When the chief executive officer for Chesterfield-based Brinkmann Constructors went searching for an iPad application for his company, he was floored by the cost — $70,000 or more.

So Robert G. "Bob" Brinkmann decided last spring to develop his own job-site app.

The result is what his company calls the Construction Superintendent-Journeyman app, and it is being offered to other small- to medium-sized construction businesses at a cost of about $300.

The key, Brinkmann said, was designing an application that eliminated some of the extras being offered to large construction contractors.

"There just wasn't anything out there for a company of our (smaller) size," he said. "So we developed something that fits our needs and can be economically customized to each individual project."

Brinkmann turned to his friend Bryan C. Baehr, president of Chesterfield-based Impact Technologies Inc., to develop the software and technology for the app.

"Too many times, we had project managers who couldn't get out in the field enough," Brinkmann said. "They were tied to their desks, and even their laptops were too bulky to carry to many of the project sites."

Baehr came up with an easy-to-use app for the iPad that Brinkmann's superintendents now routinely carry with them. The app was developed through Construction Centrics LLC, a joint venture of the principals in Brinkmann Constructors and Impact Technologies.

The app is being sold for $299.99, plus the cost of an iPad and a rugged case to withstand job-site rigors. It replaces the old hand-written or dictated job-site reports with electronically submitted forms that can be easily customized and personalized.

The app's main features are its daily log, safety inspection report, work authorization, request for information and time sheets. The app also can be used to set up rosters of vendors and contractors, equipment lists and project personnel and it can speed up reports and related information, integrating data that formerly was stored in multiple places.

Baehr said that through trial and error and tweaking the application, a seventh version of the Construction Superintendent-Journeyman app is now being sold. Brinkmann began using the first version of the app in July, and the updates have been added since then.

Brinkmann said the app had been field-tested by his employees and several engineering students at Missouri University of Science and Technology at Rolla, Brinkmann's alma mater when it was known as the University of Missouri-Rolla.

Brinkmann Constructors donated several iPads and the early versions of the app to the Rolla campus to be used in construction cost-management classes.

"We gave them the iPads and the app and just waited for the responses," he said of the students. "Their feedback was very helpful. And we're at the very, very beginning of this. There are things out there that nobody's even thought of yet."

Brinkmann said his company had seen major upgrades in reporting of job-site progress and problems since his superintendents began taking the iPads and new app into the field.

"For example, safety inspections typically were done once weekly. They're usually out there every day now doing inspections," Brinkmann said. "It's a great method of getting information from the field to the office quickly."

"They can be in the field seeing things and making entries all the time," Baehr added. "The iPads are light enough to take with you everywhere."

Brinkmann said one of his superintendents had told him the iPad app 'saves 60 percent of my time making reports."

Ted Hoog, project manager for Brinkmann Constructors, said the new app had been a blessing.

"You want to know what's coming or going on your job site as soon as you can," Hoog said. "There are several costly project management software systems that offer this kind of reporting, but none are available at this low price point. And we've built this app with a robust foundation for future expansion."

Brinkmann said he was more than pleased with the app.

"We place heavy demands on our superintendents, such as finishing a series of $1.5 million surgery centers in 90 days each," he said. "This app keeps communication between our field and office teams in sync with schedule demands and gives superintendents the tools needed to perform like heroes."

The Construction Superintendent-Journeyman app is sold online. It is compatible with iPads operating with iOS 4.3 or later.