Appy days for electrical contractors

  Posted by: electime      28th April 2020

As the number of people owning a smart phone increases year on year, so the popularity and use of apps continues to rise.  Marie Parry, group marketing director, Scolmore Group, looks at how apps are making life easier for contractors and installers.

Using an app to help with electrical work may have seemed unlikely a few years ago.  However electrical professionals are now 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. 

The award-winning Scolmore APP brings to contractors the most comprehensive range of features that will help them in their everyday tasks on site.  The company has acted upon feedback from electricians/contractors to ensure that the free APP works for them to save them time and therefore money.   It is unrivalled by any other electrical app on the market.

What sets the Scolmore App apart is the FREE ‘Tool Kit’ feature, which includes a selection of valuable calculators, designed to make it quick and easy for electricians to make essential calculations on the job.   Included are Z’s values; Cable Selection and Voltage Drop; Power Factor; KVA Convertor; Cost Saving Calculator; Downlights Number Calculator; Resistance Calculator; Voltage Calculator; Current Calculator and Power Calculator.

No other competitor App has everything in one place like the Scolmore App and none have a tool kit that is as comprehensive as Scolmore’s.  Unlike some competitor Apps you don’t have to be part of any special scheme to log into the App and you are not restricted to quoting only using Scolmore products.

Scolmore has added a new ‘Quick Quote Calculator’, which is designed to let electricians/contractors create a quick quote as they are walking around the site.  As well as providing the facility to create a quick quote while on site, the new ‘Quick Quote Calculator’ also has an advanced setting which allows installers/contractors to set up the unit cost of each item and how much they would like to charge for labour.  It is also set up so that if a double socket for example is added to the quote, it will also automatically add a double back box.

Free to download, the App features a complete range of searchable products (9,000 in total), product and tutorial videos, catalogue downloads and all the latest news and events to keep users up to date with what’s happening in the company and the industry.

Keen to ensure that the App worked exactly how electricians want it to, Scolmore put the App to the test and prior to launch solicited feedback and suggestions from the industry, with a competition targeting a dedicated Facebook forum of 7,000 electrical contractors.   This feedback has been taken on board and the original app updated to incorporate a number of tweaks and improvements, as well as some valuable additional features including ‘Quick Buy’; ‘product images’ – click on a product to enlarge it for superb clarity; updated Cable Selection and Volt Drop Calculator in the Tool Kit.

As well as browsing the complete range of products, users can add them to their Favourites or the Quote Basket.  Electricians have the facility to email the contents of the basket for future reference, or straight to the wholesaler providing all the information needed to obtain any quotations or make a purchase.

With over 9000 products currently available, the search facility makes it easy to locate the products required and if further information is required, there’s an option to email Scolmore.  Product videos and tutorial videos can be viewed whilst on a job, to facilitate the installation process. 

For further information, contact Scolmore on 01827 63454, or visit www.scolmore.com.