Appy to help

As the popularity of apps shows no sign of abating, Katie Plumstead, Group Marketing Manager with Scolmore Group, shares some of the valuable feedback the company receives from contractors.

Electrical professionals are increasingly using apps that deliver quick answers

The iOS App Store launched in 2008 with 500 apps. Today, there are over seven million apps available across iOS and Android platforms, extending to every app and game genre and niche. Apps have come to play a huge role in the way we live and work today, and the market for these apps is enormous. It is estimated that there are over six billion smartphone users worldwide. In 2021, apps were downloaded more than 100 billion times, and that is expected to reach 200 billion by 2025.

Using an app to help with electrical work may have seemed unlikely a few years ago. However electrical professionals are increasingly using apps that deliver quick answers, manage and customise information consumption and hasten communication. Now, with information at their fingertips, they are armed with ever more powerful on-demand IT capabilities.

Tasks that used to demand laborious hand calculations or time-consuming diversions to consult hefty code books – and the conveyance of information via face-to-face meetings, phone conversations and emails – have been sped up and simplified. With so many apps and so much information available, electricians will be looking for those that bring as much material as possible to their fingertips to make their working life easier, rather than having to search through a number of different sources.

One contractor who has been enjoying the benefits of the Scolmore Group app is Phil Kent who has been running his P Kent Electrical Contractors business in Keynsham since 1992. The company works with both domestic and commercial customers and offers a wide range of services, including rewires, full house testing, fault finding and security lighting in Bristol and beyond.

Phil described the Scolmore Group app as having the most comprehensive range of features to help in his everyday tasks on site. “The main feature I love about the Scolmore Group app is the Tool Kit section. It has helped me several times when it comes to the voltage drop calculations. It’s been a long time since I was at college and for years you had to work out the voltage drop using the calculations in the regs book and do it by hand. With the Scolmore Group app, you simply tap in the details, and it works it all out for you.

“I found the app particularly useful when on site working on a customer’s property and they asked me how much it would cost to run power to the top storage barn. After checking with them how much power they would consider using up there and a measurement taken, I simply tapped the figures into the Scolmore Group app, and it came up with the size of the cable needed. After a quick call to the local wholesaler in Longwell green, Bristol, they gave me a price. So that meant I was able to total it all up and give the customer a quote before leaving that day. There are so many features on here that all electricians can use, it’s got all bases covered. I would recommend it as part of anyone’s tool kit.”

Another fan of the app is Suzy (Suzanna May Blakeley-Monk) an electrician who works for her father’s electrical firm, Nick Blakely Electrical, based in Anglesey. Having worked with her dad since she was 14, Suzy qualified as an electrician in 2019 and now helps carry out a range of domestic projects, that includes private residences, holiday lets and also some care homes in the region. Suzy regularly uses Click wiring accessories and has been a follower of the Scolmore Group on social media, where she became aware of the app some years ago and is now a regular user.

“I have used the Tool Kit section on the app, but the main reason I use it is to search for products. On a recent property I was working on we wanted to include a grid plate system and I needed to see how many switches we could get onto each plate. Using the app, I went onto the GridPro product section where I could see that the plates go up to 24-gang which was great, and I also used it locate the printed modules we wanted – there are so many to choose from.

“I also like the monthly giveaway on the app where they do a draw and the winner receives £100 shopping voucher – I was actually lucky enough to win recently, so that was another bonus to using the app.”

Scolmore, scolmore.com

Tasks that used to demand laborious hand calculations have been sped up and simplified