Forecast says rain from Wednesday
You check the forecast on Sunday night and it looks fine. By Tuesday lunchtime it has changed. The re-roof that was due to strip on Wednesday cannot go ahead with the roof open. The chimney repair could, if it is dry in the morning. The flat roof needs two dry days in a row.
So the phone comes out. The homeowner on the re-roof, who has taken a day off. The scaffolder who was due to adapt the scaffold. The merchant with a delivery booked. The gang, who need to know where to go instead. By the time everyone has been told, the plan has changed again.
Why the weather reshuffle eats so much time
Weather is not the root problem. You cannot change it. The problem is that the rules about which job can run in which conditions live in the heads of the owner and the contracts manager, and every change has to be passed on one phone call at a time.
- Jobs are on a whiteboard or a shared calendar with no note of weather tolerance.
- Nobody can see at a glance which jobs could swap in on a dry morning.
- Customers, scaffolders and merchants are each told separately.
- Changes are not written down, so the gang turns up to the old address.
What it costs you
Office time is the obvious cost, and on a wet week it can swallow most of a day. The bigger cost is a gang standing down when there was an indoor or sheltered job they could have done, or a customer who hears nothing and assumes you have forgotten them. Merchants charge for failed deliveries, and scaffold that stands idle still runs up hire.
The weather-aware job board we build
- Each job is tagged with its weather needs, using your own categories: needs the roof open, needs dry days in a row for membrane work, fine in light rain, internal or sheltered.
- A forecast feed for each job's postcode is pulled in daily and shown against the planned week.
- When the forecast for a planned job crosses your limits, the board flags it and suggests jobs that could move into that slot, based on location, gang and materials already on site.
- The contracts manager accepts, edits or rejects the suggestion. Nothing moves on its own.
- Once the plan is accepted, draft messages go to the affected customers, the scaffolder and the merchant, using templates you wrote. A person approves them before they are sent by text or email.
- Gangs see their updated day on their phones, with address and notes.
- Weather days are logged per job, so you can explain delays to customers and main contractors with dates.
| Job type | Example tolerance you might set | Swap-in option |
|---|---|---|
| Strip and re-roof | No rain while roof is open | Repairs under cover, fascia work |
| Flat roof membrane | Dry surface for a set period | Leadwork prep, loading out |
| Chimney repointing | Dry morning | Gutter clearance |
| Small repairs | Light showers acceptable | Stays as planned |
The tolerances are yours to set. We do not decide when it is safe or sensible to work; your team does.
The difference on a wet week
A forecast change becomes a short review on one screen instead of a morning on the phone. Customers get a clear message with a new date. Suppliers are told at the same time. And the gang knows where they are going before they leave home.
Is this how rain days go for you?
- Rescheduling is done by phone, one call at a time.
- Customers complain they were not told about a delay.
- Scaffolders or merchants turn up for a job that moved.
- Gangs stand down when there was other work they could do.
- You cannot show a customer which days were lost to weather.