Weather Tracking Tech to Help You Reduce Downtime

Severe weather events can cost contractors time and money. A delay on one project can have a domino effect, causing interruptions to other unrelated jobs as well.

You can’t change the weather, but tracking it accurately can help you plan around it.

Of course there are the go-to apps for smartphone and tablets from Weather Underground (which offers weather forecasts and current weather data backed up by a crowdsourcing network of more than 250,000 personal weather stations and air quality monitors), The Weather Channel (which uses its own technology and reports from the National Weather Service and Storm Prediction Center) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (which is the source of information for many weather services), among others. These may be all you need.

But entrepreneurs have come up with other apps and services designed to appeal to the construction industry. Here are just a few.

Windcrane

Windcrane, from Scotland-based Logic Energy, monitors wind conditions for projects involving cranes, ports, bridges — anything that can be affected by high winds. Put the sensing device where you need it and then log in to the mobile app to begin monitoring and documenting wind conditions. Use the information to inform current and future project planning. Windcrane also makes sensors that track temperature, solar radiation and rain.

WeatherWorks’ WorkSite Forecasts

WorkSite Forecasts is a comprehensive weather information service that emails customers a detailed forecast every weekday morning, texts rain and snow warnings and provides live access to a meteorologist covering your area. 

WeatherBuild

WeatherBuild offers a variety of mobile and web-based weather tracking and reporting solutions for the construction industry. WeatherBuild Notify automatically delivers hyper-local weather reports to project teams. WeatherBuild History helps managers fill in weather report logs after the fact for filing claims. The WeatherBuild Station includes wireless devices with high-precision sensors and high-definition cameras to record actual outcomes on project sites. WeatherBuild also has an enterprise-level, web-based program that can integrate with popular project management software.

The right weather app or tracking service can help make planning for bad weather a (gentle) breeze.