Bridgit Saves Gotham Residents

Bridgit Saves Gotham Residents

by TODD STOLARSKI | June 4, 2015

Whether you're purchasing a condo in a new development or not, it is a large investment.  A new place to call home for your foreseeable future. Recently, some Ottawans found out that when expecting to move into the new $100-million Gotham high-rise condominium complex that the home of your dreams can turn out to be a nightmare.  

Gotham.  The condos in question.

Mallorie Brodie, Co-Founder, Bridgit

A laundry list of complaints stacked up from the lobby to the penthouse for the Lamb Development Corporation. They included missing cabinet doors, left-over construction debris, patio doors opening incorrectly, subpar caulking work, and the list goes on and on. In swoops Bridgit and their Closeout construction punch list software to save the day. Normally used for contractors on the job site, Bridgit dispatched their Closeout app to the residents of Gotham tower in hopes of expediting their repairs. Before Bridgit's appearance as part of BuiltWorlds' Tech Toy Test Drive at The 2015 MCAA Conference Tuesday June 9, we had a chance to chance to catch up with the Canadian software company's co-founder Mallorie Brodie on how they made a positive impact on Gotham...kind of like Batman.

Unhappy Gotham residents. Pre-Bridgit. 

After residents shined their proverbial social media signals into the sky, Bridgit responded. “Typically, we sell Closeout directly to the condo developer,” says Brodie. “However, in a situation like this, we were moved to offer our assistance to these homeowners in whatever way we could.” Using their multi-platform Closeout mobile app, the residents at Gotham will be able to quickly register all errors currently in their unit with photos and comments. That full list of deficiencies can then be presented to Lamb Development Corp. “The hope is that this helps expedite the process,” says Brodie. Not only does Bridgit hope it will speed up the repair process, but  the homeowners at Gotham do, too.

“We were moved to offer our assistance to these homeowners in whatever way we could.”

— Mallorie Brodie, Co-Founder, Bridgit

For those unfamiliar with Bridgit we sat down with them for a quick BW Session:

1 - What is the main idea behind Bridgit, and where did it originate from?

As a company, Bridgit strives to help construction teams communicate more efficiently on site. Our punch list management platform, Closeout, originated from speaking with over 500 stakeholders in the industry and asking what we could build to help them save time. Every minute counts in construction, and our industry was excited about the opportunity to significantly cut the time it takes to manage the punch list.

2 - What void in the market does Bridgit look to fill?

For many years, software was seen as a daunting initiative that did not properly fit the work style of construction teams. Our goal is to provide our customers with an effective solution that gets the job done, without the pain of learning something complicated and new. Software is definitely a key part of our offering, but our support and best practices also contribute to helping your team closeout the project as painlessly as possible.

3 - Did you encounter any unexpected challenges bringing Bridgit to market?

When we launched Closeout, Tablets and Smartphones were becoming more common on-site, however they weren't a given. In the beginning, there were a lot of projects where we had to introduce both the hardware and software.

4 - Mobile apps didn’t exist a decade ago. Ten years from now, how will the industry be using your products? 

Yes, there have been so many exciting changes! There are a few areas where a transition has already started to happen, but I think will be complete in the next 5-10 years.

1. There won't be a single site not using mobile technology to manager their projects.
2. All software solutions will be cloud based. I also expect the use of drones, and potentially even new wearable solutions will be more widespread.

Founded in 2012, Bridgit is a Canadian software company focused on developing mobile-first solutions for the construction industry. Bridgit’s mobile software solutions are used by leading general contractors, engineering firms and real-estate developers across North America. Information about Bridgit can be found at gobridgit.com. For ongoing news, please visit: gobridgit.com/press-room/ or check them out on twitter @GoBridgit

Photo credits - Ottawa Citizen