The Measuring
Master App

The measuring devices in the Bosch professional range offer rich functionality, accuracy and robustness. But taking a measurement using these superb tools is just the beginning of the story. No matter what your trade or profession, you will probably then need to present your measurements to other people in a clear and persuasive way. You may also need to perform calculations with the figures. These processes are difficult, time-consuming and error prone.

That is why Bosch Professional decided to create the Measuring Master App. For your convenience, it automates a range of common measurement-related activities:

• Making sketches, plans and elevations in order to agree work
• Calculating areas and materials required for a job
• Showing visually how measurements fit into the site
• Linking the measurements to instructions and observations

The app can take data from any Bosch Professional measuring tool that has a ‘C’ after its name. A simple two-click process establishes a Bluetooth connection between your tool and the mobile device running the app.

The designers of the Measuring Master App have gone to great lengths to make it first choice among tradesman apps. To that end, one of its key roles is as a Bosch Professional laser measure app.

One of the most widely applicable ways in which the app uses data from Bosch Professional laser measures is in the creation of visual plans. To that end, it has been given a simple-to-use but powerful drawing interface. Using your mobile device and one finger, you can achieve rapid and impressive results. Into your plan, you can pull data from a Bosch Professional laser measure, although manual data entry is allowed too.

Two types of plan are possible. The first has a level of richness and detail that is similar to architectural documentation. But not everyone working on site requires high levels of detail. If you are used to sketching a rough plan with pencil and paper, you will probably make more use of the second type of plan. It is created using the app’s stripped-down sketch functionality. If you find you do need to start adding more information to your plan, you can easily migrate it to the detailed format.

Of course, a great deal of work is carried out on walls rather than floors. So, the app also allows you to create elevations that show the kind of detail required by an electrician installing sockets for example, or a general construction worker creating a new doorway.

One of the app’s neatest features is the ability to superimpose an existing plan or picture onto the new plans and elevations. This has two benefits. Firstly, it can help tradespeople make links between the plan and the reality of the site. Secondly, it can give clients a ‘before and after’ experience as you fade in and out of the old visuals and the new visuals.

In some measuring situations, it is more useful to rely on pictures rather than plans. A picture is an effortless way of capturing detailed information, especially because the app runs on mobile devices, which usually have a camera. Having imported an image into your current project, you can draw a line or a shape and add a length or area measurement either manually or using a laser measure. The results would, for example, be useful when communicating a concept to a potential client.

There is another special way that the app uses camera images. Bosch Professional have not just created a laser measurement app. You also have the option of adding thermal data to pictures. As you can imagine, this capability is very useful for activities such as safety inspection or energy-efficiency advising. You might, for example, take a picture of a new electrical installation, define measurement points on it, then import temperature readings for each point using Bosch’s GIS 1000 C Professional heat sensor.

Not all the functionality of the Measuring Master App uses visuals. One feature that is very useful for many trades is the area calculator. Simply input the basic measurements that define a surface you are working on – for example as a painter or bricklayer – and the app will calculate the size of the area involved.

Provide the app with a few key values and it will take the next step, actually calculating the quantity of materials you will require to complete your job, whether that is paint or bricks or something else.

Some things just can’t be expressed through numbers – for example, customer requirements or notes about the project environment. This kind of data is vital to all projects. The ideal is to have it available right alongside your numerical information, so that you can flip back and forth. The Measuring Master App achieves this by letting you attach media of all kinds to plans, pictures and anything else that you create. With the ability to use voice recordings, pictures and text in your notes, every documentation preference and need is catered for.

A particularly useful form of text documentation supported by the app is the ‘To do’ list. This feature allows you to keep a running record of tasks and put them to one side when they are complete. It is a great way for all tradespeople and professionals to stay organised and become a true Bosch measuring master.