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Biting the Apple
Contractors find using popular iPad keeps business healthy
Now, only four years after Apple popularized the mobile application, many HVAC trade associations and manufacturers can also say the same.
As more and more HVAC and sheet metal contractors purchase iPads, the industry is trying to keep up by creating digital versions of its offerings. The Air Conditioning Contractors of America launched a digital version of its DuctWheel in April. For $19.99, a contractor can download the DuctWheel to the iPad. Plug in the measurements and the ACCA DuctWheel will provide accurate duct-sizing measurements.
Even the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers has unveiled its “HVAC ASHRAE Duct Fitting Database.” ASHRAE says the app allows contractors to perform pressure loss calculations for more than 240 different duct fittings.
And HVAC software companies are seeing the benefits of the iPad. Maxwell Systems introduced a mobile version of its ProContractorMX software. The free app allows contractors to use the ProContractorMX application in the field via iPad. The Maxwell Systems software tracks everything a contractor needs for a job, including all the details on a specific project.
Karl Rajotte, director of product management for MEP at Maxwell Systems, said that every contractor is aware of the “big binder” they have to carry around on the job. That binder has all of the information on a project, from change orders to pricing. But the iPad has changed all of that. All that information can be stored on the iPad with the help of ProContractrorMX.
ProContractorMX and iPad have made it possible for a contractor to look at a job and make changes in the field. When a contractor visits a site and needs information, all he has to do is “pull it up on his iPad,” said Rajotte.
Once the project plans are pulled up, he can look at the entire layout. He can even make changes to the layout if needed and code them in different colors. As long as the contractor has a connection, project changes can be made with the iPad. And with 3G, Rajotte said that contractors “can be connected all of the time.”
But why not have all of these HVAC applications on a standard laptop?
According to Rajotte, the iPad has made projects more efficient because the contractor no longer needs to boot up a laptop. He said the best part of the iPad is that it is always “on,” in a dormant state. Just push the button at the bottom of the iPad, slide over the bar on the screen, and the contractor is instantly connected.
“That’s what I love the most,” Rajotte said.
He also loves that Maxwell Systems is finding success with its ProContractorMX mobile connection. Since the mobile app was offered in January, Maxwell Systems has sold 90 for the iPad.

