says. Sobotka said this is just the first prototype of SAM and future upgrades will include more sophisticated diagnostic equipment. For now he stresses that while falling glass may garner the most headlines, there are problems SAM can detect that could save condo boards a lot of money in repairs. "It's a lot of money, thousands, hundreds of thousands, depending on what the problem is. If you attack the problem early enough, you can save boatloads," he said.

Three Window Cleaning Stories For Friday

Noreen and Derek Walton of Todd Lane North, Lostock Hall, with the remainder of the window treatment they believe they were duped into buying.

Couple fear firm has duped others: It was supposed to be a simple window treatment that would make life easier for pensioners Derek and Noreen Walton. But the trusting couple, aged 78 and 74, shelled out £1,410 to unscrupulous salesmen to paint conservatory window panes with “self cleaning liquid” and replace two panes of glass at their bungalow. Now, they are urging others targeted by Vistec Energy, which was fined £14,200 over 10 similar cases last week, to come forward. Retired Royal Ordnance factory worker Noreen said: “We only realised we were victims after seeing the Evening Post last week, although we grew suspicious after the work. We know they were already fined but are worried people who couldn’t afford it were tricked and are afraid to speak out.”

After agreeing to a visit via a cold call, the couple, from Todd Lane North, Lostock Hall, near Preston, were told Clearshield treatment would make windows self cleaning. Salesman James Meah, who admitted two counts of engaging in unfair practice during last week’s case, told the Waltons the £3,900 work minus a ‘grant’ of £2,400 would be £1,410. Clearshield actually costs around £50 to treat a three bed semi. Noreen added: “He even made a call to check about the grant - now we know it was fake.” Nick McNamara, principal officer at Trading Standards, said: “Six other calls have been made to Consumer Direct since the sentencing.” The firm was fined £14,200 last Wednesday after pleading guilty before Preston magistrates to 10 charges under unfair trading regulations. They were unavailable for comment.

Media Distortion: The Economy Roars Back: There's an interesting story to start with today.  This is a Politico story, and it was out last night.  Obviously this story was written before this morning's unemployment report came out.  Now, the unemployment number, 8.3%, no change, and you would not believe the way this is being reported.  Why, we are in a roaring-back economy.  We have got a recovery that's unprecedented.  Have you noticed it, Dawn?  No, I mean the reporting.  Wherever you look on radio, television, and print, you would believe that we are sitting atop the greatest powder keg of an economic recovery that there ever has been.  It is universal.

The labor force participation rate is essentially the entire universe of jobs available in the country, and there are over two million less jobs, two million fewer jobs. They just don't exist anymore. Whereas there used to be an ABC Window Washer outfit, for example, when Obama was immaculated in 2009, the place has shut down. So the ABC Window Washer jobs are gone. That is why people talk about creating new jobs. If we need to create new jobs and we need new jobs, it means there are fewer jobs to fill. So if same time number of jobs existed...

If all the ABC Window Washer outfits had been closed down, if they were still open, and those jobs were still available, based on current numbers the actual unemployment rate would be 10.8% not 8.3%. So the universe of available jobs matters. There is no way you can tell me that the American economy, with two million fewer jobs today than three years ago, is in any way upbeat. You've got the same number of people looking for fewer jobs. That's why the percentage changes. You have the same number of people looking for fewer jobs. It's like musical chairs: Every time the music stops, somebody's left out because there aren't enough chairs. It's the same principle here. So the 8.3% unemployment rate is meaningless. It's bogus because we're not comparing apples to apples. Part of the Obama economic record is that there are two million fewer ABC Window Washer jobs than there were when he was immaculated in 2009.

And finally...

Move Carefully or Get Caught In The Act: Fresh from this year's Game Developers Conference, we have video from Kotaku's Stephen Totilo showing upcoming iOS title The Act. The lush, cinematically animated 2D game is a comic cartoon in which players control Edgar, a hapless window washer in pursuit of Sylvia, the woman of his dreams.

As the video demonstrates better than a description can, players have only one control — a gesture to the left or right — but through it can control the pacing, timing, and mood of the scenes they play. The brief demonstration above shows that even the choice of how quickly or slowly to move across a room can affect what happens when you get where you're going.

Originally designed as an arcade game in 2007, The Act is now finding a home on iOS devices and will be available for download in spring or summer of this year. The developer's website has a thorough summary of the title's complicated development history, as well as short bios on all the major characters.

The story follows a Brooklyn hospital’s window washer, named Edgar, as he pursues the affections of the beautiful nurse Sylvia. The game opens with Edgar gazing longingly through a window at his lady love; his work falters as he slips into a daydream. We see Edgar now looking slick in a white-on-white suit with a black bowtie in a restaurant/bar with a distinctly Middle Eastern flavor. He’s essentially become Bogie in Casablanca. His very own Ilsa, Sylvia, sits at the bar, turned away from him.
The game’s controls are relatively simple to explain. Whenever a movie slate-style “Play Now” icon appears on the screen, it’s up to the player to swipe to the left and/or right to influence what’s happening on the screen. In this case, the idea is to swipe very gradually to the right, edging Edgar toward Sylvia in stages, closer and closer and she becomes more and more responsive. The sequence that follows adds another wrinkle. Edgar is back in the real world, yanked there by an angered boss unhappy with his and his brother’s flagging work. A balancing act begins, with leftward swipes pushing the boss back through the window while rightward swipes keep the oafish brother working.

Free iphone App For Window Cleaners

A new iphone/ipad app' from Window Cleaning Warehouse: A new App' to allow Window Cleaners to calculate pricing for their clients, and also get the latest information from Window Cleaning Warehouse. This app' is free for UK users & will not download unless you have a UK itunes account. Requirements: Compatible with iPhone, iPod touch and iPad. Requires iOS 4.3 or later. Click here to download now.

ResponsiBid - A Window Cleaning Bidding Program

ResponsiBid is a system built specifically for window cleaners who are trying to apply the principles of the E-Myth to their business to benefit their customers and themselves throughout the bidding process. You wouldn’t believe how unbelievably easy it is to get your website working hard for you.  With ResponsiBid, you have 3 easy steps to turn your website into a window cleaning bidding (and booking) machine. Click the pictures to enlarge. make sure you watch the video above. The whole program is customizable.

You don't send your window cleaners out without squeegees; don't send your website out without ResponsiBid. Check out why your company is losing money every day out without ResponsiBid!

• Forces somebody who is genuinely interested in your services and anxious for a price to give you their contact information. 
• Causes the website visitor who is genuinely anxious for services you offer to think a little harder about what they’re asking for (essentially to invest a little of their time into the process — but not as much time is waiting around the house for you to come by).
• Gives a competitive bid that the prospect can see is obviously well thought out. They know that you won’t get there and start changing your mind on the price… they know it’s good because they counted or entered in accurate information.
• Allows this to all be done at the exact moment that the customer is MOST interested in your services!
• Most importantly, after the customer gets this far through the process they are able to take action immediately! They can move on with their life, confident that their window cleaning problems are under control.

This iPad the 32GB (for massive storage) 3G + WiFi (for total mobility) model - like all the others, can sync with Google calendar.  I have used this in my business and I love being able to have a totally readable, adjustable, synced calendar of everything I’ve got going on in my life and for my crews. Like your smart phone, you can look at the schedule, but unlike your phone, you can read what’s going on.

Package Options: Window Cleaning Businesses are all different. There is a pricing option for everyone. Keep in mind that there is no functional difference between any of these packages when it comes to how it will work on your site. The goal here is to provide everyone with an option that makes sense for them. Curt guarantees that no matter which option you choose, it will translate to the cheapest employee you have ever hired– and this one will never get tired.