From the Signage Desk: Spike Solves Weather Woes

28 February 2017

Whether you’re bearing the depths of winter or sweating out the summer months, Spike is a handy tool for dealing with less-than-ideal weather conditions. Living in Colorado, I conducted plenty of site surveys in single-digit temperatures with a giant blanket of snow and ice covering the ground. I’d bundle up and trudge through the snow while trying to manage my tape measure in the wind that often comes with cold weather. As you can imagine, not only did those adverse weather conditions add time to my site surveys and hurt my accuracy but they also didn’t make for a fun working environment.

However, site surveys during the winter months became a painless process once I incorporated Spike. In fact, I didn’t even have to leave my Jeep to capture the measurements I needed. All I had to do was pull up to the building, roll down my window and take a Spike picture. I stayed in the comfort of my heated Jeep and was ready to move on to my next site survey in a matter of minutes.

Tip: Remember to try and get as perpendicular to the building as you can when sitting in your vehicle, which is the same if you were standing outside. This is very important when it comes to the accuracy of your Spike measurements.

On top of that, once I had captured my Spike photo, I could take all of my measurements when I was back at my office. While I could measure using the Spike mobile app on my iPad, I often preferred to take all the measurements using the Spike Cloud on my laptop, which was much more comfortable than using my tape measure in the cold and jotting notes on a piece of paper.

These quick winter site surveys are even helpful from a customer service perspective. In one instance, a client came outside in freezing weather to meet me. She was shivering, so I told her she could go inside, and I’d meet her after I took my Spike photo. Sure, Spike considerably speeds up the surveying process, but she appreciated staying in the warm indoors. I like to think Spike made me look like the hero.

Even in hot weather, Spike’s speedy measuring makes the survey life more comfortable and helps project a professional image. Like the winter months, I would quickly take my measurements during the summer from my air-conditioned Jeep, and I wouldn’t have to worry about turning into a sweaty mess when my day was filled with sales calls.

Tip: Keep in mind, heavy rain, snow or fog can affect the Spike laser because it could reflect off a piece of snow or fog and miss the space you’re measuring. When the laser distance number jumps around, something is obstructing the laser.

If you have any other questions about how to leverage Spike in inclement weather situations or would like to share your Spike weather stories, please get in touch. You can reach me at [email protected].

About Glenn Chambers

Glenn Chambers, business development manager for ikeGPS, is a 15-year signage industry veteran. Prior to joining ikeGPS, Glenn was an enthusiastic Spike user.

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