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| NHBC equips Building Inspectors with rugged Panasonic tablets  NHBC, the UK's home warranty and insurance provider, has equipped its Building Inspectors with rugged Panasonic TOUGHBOOK M1 tablets for use during construction site visits and home office working. Historically 375 NHBC Building Inspectors around the country would note details of their visits to construction sites on pen and paper and take photos with a camera before recording inspection findings on their laptops. NHBC wanted to upgrade the mobile technology for the Building Inspectors to provide them with a single, rugged device that could be used during site visits and home use as a desktop."The new devices needed to be tough enough to stand up to the harsh environment of the building site, lightweight to be carried around and have a clear screen for use outside," explained Chris Borah, NHBC Programme / Project Manager. "We also wanted a device running Microsoft Windows operating system – rather than Android - to be compatible with our systems and applications." After short listing, two devices were tested on-site and in the office with Building Inspectors and NHBC choosing the Panasonic rugged tablet. "It was much lighter, smaller and easier to carry for the Inspectors," said Chris. "The performance of the device and the fact that it had its own docking station for use with a keyboard and screen also made it ideal for the Inspectors to use as a desktop at home." NHBC Building Inspectors now use the Panasonic TOUGHBOOK M1 tablets throughout the day. They carry out over 1m on-site inspections at key build stages each year, supporting the industry in the delivery of high quality, new homes. Each day they receive their jobs through the device and use the tablet during visits to record information. With the added flexibility of photo and video capability on the Panasonic device, NHBC are looking to introduce new functionality in the coming months which exploit these hardware features. When at home, the NHBC branded devices can be used in the Panasonic docking station, along with a keyboard, mouse and screen to be used as a desktop. This set-up is ideal for staying up to date with office communications and the latest training and industry best practice. Next day replacement As part of a five-year service agreement, Panasonic provides all new devices pre-configured, so they are ready for Building Inspectors to use straight out the box. They also provide a 9am, next day replacement service for devices that are damaged or stolen to ensure the workforce always has the right tools for the job. "The Panasonic device has given our Building Inspectors a single mobile computing device that is designed for their needs and future-proofed to grow with the organisation," said Taz Johal, NHBC Senior Programme Manager. write your comments about the article :: © 2019 Construction News :: home page |