PressureWashingBossPro Blog — Crew App

Shared Rig Phones or Personal Phones for the Pressure Washing Crew App

Before the first washer signs in, an owner has to answer a simple question: whose phone is this? Some companies keep a phone with each rig. Others ask washers to use their own. Both work with the PressureWashingBossPro crew app, because it runs in the browser on iPhone and Android and every washer signs in with their own PIN. The right choice depends on your crew, your rigs and your budget.

The Phone Takes a Beating Either Way

The practical side of using a phone around water is covered in Wet Hands and Gloves: Using the Crew App Around Water and Spray. That reality is a big part of this decision. Washers are understandably careful about soaking their own phone. A rig phone is one they do not have to worry about.

Option One: A Phone That Stays With the Rig

Each rig gets its own phone, mounted in the truck, with the crew app installed and the company login saved. Washers sign in with their own PIN at the start of the shift.

The upsides:

• No personal phones at risk. Washers do not have to worry about drops, spray or their own data plan.
• Always set up. The crew app is on the home screen, location is allowed, and the mount and charger are in the truck.
• Turnover is easier. When a washer leaves, the phone stays. Turn off their PIN and the next washer signs in.
• Clear separation. Work stays on the work phone. Washers are not on call on their personal number.

The downsides are cost and discipline. You are buying phones and paying for data. And if two washers ride in one rig, decide which one signs in and runs the phone, or the records get muddled.

Option Two: Washers Use Their Own Phones

Each washer opens the crew app on their own phone, adds it to the home screen and signs in with their PIN.

The upsides:

• No hardware cost. Everyone already has a phone.
• Each washer has the app. Two washers in one rig can each take photos on the jobs they are working.
• Familiar device. Nobody has to learn a new phone.

The downsides: personal phones get wet and dropped, washers use their own data, and some people do not like having work location on their personal device. Many owners who go this route offer a monthly phone stipend and pay for a rugged case. That is a business decision; just decide it up front.

There is also the question of what happens to customer information on a personal phone when someone leaves. With the crew app, that is simple: gate codes, access notes and addresses live in the app behind the washer's PIN, not in their text messages. Turn off the PIN and the access goes with it. That is a big improvement over the old way, where codes sat in a group text on a dozen personal phones for years.

Ask your washers before you decide. Some will happily use their own phone and prefer it. Others will say plainly that they do not want to soak a phone they are still paying off.

The PIN Works Either Way

Whatever you choose, the company login plus personal PIN keeps the records straight. On a rig phone, the company login stays saved and each washer enters their PIN at the start of the day. On a personal phone, the washer signs in once and stays signed in. Either way, every Start, photo, Complete and clock-in is filed under the right person.

The rule that matters on shared phones: sign out at the end of the shift. If the next morning's washer forgets to sign in as themselves, a day's worth of work ends up under the wrong name.

GPS and Privacy

Crew GPS comes from the phone running the crew app. On a rig phone, that simply shows where the rig is, which is exactly what the office wants. On a personal phone, washers sometimes worry about being tracked after hours. Be clear about what the office sees and that the point is the work day. Washers who clock out and close the app are not doing company work, and the office has no reason to look.

Mixing Both

Plenty of companies end up with a mix. The rig phone runs navigation and Complete, and a second washer takes photos on their own phone for the jobs they are working. Or the owner uses a personal phone while the crews use rig phones. That is fine, as long as each person signs in with their own PIN.

Whichever way you go, the app runs on both iPhone and Android, covered next in iPhone or Android: Running the Pressure Washing Crew App on the Phones Your Washers Already Carry. For more on the rest of the crew app, see the pressure washing crew app page.