SolarCleaningBossPro Blog — Tech App

Panel Count, Mount, Stories, Pitch and Extras: Reading Every Job Card in the Solar Cleaning App

Two solar jobs at the same price can be completely different days. Twenty panels on a one-story ranch with a low-pitch roof is a quick stop. Twenty panels on a three-story house with a steep roof is a careful one. The job card in SolarCleaningBossPro tells the tech which kind of stop is next before they ever pull up.

One Line Under the Address

Getting to the stop is covered in The Navigation Button in the Solar Cleaning App: One Tap to the Next Driveway. Once the tech is there, or better yet while they are still at the last stop, they read the card.

Under the address, the panel details show as one short line, for example: “24 panels · Roof · 2-story · Low pitch · Bird proofing.” The same line shows on the office lists, so the office and the tech are reading the same thing. These details are entered once on the job and show on every visit after.

Panel Count

The number of panels is the size of the job. It tells the tech roughly how long the stop will take and how much water they will run through the pure-water system. It is also the tech's checklist. If the card says 32 panels and the tech counts 24 on the main roof, there is another array somewhere, maybe over the garage or on the back side of the house. That idea gets its own guide later in this series.

If the count on the card is wrong, the tech should write the real count in the job notes so the office can fix the job and the pricing.

Mount: Roof, Ground Mount or Carport

The mount tells the tech how they will reach the panels:

• Roof means ladders, fall protection and roof access. Stories and pitch matter.
• Ground mount usually means working from the ground with a water-fed pole and soft brush. Watch for tall grass, uneven ground and wiring.
• Carport means height without a roof to stand on. Plan for poles, and check for parked cars underneath before any water starts dripping.

Stories and Pitch

Roof stories are shown as 1-story, 2-story or 3+ story. Pitch is low, steep or flat roof. Together they tell the tech which ladder to pull, what fall protection to set up, and whether the job can be done from the ladder or the ground with a pole.

They also tell the tech how weather will affect the stop. A 3+ story steep roof is the first job to skip when the wind picks up. A flat commercial roof is easier to walk but may have its own access rules, like a roof hatch or a building escort. Roof safety habits are covered in Roof Safety Habits for Solar Cleaning Techs, and Where the App Fits In.

Extras

Extras are the work sold on top of the wash:

• Bird proofing — mesh or barriers to keep birds from nesting under the panels.
• Critter guards — guards to keep squirrels and other animals out from under the array.
• Inspection — a look at the array for damage, loose wiring or debris that the customer asked to have checked.

If an extra is on the card, it was sold and priced, and the customer expects it. If it is not on the card, it was not sold, and the tech should not do it for free. When the tech sees a need, like pigeons moving in under an array that has no bird proofing, the right move is a note and photos for the office, which can send a quote.

Access Notes Below the Details

Under the panel details are the access notes: where the spigot is, which side of the house to go up, the gate code and whether there is a dog. Panel details tell the tech what the job is. Access notes tell them how to get to it. Both are written once and reused on every visit.

Why Every Card Should Be Complete

A card with only an address forces the tech to figure out the job on site, call the office, or guess. A card with the panel count, mount, stories, pitch, extras and access notes lets any tech run any stop, including one they have never seen. It is also what keeps paid extras from being forgotten and unpaid extras from being given away. For the full list of what the tech sees on the phone, visit the SolarCleaningBossPro solar cleaning app page.