Am I the only one who thinks old school blueprints beat digital plans on site?

I fought this for years. Been running jobs in Columbus for about 12 years now. My lead foreman Frank, been with me for 8 years, he swears by printed blueprints. Says he can see the whole floor layout at a glance without pinching and zooming. Last month on a tilt-up warehouse job, the iPad died at 10am and we lost 2 hours while I drove back to the trailer for the charger. Meanwhile Frank had his roll set under his arm and never missed a beat. But then the super on the next job, younger guy, he does everything through Procore on his phone. Says he can mark up RFIs in real time and email subs instantly. I tried going fully digital for 3 months last year but my guys kept complaining about glare on sunny days and cracked screens. Whats your crews setup? Are you mixed or all one way?

2 comments

2 Comments

leehall28m ago

Whoa, not gonna lie, you just changed my mind on that.

pat_moore1h ago

Ha! You had me at “iPad died at 10am.” I’m the guy who drops his phone in a porta-john once a season, so digital is a gamble for me. We run a split setup here too: I’ve got a tablet in the truck for quick markups, but the actual prints stay rolled up in my tool bucket for on-site work. Nothing beats the smell of a fresh blueprint when you’re trying to argue with a framer about a wall offset.