Countrywide is planning to introduce a faster and easier approval application designed to provide qualified borrowers with virtually instant loan approval via a wireless Palm handheld.

Clark Wilson Homes
In any economy, there's always a need for new homes. The builders at Clark Wilson Homes (at http://www.clarkwilsonhomes.com) oversee the construction of some 15 homes at any one time. Their job is to coordinate the work of construction team members, such as contractors, subs, construction crews, and suppliers.

Builders must routinely deal with home owners, prospective buyers, subcontractors, and inspectors, and these interactions result in a flow of information that's more than anyone can remember. Thus, builders used to carry around pads or stacks of sticky notes covered with notes and messages. Clearly, this wasn't a terribly efficient way to work, so Clark Wilson decided their builders needed a faster and more accurate way to track the projects and communicate instructions to crews, contractors, and suppliers. The company eventually chose Palm OS devices equipped with Punch List software from Strata Systems (at http://www.stratasystems.com/punchlis/index.html).

The Punch List software was created specifically for the construction industry and is designed to let field personnel collect and review issues in the field, then transfer them to the desktop for faxing task lists to project participants. Builders can use the software to enter to do lists, outline details of work in progress, update project timelines, and collect notes and sketches pertaining to an issue. Punch List is pictured in Figure A.

FIGURE A

Punch List is project tracking software.

This Palm handheld with Punch List software solution is making the job of Clark Wilson Homes' builders easier to manage. Information exchange is faster and more accurate, and it has helped them to keep projects on time and on budget.

Ryan Niemann is a manager at Experio Solutions at http://www.experio.com.