Digitalising inspection management services with SaaS – benefits

In 2022 regulators have plenty of opportunities to improve and grow by transforming their operations with digitalised inspection platform. One of the digital transformation strategies on the radar of the public sector is the use of SaaS. The benefits of digitalisation are promising, and it’s no surprise that Gartner forecasts worldwide government IT spending to total $565.7 billion in 2022. This is a 5% increase from 2021. That makes us have a closer look at the prospects of inspection software platforms delivered as a SaaS model.

Digital transformation, especially for regulators with on-site inspection management processes, can improve efficiency and help regulators meet times of uncertainty.

When we speak to our future clients about the opportunities to transform their operations with inspection software, we ensure they remember that digital transformation should be perceived as a process. Often that requires a modular approach to achieve sustainable digital transformation impact. The digitalisation of inspections changes not only the work of inspectors but also the work of other actors in the regulatory inspection processes. A digitalised inspection platform can create many opportunities for cost-optimisation and productivity improvements if implemented right.

That sounds great, and it’s the dream goal of many regulators, but it is also a challenge. We help regulators achieve this goal with a good modular strategy and new technologies like AI-enhanced job scheduling, IoT technologies, machine learning, remote inspection technologies, and automated risk assessment.

Related: How a regulatory agency can cut costs in 2022?

A regulator about to start a digital transformation journey may look like somebody standing in front of a wall with technologies and strategies. Canalix helps regulators bundle the right technologies and priorities into a digital inspection platform where they all tie together. The method may be designed to allow the integration of different modules one by one. That is made possible by the cloud-based inspection software model, a.k.a SaaS (software-as-a-service).

Because inspections in different regulatory areas are complex, lack of integration opportunities is a common issue in inspection software service providers. A digitalised inspection platform designed for regulators is what can deliver the right integration opportunity that would eliminate this issue and provide good data analytics opportunities for swift decision-making.

Case study: Reduce operational costs with inspection scheduling software

Read it to understand:

    • The advantages of modular digital transformation
    • The vital architectural practices and technologies that enable modular transformation
    • How a regulatory agency in the UK is benefitting from a modular approach with Canalix.

Download now.

A snapshot from the practice:

Many inspection team leaders are oriented toward transforming their inspection management system into paperless. That makes them ask for a solution that would enable them to digitise their inspection forms and automate inspection report generation in a format that would be easy to understand and act on. These types of solutions are usually considered quick fixes. After some discussions with inspection team leaders, they realise that the quick fix can lead to new efficiency opportunities. That is where our SaaS inspection software shows them the competitive advantage they could achieve by transforming their inspection management system by using SaaS as an inspection platform.

Ask us more about Canalix, a SaaS digital inspection platform for regulators:

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How to transform on-site inspections into self-inspections?

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Governments lean heavily on regulators to ensure public safety, but also to optimise operational costs in times of uncertainty. As a result of travel restrictions throughout the global pandemic, some regulators started embracing self-inspection programs. Regulators that operated with self-inspection software were able to continue inspecting even when there were strict travel restrictions. Since self-inspections proved to perform well in times of uncertainty, regulators started treating their inclusion in the inspection programs as a long-term optimisation strategy that could solve problems beyond the pandemic.

The Canalix customers that use our inspection management software with self-inspection module are more efficient and agile and report a cost reduction effect.

What is a self-inspection program?

A regulator usually adopts a self-inspection program for inspectees with a good track record of compliance and a low-risk level for potential hazards. Those entities can perform inspection checks by themselves while the regulator maintains complete visibility over the inspection procedures and controls their standard. The results are optimised costs, better resource scheduling and agility.

Resource optimization and business scheduling software

CASE STUDY: How a regulatory agency cut costs with resource scheduling software?
          • reducing the scheduling time with up to 75%
          • increasing efficiency of operations with 40%
          • fully eliminating errors in the resource allocation process.
Download the case study.

 

Canalix helps regulators adopt remote inspection and self-inspection programs. Self-service inspections are usually conducted by the inspectee. Still, the regulator regains complete visibility over the inspection check’s execution, ensuring that the collected inspection data is valid and the compliance standards are not violated. Generally, self-inspections are executed with a pre-determined frequency, calibrated based on predictive and prescriptive analytics used to assess risk, and as part of cost-optimisation and efficiency improvement strategies.

Related: How do self-inspections improve the regulatory environment?

The benefits of self-inspection software

1. Self-service portals help organisations cut costs, and so do self-inspections

Inspectees with a history of maintaining consistent compliance with safety standards are logically the first cases that can transition to a regulatory self-inspection program. These entities are easy to trust, and that’s why regulators can save the costs of sending a ground crew on-site and transform the process into self-service based inspections.

Many Canalix clients who used the inspection management software report that implementing self-inspections helped them free up resources to work on more complex work at higher risk.

2. Self-inspection programs remain active even when operations get disrupted.

In 2022 regulators have to deal with uncertainties more than ever – global pandemics, budget cuts, and resource shortages. Flexibility is the key to resilience. Many regulators are adopting self-inspections as a tool to employ flexibility in their battle with uncertainties. A robust self-inspection program would help regulators reduce dependence on outside parties to conduct inspections.

This type of flexibility will be precious when disruption occurs and when times are back to normal because the self-inspection programs help regulators continually save costs. 

3. Self-inspections boost productivity, improves collaboration and reduce risk

By creating a culture of continuous improvement, self-inspection changes the overall mindset from policing to accountability. Self-service inspections empower inspectees to take control of their processes and maintain effective collaboration with regulators simultaneously. Advanced digital inspection software facilitates cooperation between regulators and inspectees because of the centralised source of data that makes the self-inspection process visible to the regulator. While the inspection teams are saving time from going on-site, they can use that time to regularly review the self-inspection data and analyse reports to make informed decisions to improve efficiency.  

self-inspections

How to implement self-inspection technology for your organisation?

1. Set communication channels

Suppose a regulator implements a self-inspection program for the first time. They need to know who will perform the self-inspection and what should happen if an issue emerges. The self-inspection program is more likely to succeed than fail when the communication is good. 

2. Prioritise real-time data collection through mobile devices.

Accurate self-inspection data quality = improved inspection management. One of the perks of using inspection management software to perform self-inspections is the availability of real-time data. Regulators must prioritise collecting real-time data such as photos and videos during self-inspection with a tablet or mobile phone because this will enable inspectors to verify the accuracy of data and extract more value from it.

4. Establish precise inspection KPIs and track their progress

For inspection team leaders in regulatory agencies is essential to track the KPIs of inspection performance. Those are the metrics that allow managers to track the performance of inspection teams and check whether the pre-defined objectives are met. Inspection KPIs are the indicators that define the success of the self-inspection process. By tracking their values, team leaders can assess whether the self-service inspection program is working well or if something needs to be changed to meet the regulator’s goals in terms of costs and performance. When regulators have constant access to data, they can quickly adapt their self-inspections to become more efficient.

Related: The essential KPIs for inspection management and self-inspections.

Why your organisation needs a digital self-inspection software?

  • Regulators can transform any inspection type into self-inspection and not lose visibility over the process.
  • The inspection software is configurable, which means that workflows can be configured and automated to guarantee the standardisation of self-inspections and, therefore, inspection data will be reliable.
  • Regulators can gain to save operational time and analyse large amounts of data from self-inspections. That way, they can manage future risks before they become critical.
  • With remote inspection software, regulators can adopt a flexible approach in times of disruptions and keep operations intact.
  • It helps regulators solve one of the most reported issues in the inspection management cycle, including communication, collaboration, resource scheduling conflicts, and data-driven decision making instead of subjective assumptions.

Related: How is field-service tech vital for public sector regulators?

Canalix helps regulators improve resource utilisation and optimise inspection performance from a distance. The centralised inspection platform supplies leaders with real-time data that serve as building blocks for better decisions. Inspectees and inspectors are empowered with the tools to turn their relationship into a collaborative partnership. The end goal is consistently to increase productivity and reduce operational costs. Try it now.

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How do self-inspections improve the regulatory environment in 2022?

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In 2022 regulators have to deal with uncertainties more than ever – global pandemics, budget cuts, and resource shortages. Flexibility is the key to overcoming the increasing uncertainties. Many regulators are adopting self-inspections within their inspection programs and policies as a tool to employ flexibility in their battle with uncertainties.

What are regulatory self-inspections?

A regulator usually adopts a self-inspection program for inspectees with a good track record of compliance and a low-risk level for potential hazards. Those entities can perform inspection checks by themselves while the regulator maintains complete visibility over the inspection procedures and controls their standard. The results are optimised costs, better resource scheduling and agility.

How do self-inspection add value?

Canalix helps regulators adopt remote inspection and self-inspection programs. The regulators benefit from self-inspection innovations by saving time in the travelled distance and optimising the costs of inspections. The inspected entities benefit from speedy processing of inspection checks and resolving issues that need fast resolution. But there may be many other reasons that turn regulators’ sight towards remote inspections. Below we’ll list 6 of them.

Why are self-inspections the future?

 

1. Self-inspections help government agencies cut costs

Regulators and other government agencies can significantly reduce operational costs by adopting self-inspections. The adoption of self-inspection solutions by Canalix customers is usually associated with an average of 40% improvements in efficiency connected with reduced manual work, faster resource scheduling, and better resource utilisation that ensures that inspectors are always focused on the work that matter the most.

Related: How government agencies can reduce costs in 2022?

Canalix is an inspection management software that works as a modular platform. It can be adopted in a sequenced way – each module at a different stage, by following the tactical goal to identify the area of operations that can be transformed first to achieve the most significant optimisation result. Then by adopting other modules, the digital transformation can scale and therefore, a further modification of processes be performed. Since the inspection software modules are in the cloud, Canalix provides a service model that enables government agencies to remove inefficient or manual processes and speed up the delivery of inspections.

2. Better allocation of costly resources

Canalix, as a self-inspection platform, gives apprehensive visibility to regulators of the pending inspections with the highest risk. The AI engine automatically calculates the risk score of the low-risk inspections and triggers a self-inspection workflow for them. At the same time, costly resources like inspectors can be allocated to the jobs that matter the most, e.g. with the highest risk score. This inspection management mechanism improves resource allocation and helps high-risk inspectees enhance their compliance and safety standards, and low-risk inspectees receive significant autonomy.

Related: Where do remote inspections and resource optimisation meet?

3. Predictive risk

Regulators can monitor repeat occurrences for the same risks and point our areas to inspectees who need special attention to prevent future hazards. This improves efficiency because regulators don’t have to investigate for problems but know where the risk is by looking at the self-inspection data and pointing it out to the inspectee to mitigate it.

4. Improved inspection data quality = improved inspection management

One of the perks of using inspection management software to perform self-inspections is the availability of real-time data. When inspectors receive their data digitally, the quality of data is better; therefore, monitoring risks and tracking inspection performance enable inspection teams to handle potential threats and improve safety more efficiently.

self inspections

Related: Why real-time data is important for inspection management?

5. Stronger collaboration

Real-time data also empowers regulators and inspectees to collaborate more efficiently during self-inspections. The Canalix clients from the regulatory sector report that self-inspection collaboration via the inspection management platform reduces the time needed to complete actions during inspections. That enables inspection teams to move on to the following tasks in their to-do list faster than before.

6. Self-inspection software implementation is easier than ever

Canalix is a modular inspection platform, so it’s easy to adopt the self-service inspections by integrating it into an existing inspection management system. In contrast, adopting a self-inspection procedure was a challenging and time-consuming initiative just a decade ago. There’s the technology and opportunity to implement self-inspection programs quickly and effectively. 

Case study: Reduce operational costs with inspection scheduling software

Read it to understand:

    • The advantages of modular digital transformation
    • The vital architectural practices and technologies that enable modular transformation
    • How a regulatory agency in the UK is benefitting from a modular approach with Canalix.

Download now.

How can Canalix help you with self-inspection software implementation?

Canalix puts the power of an advanced AI engine in the hands of regulators who wish to implement our self-inspection module. With this technology, regulators enable their inspectees to mitigate risks before they emerge. Aside from the efficiency benefits, this digitised inspection process grants significant cost-optimisation benefits for the regulators and empowers their inspectees to predict potential problems.

Contact us to learn how our self-inspection software can be integrated into your inspection case management system.

Read also: How to improve the engagement level of self-inspections?

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5 Benefits Of Using Digital Inspection Software In 2023

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The global pandemic raised many questions about which sectors of the economy are essential and non-essential. It made people reevaluate the importance of some industries over others. As a result, governments finally started addressing the need for digital transformation in overlooked areas such as inspections.

Resource optimization and business scheduling software

CASE STUDY: How a regulatory agency cut costs with resource scheduling software?
          • reducing the scheduling time with up to 75%
          • increasing efficiency of operations with 40%
          • fully eliminating errors in the resource allocation process.
Download the case study.

 

Inspection management operations are taking a significant percentage of the annual spending of government agencies. At the same time, it’s a process that is crucial to keeping the public health and safety. That’s why we’re witnessing rising demand for inspection management solutions. So here comes the burning question: what problems are being solved with such tools? What are the benefits that inspection management platforms bring to the regulatory agencies?

Related: How Route Optimisation Software Can Reduce the Costs of Inspections?

  1. Less manual work with automated AI inspection software

The daily inspection management process meets a lot of challenges. They usually impact efficiency in the regulators’ offices. Good digital transformation solutions can optimise the entire end-to-end inspection process by providing digital infrastructure for its execution. 

Canalix is a digital inspection platform that transforms inspection management with automation and AI optimisation. These technologies ensure optimised delivery of service that helps regulators cut costs and boost productivity.

2. Fast inspection performance

The data-driven automation in inspections brings a whole pie of benefits. One of these benefits is the speeding up of operations. Everything happens faster by using digital infrastructure for inspection planning, scheduling, execution, and reporting. The real-time electronic interaction between different cases and involved parties drives action for seconds. Without using inspection software, these interactions could take from days to weeks because of the complexity of regulatory case management. But with proper inspection software, this period can be reduced to just a few clicks of the mouse.

3. Improved inspection compliance

Regulations are constantly being updated. Sometimes changes in rules may cause time-consuming restructuring of the inspection management process. A good digital inspection platform can adopt new compliance rules for seconds and then apply them in the whole work process. Automation saves hundreds of hours of manual implementation that is always accompanied by human errors. The use of inspection software can optimise the transition between new regulations and their enforcement and eliminate possible mistakes.

Related: How AI Is Changing The Game For Inspection Software?

4. Transparency and Public Trust

The cloud-based digital inspection platform can ensure real-time access to inspection reports. That allows faster delivery of the inspection results to the interested parties. On the one hand, it improves transparency, and on the other hand, this helps maintain public trust, especially when we talk about government case management.

5. Remote Access To Inspection Services

In challenging times of social distance, digital platforms for inspection management services have a significant role in maintaining this process alive. It means that regulatory enforcement activity in risky places like social care institutions should be transformed with compliance with the social distance rules. That is where remote inspection software and self-inspection solutions can help regulators do their work and comply with the new normal’s social distance rules.

Related: Why self-service inspections are important?

There are many levels in the structure of the inspection management process. Good software will support every level of it. Canalix is designed to meet the needs of companies focused on inspection driven regulatory enforcement. If you’re looking for a specific business optimisation solution that addresses the needs of the inspection process, contact us now.

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Make inspections risk-informed with risk based inspection software

The effective management of the ever-evolving risks during inspecting is vital for the safety and efficiency of regulatory inspections. Having a risk-based inspection program is one of the keys for regulators to achieve and maintain optimal inspection performance. 

Risk-based inspections are inspection management procedures with risk assessment focused on risk factors that determine what kind of inspection plan should be approached. Regulators that use Canalix’s inspection management software successfully use the platform’s capabilities for risk assessment to prioritise critical inspections that need an inspector’s visit over low-risk cases that can be performed with self-inspection procedure or remote inspection.

Case study: Reduce operational costs with inspection scheduling software

Read it to understand:

    • The advantages of modular digital transformation
    • The vital architectural practices and technologies that enable modular transformation
    • How a regulatory agency in the UK is benefitting from a modular approach with Canalix.

Download now.

The advantages of risk based inspection software

Technically the risk-based inspection methodology transforms various inspection management processes – inspecting, inspection scheduling, evidence submission, data analysis. The goal is to prioritise inspections with the highest risk. The AI engine of Canalix makes all of the required calculations and automatically make the most optimal schedules. Risk-based inspections can be applied to all types of on-site/field checks regulators need to perform. Transforming standard inspection procedures into risk-based inspection programs is worth considering because the latter effectively reduces risks and guarantees public safety.

risk based inspection software

Why using a risk-based inspection software is essential for regulators?

Some of the big reasons why regulators should orient towards the implementation of risk-based inspection programs are:

1. Focus on risk factors

Regulators are constantly trying to cover new and high regulatory standards for inspection operations. That requires a particular focus on the risk factors that impact safety. That, on the other hand, affects costs and efficiency. So focusing on risk factors with a risk-based inspection software is considered a tool for overcoming a cluster of challenges that public sector regulators face today.

2. An excellent preventative inspection strategy

When a critical inspection is risk-informed, it can be conducted with greater attention to detail and with a specific protocol that ensures continuous improvement of the safety status of the inspected. Implementing a risk-based inspection procedure integrates well with the inspection software Canalix. The data analysis from completed inspections can provide feedback to the inspection program and improve the preventative strategy.

3. Improving both – public safety and operational efficiency in inspection management

Approaching risk-based inspections contributes to better regulatory practices to ensure public safety. But it also optimises the inspection process of regulators and enables them to realise efficiency in the inspection planning and scheduling, reporting and other activities. Such efficiency impacts the processes’ speed and costs, making operating expenses more focused and the inspector’s time spent only on work that matters.

Try one of the Canalix’ inspection modules now:

Government Case Management Software

Self-Service Portal and Self-submission Solutions.

Resource Scheduling Software.

Read also:

5 inspection scheduling software features that help regulators cut costs

How to approach a KPI-based inspection optimisation program?

Where do remote inspections and resource allocation optimisation intersect?

The essential KPIs for inspection management software

Contact us here:

 

 

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How to approach a KPI-based inspection optimisation program?

As a result of the recent events, regulators are looking more at the costs of regulatory inspections and for ways to optimise them. There are two major approaches for regulators that aim to achieve that:

inspection software

  • Approach #1: They reduce the cost of inspection resources by minimising travel time between inspection jobs or reducing travel for non-critical inspections by adopting remote inspection procedures.
  • Approach #2: They are increasing the value of the inspection outcomes and ensuring that high compliance standards are met, and the inspection process guarantees greater certainty about the condition of the inspected entities. 

The two approaches are both serving inspection optimisation purposes but differently. By focusing on the reducing inspection costs (Approach #1), regulators usually seek to realise immediate impacts on cutting costs. In contrast, the focus on improving the inspection program by increasing compliance standards (Approach #2) enables regulators to realise longer-term value like fewer disruptions in inspection schedules and cost overruns due to re-work and overtime work. 

Regulators aiming to embrace all of these benefits are challenged to gradually transform their operations by adopting different modules at different times that will eventually be integrated into a complete inspection software platform. This process takes time, but usually, specific areas that can be transformed to realise the most benefits are identified at its initial phase.

What else is included in the 1-st phase of transforming the inspection program?

  • Phase 1: Defining inspection performance KPIs

The inspection cycle includes many KPIs. When regulators identify the areas that can be transformed to bring the most benefits quickly, the focus usually falls on KPIs like operational uptime, inspector availability, time spent on travel, or others. When regulators transform their inspection management system with Canalix, we encourage them to set the KPI definition right. 

Read more about the essential KPIs in inspection performance in our most-read blog post here.

What comes after defining the critical inspection performance KPIs?

  • Phase 2: Designing the KPI-based inspection optimisation program

The critical KPIs that will be used to track the success of transforming the inspection management system determine the specific inspection software modules adopted with time. Suppose the goal is to reduce overbooking and overcome the issue of inspector availability. In that case, the design of the optimised inspection program must be focused on adopting regulatory self-submission modules or embracing a self-service portal framework to introduce a self-inspection program to balance the inspectors’ availability.

If the regulator’s specific goals are to reduce travel time and fuel costs, then the optimisation plan must start with an inspection scheduling module.

  • Phase 3: After designing a good inspection optimisation plan, track and measure

Keeping track of the KPIs of the inspection management cycle serves to validate the success of the transformation. This validation can also serve as a feedback loop to identify other improvements and cost reduction opportunities. For that to happen, regulators need reliable digital transformation partners.

In this case study, you’ll see how we helped other regulators transform their inspection programs:
Case study: Reduce operational costs with inspection scheduling software

Read it to understand:

    • The advantages of modular digital transformation
    • The vital architectural practices and technologies that enable modular transformation
    • How a regulatory agency in the UK is benefitting from a modular approach.

Download now.

The digital transformation approach of Canalix to optimise inspections starts with aligning requirements and KPIs (as described above) and then following a modular digital transformation plan.

 The case studies from the regulators we work with in the UK show that our approach delivers consistent outcomes. That’s why we work with confidence when solving the problems of regulatory authorities and other public sector organisations. As you consider a new approach to address the cost of inspections in your regulatory agency, be sure you are working with an inspection software company with the right system to help you achieve your goals.

Contact us here:

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How to achieve better resource planning in government agency?

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How do regulators achieve better resource planning in 2022? Advanced technology, automation, and AI are a solid base for enabling regulatory authorities to unleash their teams’ efficiency by assigning the right inspectors, time, and tools to an inspection job and ensuring that the plan will succeed even if a last-minute change occurs.

Inefficient management of costly resources can cost regulators valuable time and money. That is especially true when regulatory agencies enter a period with an increasing workload while the number of inspectors remains the same. Improving resource management efficiency via inspection software can help regulators take the enormous workload and tackle the potential issues that may come out of poorly managed resource scheduling and planning.

How does resource planning in government agencies look?

Resource planning in a regulatory agency is the process of categorising, scheduling and managing resources such as inspectors that do site visits to conduct inspection checks. The goal that every regulatory agency should have set is to orchestrate this process to guarantee that an inspection will take place at the right time and cost. The use of government resource scheduling software is a way to ensure that the regulator is using the public resources efficiently and productively.

resource planning software

Benefits of resource planning software for inspection team leaders

Inspection team leaders that use resource scheduling software as Jobtimizer report that they managed to improve productivity, inspection performance and cost optimisation thanks to it. Here are some practical examples of how Jobtimizer helped our UK government clients to achieve the goals they had set before contacting us:

They succeeded in improving their inspection tracking system by transforming how they look at their data. Jobtimizer allowed them to make resource planning more visual, and that way, they enabled themselves to start planning inspections better.

They saved time by letting Jobtimizer generate inspection schedules automatically. With the AI engine that considered all types of constraints and rules, inspection team leaders reported that they maximised their inspector’s time on work that matters.

They managed to reduce their carbon footprint by optimising the route planning between inspection jobs. That meant fewer costs spent on fuel and less time spent travelling for all of our clients.

Why the successful digital transformation in regulators starts with resource planning

If you have to plan inspection schedules by turning paper files into excel spreadsheets, you will likely miss opportunities. Making schedules manually on excel files will be a challenge to maximise your time on work that matters. And it will be even more difficult to track if the operational costs are going as per the budget plan because you will lack good visibility on data. These are all real problems that our clients had before adopting Jobtimizer.

By contrast, a few months after using the resource planning system of Jobtimizer, they shared that their team’s workload is better managed, as are also other KPIs.

Related: The essential KPIs of inspection scheduling software

Maximising efficiency with intelligent resource planning

Solely the use of resource planning software doesn’t guarantee that you’ll be able to find the sweet spot between over-allocation and under-allocation of resources. An over-allocation of inspectors leads to overtime and increased costs, while under-allocation means missed opportunities. No leader would like to invest in an inspection optimisation solution to find himself in the two situations mentioned above.

Modularity as the safest road to optimisation

Finding a way to transform inspection management efficiently can challenge regulators that use many tools in their existing inspection management system. But this challenge can be tackled with easy-to-integrate tools that focus on different areas of the inspection process (resource scheduling, data submission, AI complexity scoring, etc.).

modular digital transformationWhy is modularity crucial for your digital transformation strategy in 2022?

Download this whitepaper to understand:

        • The advantages of modular digital transformation
        • The vital architectural practices and technologies that enable modular transformation
        • Migration strategies to minimize disruption for the business and customers
        • How Jobtimizer can help public sector organisations make the transition
        • How a regulatory agency in the UK is benefitting from a modular approach

 

Read it now.

Check out these inspection management tools for your next government digital transformation project step:

  • Regulatory Case Management software will support a lifecycle of ensuring compliance and supporting duty holders from registration, inspections, enforcement, and complaint management.
  • Resource scheduling software – Jobtimizer is a resource management software that optimises schedules and delivers immediate results. Because of the software’s modular nature, it can be easily integrated into an existing system. The benefits it offers: time-saving schedules, efficient resource management, and swift decision-making enable Jobtimizer’s users to have faster results from digital transformation than ever before.
  • Self-submission portals – inspection agencies can give their users more power by enabling them to self-service their inspection requests via intuitive self-submission portals.
    The self-service inspection module of Canalix allows external users to register, initiate inspection case processes, follow their status and interact with the authority around their inspection cases. Also, case information and documentation can be securely shared with external stakeholders such as subject matter experts, interested parties or other authorities.

Adopt a resource planning software for your next inspection

It’s good practice to think about resource planning and resource allocation optimisation even before thinking about digital transformation itself. You can visit our Solutions page and look at our inspection optimisation tools.

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How to reduce rework and downtime for costly resources in inspection management?

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For regulatory agencies, the investment in highly qualified inspectors is perhaps the most valuable. However, this investment may lose some of its value if there are scheduling issues. That’s why many regulators choose to invest also in good inspection software as a solution to optimise operational costs and cut spending caused by frequent rework or downtime in qualified inspectors’ schedules. So there come the question: how to reduce rework for inspectors? And also:

How do downtime impacts operational costs?

How reducing downtime can help regulatory agencies optimise their spending? If your regulatory agency has only one highly qualified inspector with certification in Explosives, it will be more expensive for you to have his schedule filled with time gaps. If, because of the time gaps, the inspector doesn’t spend the entirety of his time on work that matters, catching up at the end of the month will be more expensive and may hurt his productivity. If the efficiency of processes starts suffering because of lousy scheduling, a new inspection check may be required much sooner than planned. So the price of a single inspection check may become more pricey than initially planned.

On the other hand, with a well-built inspection scheduling software ( one that makes optimal schedules with minimum travel time between jobs), the efficiency of the process can be improved, and the necessity for rework and overtime work minimised. That will ultimately lead to lowering operational costs. And last but not least,  by not having to conduct emergency rework and overtime, the regulator can use more opportunities.

resource scheduling software

Simplify the resource scheduling procedures

If the inspection scheduling process has issues, it’s normal not to have expected results. Desk workers can give feedback on the problems they have with inspection scheduling. One of our clients is a national regulator in the UK. They asked for feedback from their workers, and that’s how they realised that the inspection scheduling process requires the automation of repetitive tasks.

After adopting our resource scheduling software Jobtimizer, their scheduling managers sped up their work and reduced the errors in their tasks. Download our case to see how our resource scheduling software Jobtimzier helped a regulator reduce time spend on manual scheduling with up to 75%:

Resource optimization and business scheduling software

CASE STUDY: How a regulatory agency cut costs with resource scheduling software?
          • reducing the scheduling time with up to 75%
          • increasing efficiency of operations with 40%
          • fully eliminating errors in the resource allocation process.
Download the case study.

Follow the compliance standards.

When conducting an inspection check, inspectors must follow compliance standards and measure the risk for future hazards to get an accurate risk score. That is valuable data that may play a significant role in scheduling future inspection checks. If the risk score is low, the follow-up inspection may be scheduled further in time or appointed as a remote inspection. But if the risk score is high, the following inspection check may have to be scheduled sooner.

If the inspector is handling the inspection checks with tons of paper, it’s easy to miss an essential procedure and forget to check a box in the inspection checklists. Our client avoided these issues by using our inspection management platform Canalix and conducting inspection checks with a tablet. By giving inspectors the required tools and system, they can easily follow and maintain high compliance standards.

Faster response on emergency requests

Sometimes an emergency event may require an inspection check earlier than scheduled. In these instances, our tool Jobtimizer triggers automatic scheduling that prioritises the emergency request over other appointed events, and automatically reshuffles the rest of the schedules to avoid conflicts.

Use the right inspection management system

Not every resource management software is a good fit for a regulator. Government agencies have specific needs, and using a particular purpose-built inspection management software is always better than using some generic, customisable solution. The right inspection software can help regulators automate repetitive tasks and record and store data in the right way that can further be used for visualising patterns and other data.

The data collected by inspection management software like Canalix can help you keep track of how many inspection checks were completed for a period of time and observe how your government agency managed to cut costs with time.regulatory case management software

Why Jobtimizer is the right resource scheduling tool for your government agency?

Jobtimizer is a stand-alone module to the Canalix Inspection Management platform. Jobtimizer provides a configurable and extendable AI-based scheduling engine that allows scheduling constraints and business priorities to be defined.

Constraints can be classified as ‘Hard’ where they need to be fulfilled and ‘Soft’ where it’s desirable that these are met, but not a must for a schedule to be viable. The emphasis or importance placed on a soft constraint is defined by providing each constraint with a score. A typical example of a hard constraint is ‘resource availability”, “availability of required equipment”, and “qualifications or skills” required to perform the job. A typical example of a soft constraint would be job priority, FIFO, and total distance across a scheduled work program.

Book a demo here.

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How your government agency can reduce costs in 2022?

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One of the public sector’s biggest struggles today is transforming services and freeing themselves of legacy systems and workflows. Are they winning this battle? And how do they do it?

The digital transformation vision

Government agencies, local government administrations, and other public organisations are bearing big weight when it comes to digital transformation. They have to keep up with the vision of how public services should be delivered while facing constant pressure for reducing costs and do more with less. This challenge, however, is creating opportunities for innovation.

Canalix is helping government agencies to get the advantage of the available innovative solutions. Since the constant pressure for cost optimisation in the public sector is making public sector leaders more interested in adopting platforms as solutions that could address a variety of workflows and services, Canalix is designed to respond to these particular public sector demands. That enables organisations to progress in digitising their processes and keep up with the evolution of technology.

Resource optimization and business scheduling software

CASE STUDY: How a regulatory agency cut costs with resource scheduling software?
          • reducing the scheduling time with up to 75%
          • increasing efficiency of operations with 40%
          • fully eliminating errors in the resource allocation process.
Download the case study.

Why using a cloud platform is better for a government agency?

Government agencies like the regulators can automate and scale operations such as inspection checks on Canalix – a single inspection management platform. Since the platform is modular, it can be adopted in a sequenced way – each module at a different stage; by following the tactical goal to identify the area of operations that can be transformed first to achieve the most significant optimisation result. Then by adopting other modules, the digital transformation can scale and therefore, a further transformation of processes be achieved. Since the inspection software modules are in the cloud, Canalix provides a service model that enables government agencies to remove inefficient or manual processes and speed up the delivery of inspections and work that matters the most. 

The inspection software of Canalix provides dedicated modules for different solutions – regulatory case management software, self-inspection and evidence submission, AI resource scheduling, grant management, automated compliance assessment, inspection marketplace, etc. Furthermore, with the platform’s AI engine, Canalix delegates most of the repetitive tasks to be done automatically by the AI engine. 

Long story short, with Canalix, government agencies can:

  • Gain cloud service
  • Minimise risks and reduce costs
  • Simplify services via self-submission and self-service portals
  • Speed-up inspection delivery
  • Improve productivity
  • Optimise the work patterns
  • Connect their employees intelligently.

What challenges public sector leaders can overcome with Canalix?

With Canalix, government agencies can upgrade their legacy systems with easy-to-use modules in the cloud to drive efficiency across processes within the organisation. With these solutions, government leaders can tackle these common challenges:

1. Challenges with the complexity of modernising the IT

  • upgrade outdated work processes
  • Modernise a legacy system and start automating and prioritising tasks
  • Eliminate time-consuming manual work and boost productivity.

2. Challenges with the visibility of data 

  • organisations can quickly check the cause of a problem when the performance of tasks suffers and ends in issues such as overbooking, rework, etc.
  • Government agencies can have a central source of data across departments and improve communication and connection between employees.

3. Challenges with the costs

  • By quickly identifying issues and improving potential weak points in service delivery, government agencies could reduce the expenses.
  • By providing cloud solutions to the end-users, the agencies don’t have to suffer the negative impact of assigning whole teams to troubleshooting problems that can emerge on-premise.

Success story

Here is a remarkable story of how a Canalix client kicked off their digital transformation strategy with a modular resource scheduling solution only to scale later to use a complete platform of inspection software solutions. 

The modular digital transformation approach allows organisations to optimise beyond resource scheduling. In other words, combining different modules will enable organisations to enhance their efficiency even more. 

Success story of adopting inspection software module “Marketplace”

After our client transformed their inspection scheduling operations with Jobtimizer, they decided to continue their digital transformation journey with another module – the marketplace module. The goal: to further enhance the efficiency and productivity of the inspection process.

The marketplace module enabled our client to integrate a digital workspace within their existing inspection management system. Within this workspace, our client’s staff was able to post details about pending inspections. Imagine it as a data pool with tasks. Access to these tasks is ensured through a secure portal to external agents who can take over jobs and complete them on the client’s behalf. Each task file has a unique ID, requirements, and due date for inspection check. Only agents with the required certification can take and complete corresponding tasks.

The outcome

The marketplace module allowed our client to expand their operating models by outsourcing low complexity tasks to external agents. That enabled their internal costly case resources to focus on critical tasks and jobs that matter the most. First, our client managed to transform their resource-constrained scheduling process into a more optimised version. Then, with another module, they adopted a new operating model to focus their case resource’s time only on work that matters the most. Both modules delivered quick wins, and our client is now planning further digital transformation with other modules.

Read more about how your government agency can tackle the issue with resource-constrained scheduling.

Are you interested in adopting new operating models with quick wins? Contact us here.

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How automating manual inspection processes helps regulators?

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The digital transformation journey in the public sector may look different in different government agencies. Sometimes the process starts with a specific problem that identifies the needed technology. But sometimes, the process is reversed – it begins with particular technology being applied over the existing work process. Our practice as a digital transformation partner taught us that the former approach is the more efficient one, while the latter brings more risk of failure. These observations are especially relevant to the regulatory sector and the transformation of manual inspection processes.

Costly resources like inspectors and highly qualified technicians often have to perform repetitive tasks: running inspections from site to site, recording their checks within paper files. Then this documentation gets entered into an electronic system, which often leads to data errors. The use of digital inspection management tools allows inspectors to focus more on higher-level tasks such as analysing data to improve operations, which by itself is an upskilling benefit. The upskilling of the workforce is essential evidence for the success of digitally transforming manual processes.

rpa automation in inspection management

The automated data collection provides a consistent and accurate work process, enabling inspectors to update their progress more frequently. On the other hand, this benefit allows decision-makers to react quickly to critical changes in the collected data.

In the past, the automation of manual inspection processes was often dismissed as a too complex and expensive endeavour. However, today we have the technologies to transform manual processes without the challenges of the past. With cloud-based infrastructure and affordable wireless devices such as tablets, data gathering and sending is fast, and automation becomes a more realistic goal.

Transforming manual inspection processes with AI and Machine Learning

Regulatory agencies have access to automation technologies such as AI and Machine learning. But their efficiency is present mostly when they are fed with accurate information. The use of digital tools on inspection sites guarantees the gathering of quality information via digital checklists and real-time data transmission. The AI engine can provide decision-making support and improve efficiency and compliance with high-quality data input.

Theoretically, this is the ground regulatory agencies step on when undertaking the digital transformation process. But how are things actually with real-case scenarios? Let’s look at some customer stories we have at Canalix – inspection management platform and dive deep into how the platform handles the inspection process.

Monitoring of critical tasks

Some regulatory agencies no longer consider manual inspections enough for high-risk cases and require digital monitoring or the regular submission of self-inspection data. The compliance improvements need the automation of safety-related inspection schedules.

Improving the safety compliance of high-risk projects requires the automation of safety-related inspection schedules. After a periodic on-site inspection, the regulator may demand new monitoring points submitted by the inspectee via a self-submission portal. Doing this without the costs of sending an inspector on-site and getting the needed data is a classic example of cost-optimisation of operations that goes hand-to-hand with compliance improvements. A double benefit gain that inspection automation services like Canalix are helping regulators achieve.

Turning inspection data into process optimisation insights

Automating the data gathering stage by inspectors is only the first of many steps towards the digital transformation of the inspection process. When quality data is assured, what comes next? Reasonably, it is to turn this data into actionable information and insights. Those insights will help decision-makers to improve operations and strengthen the agency’s regulatory compliance rate.

Turning data into insights is more than just aggregating data from a historical perspective. Canalix, as an inspection platform, collects data that gives individual pictures over each inspector’s capacity and workload so that team leaders can prevent burnout and assure balance is kept in the process of resource scheduling.

Acting upon the gathered data and insights

And, of course, data can be presented in many contexts to different actors within the organisation. For example, an inspector may see information about the inspection site’s conditions in previous inspections or check alerts from IoT devices on the inspection site. This data may shape the structure of the inspection round so that the inspector can focus his attention on the most critical aspects. All for the sake of efficiency, of course. This model of turning data into insights supports the observe, orient, decide, act loop. It enables team leaders to decide based on relevant data that would direct action within the organisation that’s supposed to correct something that’s not working well enough.

The digital transformation approach as a modular step-by-step

Some organisations are looking at technology as a tool to help them fix a single issue – like automating manual inspection processes. Others aim at substantial digital transformation projects that will transform the whole organisation by replacing entire systems, not just separate modules step-by-step. And some organisations wish to test the technology without knowing exactly where they should begin. Canalix offers digital transformation solutions focused on resource optimisation that can speed up progress regardless of which category from those mentioned above we’re talking about. Contact us if you need to know more.

Related: How a regulatory agency cut operational costs with modular digital transformation approach?

 

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