Where's the IndustrySafe "App" For My Phone?


In short, this doesn't exist - but probably not for the reasons you think. 


An "App" is short for "Application", which really means "A program which runs on a computer". An "App" can be a word processing program such as Microsoft Word, the calculator on your phone, the program you use to create your weekly time sheet, or in our case the IndustrySafe software. Simply put, an "App" is a computer program designed to perform a set of related tasks to "do something" for you. 


You can download "Apps" from the "App Store" as compact little squares that display neatly on your device. As such the word "App" is often mistakenly used in place of "little square on my phone I can click with my finger" because we've colloquially come to refer to them as such. It's much the same as how in America we need a "band-aid" when we really just need an adhesive bandage. 


Swap out the word "phone" for "tablet", or if your using a desktop computer, "square" for "icon" and "finger" for "mouse". These graphical representations are really just "pointers" to a program, that tell it to run. When you click an icon on your desktop, there's really a bunch of stuff that occurs "underneath the hood" that tells a program to begin running. Think of it as flipping a light switch in your office- you're telling the light bulb program to run by "clicking" (flipping) on the switch. The switch doesn't actually do anything other than provide input to the light bulb program. 


Software is a bit more complex than a bulb, however, but still simple in this context - we just want to get to and run the IndustrySafe software. You might be thinking to yourself, "Facebook is an App on my phone. It comes in a square, and when I click it, it runs and does "Facebook stuff"." So what is the difference between that and IndustrySafe - it's just an application right? 


Well... almost. IndustrySafe differs in that it is a "Software As A Service", or "SAAS" for those of use who like acronyms. They key benefit of a Software As A Service is the fact it is centrally hosted - in other words not installed on your device as some other "Apps" are. Instead of a bunch of different copies of the same software spread out across thousands of devices (which may or may not be up to date), there's one copy, that every one can access. To name just a few of the benefits centrally hosted software includes:


  • You're not limited to the processing power of your device. The majority (if not all) of the calculations, program tasks, and processing is done on the IndustrySafe servers and not your device. 
  • You never have to worry about outdated versions of the IndustrySafe server. Every time you access IndustrySafe, you're accessing the most updated version of the software. In addition to the core software itself, this includes:
    • New Projects added weekly
    • New Clients added daily
    • New Forms added when needed
    • Logic that conforms with governmental regulations
    • Hours-worked information added weekly
  • You don't need to install anything, so you're not using up memory on your device. 
  • You can access the software from anywhere. You're not restricted to accessing it only from the work computer you installed it on (as there isn't anything to install). You can access it from any device that has an internet connection. 


Since IndustrySafe is a SAAS, there's nothing to download and install from the App Store. Any time you need to access the software, you simply navigate to industrysafe.com/aecom in a web browser. If you've used EcoSystem and clicked on the "cone" for IndustrySafe:



Then you may have noticed that even though it is referred to as an "App" it's really nothing more than a internet bookmark to https://www.industrysafe.com/aecom. You can create your own bookmark for your desktop computer that performs the same function, or use the desktop icon located in the attached "Desktop Icon.zip" file. 



You can also create a bookmark on both Android and Apple devices, the Chrome or Safari web browsers. For information on how to do that, please visit their respective articles:


How do I Bookmark IndustrySafe in Chrome for Android Mobile?


How do I Bookmark IndustrySafe in Safari for iOS Mobile?


An Android "App" (square bookmark to IndustrySafe), is currently in development by the AECOM SH&E Technical Solutions team. When this is complete, it will be communicated en masse.