How Electronic Forms Can Assist with Your Daily Activities

Electronic forms and paperless inspection solutions are the next step for field technicians and inspectors. Following the transport and logistics industry, which moved to electronic forms and mobile devices last decade, it is now the field technician's turn.

How can you justify spending corporate money and time on a system that automates inspections? One response is that the first aspect to consider when justifying the spend is the "intangible" benefits that assist with daily activities. The second aspect addresses management and budget considerations using a simple rule of thumb to conservatively estimate and measure tangible benefits. The same software solution can address a myriad of issues and business processes within your organisation, including safety audits of fall protection equipment, lifting and rigging, cranes, OHS, fire protection, HVAC, property audits, and pre-purchase inspections.

The same paperless inspection platform that handles a safety audit can also manage property inspections, pre-purchase reviews, and compliance monitoring - eliminating multiple paper-based systems in one step.

Five Ways Electronic Forms Transform Daily Operations

Simplify Daily Activities

If done correctly, automating inspections can dramatically simplify daily processes and speed up tasks compared with paper-based data collection. For example, using barcodes or RFID tags can expedite daily routines with minimal effort and simple setup. Using features such as "quick pass," which records the results of your visual inspections with literally one click, is another way to improve inspection efficiencies. Using speech-to-text capabilities to convert speech to text and reports is another way to save time while recording inspection results in the field.

Compliance with Standards and Regulations

Electronic paperless inspections can be based on pre-defined checklists that reference standards and guidelines, ensuring that all required information is easily accessible. Some users of paperless systems integrate a variety of standards such as Australian Standards, BCA, and OSHA Construction Safety, which link their inspection findings with the appropriate regulations. Electronic references to such requirements save an enormous amount of time and ensure that reporting is timely and accurate.

Guarantee Activities are Performed On Schedule

Paper-based activities require significant time investment or administrative assistance to ensure they are performed on time. Paperless inspection software can automatically send reminders and alerts, ensuring that you are informed when inspections are due and alerted when they become overdue or corrective action is required.

Improve Management Reporting, Forecasts, and Trends Analysis

Many organisations require their safety teams to produce periodic management summaries regarding their inspections and deficiencies, usually accompanied with graphs or charts. Properly implemented electronic inspection software can produce such reports periodically or upon request, allowing managers to focus on the content of the reports instead of the process of compiling them.

Supports BYOD, CYOB, and COPE Implementations

Automating inspections usually includes a number of tools that enable electronic data collection, such as iPads, tablets, or mobile phones. Supporting industry-standard devices and allowing customers to use their own devices can significantly reduce the overall implementation costs of an inspection management system.