Buidling Apps on your Smart Phone

Smart phones.  You love them, you hate them, or you love to hate them.  I tend to fall in to the “love to hate them” category most of the time. Seems like the longer you have one the more attached you get to the darn things. You feel naked if you forget to grab it when you leave the house. You are also always connected and accessible so you can never get away anymore.  Although, they sure can be handy once in a while. 

For example I have three Apps on my phone that I found are kind of cool in a nerdy sort of way. One is the DOT Emergency Response Guidebook. I used to carry around the actual guidebook in my car but could never find it when I wanted it. The App, which is free, has more information than the book and it is always with me as long as I have my phone. The App is good for the fact that in an emergency situation you have fast access to information on hazardous chemicals and how to deal with them.

The second App is a sound level meter app; there are several free ones out there, which is nice to have for checking noise levels on jobsites, in buildings, (concerts, parties etc….). It is admittedly not as accurate as a real sound level meter but is close enough to get an idea if the levels are high enough to require PPE. Also it is kind of fun to see how loud your kids can be and to show your spouse how ear splitting their rants can be during a heated debate/argument. Although, I don’t recommend the latter I found it only made things worse around my house, but I digress. Anyway, the sound level meter can be useful to spot check areas for noise levels as most people don’t have sound level meters readily available to them. And the App is free and I find myself using it more and more just to spot check areas.

The third App I have that I find the useful is the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health’s (NIOSH) ladder safety App that has an incline meter built in. The application from NIOSH is also:-)  free. The ladder safety application only covers straight/extension ladders and doesn’t relate to self-supporting step ladders but has good information on ladder safety and the incline meter is handy not only for ladders but other uses as well.  The app also has ladder safety topics on it such as selection, set up, proper use and accessories safety so it can be a good tool for that as well.

None of these apps are used every day but I use them often enough that I’m finding I’m liking my smart phone more than hating it these days. Oh and did I mention they are all free. They are available for both Apple and Non-Apple phones.

Emergency Response Guidebook
NIOSH's web site has a link to both Apple and Android versions at   http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/updates/upd-06-17-13.html

Sound Level Meter

There are a bunch of apps for free sound level meters one is Sound Meter Pro by Mobile Essentials and another is Sound Meter by Smart Tools Co.

 

By Paul Gladen