Maximizing Efficiency with Digital Tools

In this episode of Mondays Down Under on the Talking Pools podcast, hosts Lee and Shane discuss the transition from summer to winter in the pool service industry, emphasizing the importance of planning for the slower months ahead. They explore various digital tools and apps that can enhance efficiency, from measuring tools like Google Earth to invoicing software like HubDoc and accounting solutions like Xero. The conversation also touches on work health and safety apps, marketing strategies using technology, and the importance of streamlining business operations. The hosts encourage listeners to share their own tips and tools to foster a collaborative community.

takeaways

• Plan for winter business now to ensure profitability.
• Utilize Google Earth for measuring distances and pool sizes.
• BufferZone integrates with Google Maps for efficient marketing.
• Apps like Measure can replace traditional tape measures.
• Decibel meters help assess pump noise levels.
• HubDoc simplifies invoicing and document management.
• XeroMe allows employees to manage their hours and leave easily.
• Petrol Spy helps find the cheapest fuel prices.
• Waze provides real-time traffic updates and hazards.
• Opal app helps manage screen time and reduce distractions.

Sound Bites

• "Four seasons in one day."
• "Plan for winter now!"
• "ZeroMe is a game changer."

BufferZone
BufferZone has been created by a frustrated pool maintenance company

The Pool Shop Coach
an online store offering industry-specific business mentoring, coaching, and training programs

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:53

Good afternoon, good evening, good morning, good whatever time of the day it is that you are listening to us. We are Mondays down under on the Talking Pools podcast, and it's great to have you with us. My name's Lee, and joining me is my New Zealand counterpart, Shane. Hey Shane, how are you?

SPEAKER_03 1:11

Very goodly. Thank you for asking. How are you doing today?

SPEAKER_01 1:15

It's pretty great, but it's actually turned cold here on the southeast coast, I should say, actually. I think Melbourne had 40 odd degrees for the Australian Open one day, and like two days later, it was like 15 degrees.

SPEAKER_05 1:30

Oh wow.

SPEAKER_01 1:31

Absolutely crazy. They'd gone from sweating and dying of heat exposure to actually putting on jumpers and the seasons crazy, but that is Melbourne. Four seasons in one day. However, it is a bit on the chilly side. We now are in February. So we're recording this on the 3rd of February. So this will be out on Monday, which is about the ninth, if my calculation is correct. Um ninth or tenth? Ninth. Anyway. You'll know by then. We'll be there. Whatever today is, it's today. Okay. And it is actually now the last month of summer. Heading fast towards winter.

SPEAKER_03 2:19

Jesus. I think a lot of people are probably like, thank God, for that as well. You know? That's uh yeah, how busy they're helping.

SPEAKER_01 2:28

Yeah. Look, we it's sort of bittersweet, isn't it? We're happy to have the pressure come off a bit, but we're not looking forward to the lull of winter from the bank account perspective, let's say. So it's something we we all need to plan for. So if you aren't planning for winter yet, you need to soon. I know it's only February, but you really should be talking about thinking about and talking about your winter schedule, your servicing schedule, what's going to keep you busy, what's going to keep the dollars coming in for your business through those slightly slower months, so that you can keep your staff employed and you can keep the dollars rolling in and make your winter profitable. So do start thinking about that. Anyway, today we're going to be talking about making life easier.

SPEAKER_02 3:38

No drama. But we'll tell you straight, no worries. Just try.

SPEAKER_01 3:58

Today we're going to be talking about making life easier.

SPEAKER_03 4:03

Using Easier said than done sometimes, Lynn.

SPEAKER_01 4:06

Absolutely. Using digital things that are available at our fingertips on our good old mobile phones. So that yeah, maybe we can cut some corners, make life a little bit easier. So have you got some apps or some digital technology that you like to use, Shane?

SPEAKER_03 4:27

Yeah, yeah. There was there was a job actually last week. Last week was a short week. There was a holiday. So we're running around like headless chickens a little bit. Same again this week. It's another holiday this week. Running around even faster this week. But um, there was a job that I went to, there was a leaking pool, and basically we need to run a whole strip of plumbing uh from the skimmer all the way back down to the pump shed. Um, and it's quite a long way to go, and it was getting to like 6:30, 7 o'clock at night. I'm just trying to pack up and ready to go home, and I completely forgot to measure how much pipe I needed. Typical, it wasn't like you get halfway home and it's like, ah, what do you do? So it yeah, it comes to my mind if we jump on Google Earth. We use some of these free technology tools that we have at our fingertips to uh work our advantage, and yeah, very easy to do. I'm sure everybody in the world has used Google Earth, but if they haven't, you must check it out for multiple reasons. But what I used it for, you can use it a measuring tool on there, zoom into the property, uh, put a pin where the skimmer is. How I did it from the skimmer to the back fence, from the back fence, running down the fence line to where the equipment pad was, um, and then just allow a couple of extra metres for that plumbing inside the pump shed. And yeah, it worked out very well. I actually was I was thinking on the way home, I was thinking, I think it's about 30 metres, it's gotta be about 30 meters. And once I uh measured it out, it was about 28 and a half, so I was like, didn't even need it anyway, but it's good. It's a very, very handy tool to use, and yeah, it's it's it's very good. I mean, if if you want to measure a pool as well, if you are we we have a lot of inquiries coming to coming through our website, and they have to fill their address in. So every time a new inquiry comes through, I look on Google Maps, Google Maps, Google Earth, look at the pool, kind of get an idea of what size it'll be. For the most amount, I would say the average pool over here, shallow end one meter, deepest end two meters. You don't really tend to sway too far either side of that. So you can get an idea of the size of the pool as well. So in that sense, it comes in very handy.

SPEAKER_01 7:12

Yeah, absolutely. And I think when we actually buffer zone, when you put the address, and buffer zone are our sponsors, so hello Pete, hello buffer zone users. Buffer zone does actually have the ability that when you put the address in, you can actually click on the address and that takes you straight to Google that site in Google Maps, which is absolutely awesome. Extra benefit there with Buffer Zone actually sort of connecting in there and taking you straight to that site. But yeah, really, really helpful to be able. How accurate did you find like measuring the pool? Is it accurate enough to order a pool blanket from?

SPEAKER_03 7:50

Probably not that accurate, I would say, but to give you an indication on what the pool size is square meter wise, yeah. If you take that average depth, then then you can get your liter, literage. So in in that sense, yeah, you would use it as a guide, at least. You've always got to measure the pool when you get there to get a much accurate, more accurate reading. Yeah. But um, it's it's free, everybody has access to it. It's a very handy tool to use. Um, I'm sure you can go a lot further into Google Earth if you wanted to, but as a simple measuring tool like that, I'll find it very, yeah, very handy. Yeah. No, I think. You can also check to see who has a swimming pool. You know, I mean, that's one of the biggest bonuses that you could ask for. You know, if you're focusing on an area, you've got X amount of pools in a suburb, you want to build your run in a certain street because you've already got two or three in the street, and you find out every other house has a swimming pool. Yes, it's perfect. No, absolutely fantastic. When you had your business leave, was were you using tools like that yourself?

unknown 9:12

Yep.

SPEAKER_00 9:16

BufferZone Systems are the pool and spa industry specialists with a complete range of software for pool shops, service companies, and commercial aquatic facilities. With more features and integrations than any other pool industry software, you really need to reach out for a one-on-one demonstration. Contact BufferZone today.

SPEAKER_03 9:39

When you had your business league, was were you using tools like that yourself?

SPEAKER_01 9:44

Yeah, absolutely. Google Maps was fantastic for exactly what you were using it for marketing. If I've got service technicians in a particular area and that's a day that I actually want to expand on or grow in, then I would absolutely jump on Google Maps, jot down the addresses and get the guys to drop a flyer or a postcard as we used into the mailbox to say, hey, um, we were in your area today and we'd love to be of service to you too. So really valuable. And the fact is, they're dropping that postcard, flyer, whatever they're using, into the mailbox while they're driving past the door. It's really not costing you anything in time. It's not costing you anything in postage. God knows postage stamps have got insanely expensive of late. I don't know what they're like in the US or in New Zealand, but it's like something like$1.80 to post a letter these days, and it takes a ridiculous amount of time to be delivered. So nobody uses snail mail anymore, that's what they call it.

SPEAKER_05 10:46

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 10:47

But yeah, directly into the mailbox. So you don't have to do black blanket marketing anymore. You don't have to just pay for someone to drop a flyer into every mailbox because we all know not every house has a pool, unless you're in Queensland, and then the number yes is far outweigh the no's, but that's that's not every area, unfortunately. But yeah, we used it for marketing, we used it for sizing. Actually, one of our suppliers put me onto a great uh called Near Map, and it's actually used by a lot of the solar heating companies to actually measure the roof of houses for solar heating. And from that, they don't even have to visit site. So uh one of our suppliers would just jump on Google Maps, uh not Google Maps, Near Maps, and this app even takes into consideration the angle of the roof so that you're getting because of course with satellite imagery, you're just getting a straight down view, or sometimes it's a little bit skew-iffed, it's not quite uh directly over the top, and that roof is also on an angle. So how do you actually accurately work it out? Apparently, this app can do that. So pretty darn good, if you ask me. And if that means staff don't have to get up on a roof and measure it, that's an extra safety precaution for you. So not having to risk them working at heights. And of course, like you say, pool size as well. And I think these are great for pool builders, whereby someone rings up, wants to post some interest of putting a pool in, possibly. You can actually jump in and have a look. How good is the access? How big is the backyard? What size pool can we actually fit into that yard? What's going to be most suitable to that yard space? So some great benefits with technology there for sure. One of the other things you can actually use, and I've got this app on my phone, is something called measure. Simple as that. Looks like a little tape measure. And you can actually hold your phone up and measure the distance to something. So a distance to a wall. You can measure the height of something, the diameter, uh dimensions of it, which can be really helpful for lots of different things. So you you can certainly use that for measuring a pool for a pool blanket. Don't have somebody to hand hold the other end of the tape measure, or maybe you've forgotten your tape measure you've got out there and it's not a you didn't know they were going to need a pool blanket or want a quote for a pool blanket, or you don't want to walk back to the car to get the tape measure, you've got it ready there on your phone. So that's called measure. There is actually one available for Android called Distance Meter. So that's another one if you're on an Android instead of on an Apple. I'm sorry, I'm an Apple user, iPhone user. Are you an iPhone user, Shane?

SPEAKER_03 13:57

No, I've got an Android. I do have an iPad. Okay. But yeah, we don't tend to use it so much for the business now. Fair enough. Just in regards to the measure of you, tried it on your pool.

SPEAKER_01 14:15

Just because I haven't had a need to. So I don't I always found it reasonably accurate when I was using it out on site, measuring from the distance from. But look, I am old-fashioned. If I've got a tape measure and I've got somebody else to hand hold the other end, I'm I'm one of those people that I order my pool blanket exactly to the measurement of the pool blanket that I need. Because I'm not paying for something that I don't want. Not only that, I don't want to I want to quote the customer as accurately as I can. So blankets are charged per square meter. Most companies, not all of them, but most of them do work to the measurements that you provide them with, not to the nearest sort of half a meter or something like that. So uh and look, most of them are pretty good. They usually give you about an extra 200 millimeters. I would think that would probably be the equivalent of about four or five inches, but they give you that little bit of leeway with your length and your width. So you usually get a bit extra anyway. So I'm definitely not gonna pay for anything more than I need. I want to try and save a few dollars and make my price look as good as possible for the client, of course. Um, so the other one that we often used to use out on on the work site was precise level. And so it's actually like your good old-fashioned spirit level, but it's in your phone. And so if you want to know if you're hanging that chlorinator straight on the wall, yeah, you can you can use the precise level. So that one, that one's a good one.

SPEAKER_03 15:54

No, I've actually used one of them in the past, and yeah, they're they are very handy. I was finding my phone with it was on my last phone actually, and phone just kept falling. Um there would there's there's somebody, I can't remember what company, maybe Paul Volution, they do a lot on Instagram, and I seen that they had these spirit levels, but they were clips, and you could literally just clip it to the pipe, and it would hold it literally like it saddles around the pipe, and it's got a little spirit level on there, and um very, very handy. They're they're they're a very great piece of um toolkit in in the box.

SPEAKER_01 16:34

Well, there's one we need to add to our toolkit. I think we did an episode a few months ago on actual tools, so yeah, there's definitely one for the for the toolkit. Probably not so much equipment. Oh, did you have any others that were sort of more equipment tool oriented that you use?

SPEAKER_03 16:52

Uh not I can think of off the top of my head, Lee, unless it springs into mind.

SPEAKER_01 16:57

One might spring into your ears. Decibels.

SPEAKER_03 16:59

Yes, the decibel, yeah, yeah, yeah. Sorry. That's alright. Yeah, the decibel meter, actually. That's come into handy a few times in the past where clients have said, oh, you know, I think the the pump's louder than normal. From what I've seen over here, the average decibel reading on a single speed is about 60 decibels. Usually anything would I know you don't really need to have a decibel reader if you come to a pump when the bearings are gone, or you know, we do, I think for the most part, we a lot of us know when a pump needs to be serviced, but for the homeowner, you know, it's always handy to for them to know if you say, you know, the the average decibel reading is in the high 50s, 60s, and you're reading 90 to 100, yeah, there's definitely something wrong with the pump.

SPEAKER_01 17:55

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 17:55

Um, that does come in quite handy.

SPEAKER_01 17:58

I did actually have a client that had a neighbor that loved to complain about everything. I think we've all had those at some point in time. And this we put in a heat pump for this client, and it was nowhere near the boundary line, but this customer was whinging, as Australians would say, whinging their tits off. I don't know whether that's an international saying, but it's definitely an Australian one. Anyway, the neighbor was driving us all nuts about complaining about the noise of the heater. It was a brand new heat pump, and I I think all of us know that most heat pumps are pretty good on the noise quantity that they give out, uh, or the volume, I should say, that they give out. And so we went around with the decibel meter on our phone, and yeah, it was well and truly under the prescribed level by local council. We were having it run during daylight hours so that it wasn't interfering with the peace and comfort of a neighbour. And let's face it, heat pumps don't tend to s jump in and jump out, turn on and turn off regularly. So they usually stay on and run, so at least it's a consistent noise. But anyway, there was not going to be any pleasing this neighbor, and we all just ignored them.

SPEAKER_03 19:19

Mm-hmm. No, it's very pointling. I find a lot of heat pumps nowadays are a lot quieter than what the pool pumps actually were on.

SPEAKER_01 19:26

Yeah, absolutely. Because actually, when you said about the decibels being around that 60 mark, I think this heat pump was probably around 50. So it was yeah, it was well and truly under the range for noise from a council. And that was right on top of the heater that we were testing it, of course, not at the boundary line where the neighbor was actually hearing it. So anyway. Noisy neighbours can go jump. But there are a few apps and I suppose software programs that obviously are really handy for pool service technicians. Obviously, we've got the water software programs that a lot of us use, and of course, scheduling programs. And if you're lucky enough to have a program that does both, like Buffer Zone, of course, where you've got a scheduling system and a water testing system all in one. Fantastic. BufferZone does have some fantastic features. So, you listeners out there, if you've thought about implementing one of these systems and you haven't got one, or whether you've got one that you're not happy with, it actually does have a lot of great features. And for a pool shop, it also incorporates point of sale and inventory now. So it's and it talks to most accounting software programs: QuickBooks, Xero, and MyLe. So it really does have a lot of bases covered. But Buffer Zone, of course, scheduling, water testing, but we've also got Xero. So Xero is available on your phone. But one of the systems that integrates with Zero that I absolutely love is HubDoc. HubDoc is actually now owned by Zero, and it allows you to take a photograph of an invoice, like maybe a receipt for fuel or a purchase that you've made, and upload it straight into the HubDoc. HubDoc can actually read it, it imports that information that you need, like invoice number, date, tax amount, full amount of the invoice. It doesn't quite break it down into line items, unfortunately, but it gives you a physical copy of the invoice in the program that then can be directly imported into Xero. And you can then populate those line items if you wish in Xero. Some really good handy say time saving there if you if you set it up properly. I even had my emails, so from my supplier, if something came through and let's say it was from Matronics and it was an invoice, my I had fields programmed into my email program, and it would pick up on those two things in the subject line. It would automatically then send it straight through to HubDoc. HubDoc would automatically populate that amount, all those fields, and then it would send it straight through to Zero with the invoice copy. And I would just go into zero and double check everything, make sure it was all okay, correct the little bits that might need tweaking, separate my line items if I needed to. And that was was how that worked.

SPEAKER_03 22:37

It's gonna save you a lot of time over the daily. You're you're just constantly doing invoicing for the whole day. Uh very beneficial.

SPEAKER_01 22:48

Oh, hugely. Like gone are the days, and I'm sorry, but this is because I've been in the bull industry. Probably far too long for those. But no, for a long time. I won't say I've been in it too long because I love it. But in years gone by, we did triplicate handwritten invoices. And they all had to be hand-entered into my ob the physical invoice from suppliers was received in the mail. So you had to collect the mail, open the mail, go through the invoice, enter it into myob, file that invoice in your filing cabinet, keep the sucker for seven years, like all of the things that go with that. And oh, I had boxes of invoice books. Thank God I'm I've been able to get rid of all of those. They took up a lot of space. But those are the sort of things that we no longer have to do. And the likes of you've got programs like Buffer Zone that talk to Zero to send your invoicing straight through to them. Then you've got HubDot that's sending your supplier invoices straight through to Xero. You then don't need to keep any paper copies because everything has an actual digital copy in your software program. It's kept on a cloud. We used to keep a server computer in our office that you could remotely ring or not dial into, connect into to work remotely. You don't even have to do that these days. Everything's on the cloud. It's so accessible. So if we can streamline the processes and make it quicker and more efficient, fantastic. And the beauty of this is that your bookkeeping can be done by anyone, anywhere. Like when I had our business, I would reconcile my bank account every morning while I was having my coffee. Match off all the invoices, or some of them automatically matched off. They'd give me, hey, you've had this money come in with this name and this is the invoice that matches to. Tick, tick, tick, tick, tick.

SPEAKER_03 24:49

Easy.

SPEAKER_01 24:50

Reconciled reconcilation done.

SPEAKER_03 24:53

Yeah, I do have to say that. I mean, if there is any new listeners out there that are looking into a new business and they're not familiar with any any form of business, accounting, whatever it may be, zero is definitely a game changer. That was one of the things I always remember just starting the business and just thinking about the whole admin accounting side. And it wasn't until we actually met an accountant, it was just like just I was a she, sorry, she just said just everything goes through zero. You have a couple hours training session with her, and it was like, geez, this is actually so easy to do. And the great thing about it, I mean, you can keep it as simple as you want it, or you can go really deep. Just be warned, if you are going deep, you could try not to mess around with your books too much. It's it's such a great tool, you know. It's giving you your forecast, your weekly forecast, your monthly forecast. Literally tells you what you've made. Your financial year up today compare it to the last year, the year before, and see how you're growing your business. So it's got a lot a lot of little fine, handy little tools inside it. It's not just accounting, putting invoices in, putting bills in and sending them out.

SPEAKER_01 26:14

And of course, it's also relevant to the country that you're in. They keep up to date with all the legislations, your employer obligations, your tax obligations. It keeps you up to date with all of those. So at the moment in Australia, we're we're single-touch payroll and superannuation very soon is going to be payable every week. Um, at present, we it is payable on every weekly wage, but we actually physically don't pay it to the superannuation company until the the end of the month, basically, or the end of the following month. And depending on actually your setup, some people don't have to do it quite so frequently. Anyway, it's now going to be every week when you pay your employer, employee, you'll pay your employee, and you'll also pay money to the superfund. And it happens automatically. Like it will actually do it all automatically for you. So it's another thing that you don't have to worry about. They're really good at keeping up with the current changes and requirements of us as business owners and operators and as employers. So it's really important. Which actually leads me to another Zero product, and that's called ZeroMe. If you've got staff, Zero Me is absolutely fantastic. It allows your employees to log their personal hours of work. So they can clock on and clock off with Zero Me. They can lodge leave applications. So if they want to put in some leave annual leave dates, personal leave dates, they can actually do that through their app. So it's actually their window or their access into a very small portion of your Xero software because they're really only feeding information in or they're getting information about themselves back out. So they can find what leave they've got due or available to take. They can see their leave applications, they can get copies of their pay slits, things like that. So really, really helpful. I know both of my boys use it for their employers, and um, it wasn't unfortunately available when we had our business, but I certainly would have jumped all over it had it been available then. It's a an absolute game changer. And then, of course, we've got Google Drive. Now, I wasn't a Google Convert. I only became a Google Convert probably in about the last four years. And Google Drive is fantastic. It's a great way for you to share access to documents with your staff, with your team. So maybe you need them to have access to standard operating procedures, safe work method statements, those sort of documents. Maybe even their employment contract, they can have their own file that only they and you have access to. So there's the beauty that you can limit access to those files, but those files are live. So if I want to create a standard operating procedure and I want to update it, when I update it, everybody sees the most updated document. You can give them editing rights, but you can also give them just view rights. So they can just view the document. Obviously, there's also things like Dropbox, uh, was it iCloud? So there's lots of different versions of that that are available. But I really like Google Drive. Have to say, I'm a bit of a convert now.

SPEAKER_03 29:58

Yeah, I don't know. I agree with you on that.

SPEAKER_01 30:00

And look, everybody's got a Gmail account, and if they don't, you can easily create them. So if you wanted to create them, like I have a Google Workspace, which I think cost me about$250 Australian a year. But if you want to invite somebody to use your or access your Google Drive, just it's ideal if they've got a Gmail account. So you could set them up for your staff. We actually did. We had service one, service two, admin accounts. Everybody had a um a a different one at uh like it was with our business name in it and then at gmail.com. So it was only a Gmail account, a free one, and worked really well. So if they were part of our Google space, like our admin now accounts, our service, they were part of the Google workspace, but our service technician um access um email addresses weren't because the more you have, the more you have to pay for. So they didn't need an actual full um access to the workspace, they just needed to be able to access those documents. So little free email address worked really well. Um then, of course, we have one that I do love when it comes to training is Loom. So Loom is an app that you can get on your phone. It's also a software program you can download to your computer. It is free up to a certain size or certain length of videos, but you can actually do training videos and save them in your Loom account. You can give access to other people to watch them, to see them. You can download them and save them to your Google Drive so that you've got them forever. But yeah, Loom is a fantastic video software program that allows you to share. You can edit within it too. So that's a really handy one when it comes to sharing information and training in particular. I even did videos of because it allows you to actually record your computer screen. So you can either use it to record what's going on around you or yourself, or you can actually use it to record your computer screen. So fantastic for training a new staff member, maybe on how to start up a new account for a client, how to load them into your water software program, how to schedule a marketing campaign in your digital marketing software program. Things like that. I actually used to make ones for myself for the good old things that you don't do very often. And maybe you do them once or twice a year and you forget how to do them. This is fantastic. So I'd I've watched a video that'd say, Hi, I'm making this video for myself so that I remember how to do X, Y, and Z.

SPEAKER_03 32:50

We all need reminders of that feeling. Was this around the time when you purchased that little box as well that would do these funny sounds or digital things on the screen? Do you remember?

SPEAKER_01 33:07

Uh no, you're talking about my Stream Deck. No, I use my Stream Deck for um my virtual presentations when I'm delivering training. So yeah, quite quite a different, quite a different thing. But no, Loom, it was something I've been using for about five or six years now. It's been a game changer. Great for um recording processes and procedures and documenting them for your staff. Because let's face it, we don't want to reindent the wheel every time we have to train somebody new. Or when somebody says, How do I do this? You can just hand them a list of your Loom videos, or you can go to the Google Drive, look in the Loom file, or wherever it is that you keep it. There's a video in there for you to watch. You don't have to teach them anymore. And then after a while, they get used to, hey, that's where all the source of information is. Let's just go there and have a look and see if there's a video on how to do this.

SPEAKER_03 34:05

To be fair, I think a lot of people are more visual learners rather than reading it from a piece of paper. Um that piece of paper will probably end up getting lost in the next six months as well. Um, but actually having that as a video, you know, access to it on your phone, you can refer back to it anytime. I think it's a much better idea.

SPEAKER_01 34:29

Oh, completely. And the fact that you can like it's always there, it's always accessible, and you can see the screen. Like, especially if you're talking about software program or loading in a new client or creating a new job booking, it's like if you were reading on a piece of paper, click on the menu. Well, where's the menu? What does the menu look like? Is it the three lines? Is it the three dots? Is it the word menu? Is it on the left? Is it on the right? Nobody tells you that stuff. So actually having it on the screen where you can actually follow the cursor. Oh, there's menu. That's what it's meant to look like. Yeah, that's where I put that information makes it so much easier. So Loom. Lou is a great one. And of course, talking about stuff, training and information, uh, there's lots of apps around work health and safety and that onboarding process or the ongoing training process. So things like hazard co and safety culture are two that come to mind that I'm aware of. You can actually create your safe work method statements within those programs. You can create some work health and safety policies and procedures within those programs, and then it's something that you can have your staff do periodically to make sure that you're meeting your work health and safety obligations. So there's some really good ones there too.

SPEAKER_03 36:00

And this is also in New Zealand as well, Lee. I remember we had a conversation about this last year, and I completely forgot by doubt.

SPEAKER_01 36:08

You need to put it on your 2026 list, absolutely. Work health and safety is really important. And if we can streamline it, especially in half that if we can streamline it, if we can simplify it, if we can make it automatic so that every month or every quarter, however frequently you schedule it, there's a reminder that goes to that staff member. Um, and I know again, one of my sons, or both of my sons actually are apprentices, as I've mentioned before, they both of their companies use those apps. And so there'll be updates that come through from them that say, hey, you need to jump on and do this training. And it just keeps it current and it's documented. It's it's dated. The responsibility is then that the employees to actually jump in and to complete it and to get ticked off. One that or actually, these are two to do with our service side of things, so guys out on the road. One that I absolutely love, because we all love to save money, is petrol spy. Do you have that in New Zealand Shane?

SPEAKER_03 37:20

No, not I'm aware of. I did put it into Google, and um the New Zealand version is Gas P T A S P Y. Basically, it's an app for Android, Android or iPhone, and it tells you where the cheapest fuel is in your area. Oh, yeah, very handy.

SPEAKER_01 37:40

Yeah, well, Petrospi, I think you can even tell it what fuel you use. So whether you use diesel or unleaded and all of those types of things, you put the different levels of fuel in there, and it will then give you just the fuel price for the fuel that you actually want. And within your area, and you can zoom in, zoom out to make your area bigger or smaller so that you know that you're getting the fuel at the cheapest possible price. That's a really handy one to save a few dollars. Whether your staff will use it, I don't know. Because they're spending your money. Are they going to be so inclined? We would like to think so. And the other one I love is like we all use Google Maps or um Apple Maps, but um Waze, WAZ. But what I love about it is it's really accurate because it's oh, I find it's really accurate. It's updated by the users on the road constantly, and it's really easy to make that update. They tell you where the police cameras are, where the speed cameras are, whether there's an accident or a road blockage or that sort of thing. So that's that's a really um good one to keep up to date with traffic conditions and hazards. So that's Waze W-A-Z-E. But that's really it for those apps. But one more I have come across that has really helped me spend or reduce the time I spend on this thing. And I'm waving my mobile phone at the camera for those who are listening, and that is doom scrolling. I think that's what they call it, doom scrolling, death scrolling.

SPEAKER_03 39:19

Where you get Leah has a problem, everybody. And she's talking about it. This is the first step.

SPEAKER_01 39:28

Yes, yes, I'm admitting that I have a problem. That's the first step in recovery, isn't it? So um I think we're all guilty of it. We pick up our phones, we just think, oh, we're just going to do this, or I'm just gonna look for this, and next minute, an hour has gone by. And you go, what have I done with my time? So this app is called Opal. O P A L. Yes, it is it does have different levels, so you can pay for it, or you can use the free one, and you can lock out apps, different apps at different times of the day. So I do actually lock out during work hours, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, they're the main ones that I use really. And then overnight time I lock out my workouts so that work is not interfering with home life and the personal life of social media is not interrupting with work life. So and you're about that on the tiny, isn't it? If you can circumvent it, you actually have to like jailbreak it, like you ask for a break. But it rewards you if you've had a winning streak. So that's good. So just something that really helps. And I've I have actually found I am less inclined to pick my phone up now because I know I'm locked down. So it's good. And I know my window of opportunity to do social media is actually between seven and eight in the morning because that's my window of opportunity before I lock into work time and up until I'm in sleep mode or supposed to be in sleep mode. And then of an evening, I think it's about the same, it's between six and eight. So there at because after eight o'clock I then go into wind down time. So yeah, there's really some benefits that can come from it. Stops the habit. That's what I'm trying to break that bad habit. I'm sure I'm not.

SPEAKER_03 41:23

We have all got our habits, Lee. Yeah, yeah. It's it's hard to break them. I was thinking about it the other day, actually. Like when I was in hospitality before I moved into this industry, the habit was cigarettes and alcohol. And it seems to be a very popular thing in hospitality. Yeah. Moved from hospitality into this industry, now it's sugar and caffeine. Like, I don't know which one's worse.

SPEAKER_01 41:49

Yes. Yeah, we've got our vices. Absolutely. So I hope those um apps and digital programs can help make your lives a little easier, listeners. If you've got some that you'd like to share with us, we'd love to hear them so that we can share them with our wider audience. And yeah, hopefully you found some helpful tips in there somewhere. Remember, if you have anything that you would like us to discuss, any topics, any questions, please drop us a line at talkingpools at gmail.com and Rudy will serve that out to the most appropriate Talking Pools podcast host group. Thank you for listening. We thank you for joining us. We really appreciate your listening ears. We hope you have a great week ahead, and we hope that you will join us next Monday for Mondays down under on the Talking Pools podcast. Thanks for joining us. Thanks, Shane.

SPEAKER_03 42:46

Dear Lady Ling. I'm off the Doom Scroll. Bye, guys.