Inspection optimisation with resource constraints – is it a risky digital transformation project?

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The past 15 months were full of transformation milestones for regulators and inspection teams in big organisations. However, the next 5, 10 and 15 months are not going to be any less different in terms of reaching new milestones, because the economic sectors stood still and now started reopening again. 

What does returning to normal means for regulators and inspection teams?

As we already touched on a previous topic, adopting a new inspection model was and still is crucial for the reopening of the economic sectors that were closed during the peak covid-19 waves. Increasing the capacity of resources by hiring more inspectors, more gadgets and more stuff may sound like a natural effect of the increased inspection workload. But resource optimisation of the existing finite resources is the smartest decision.

The big question is how regulators can deliver an increased level of customer support in an environment of a growing inspection workload, finite resources and inspection teams that are adapting to new operational models?

When speaking of digital transformation, we should always keep in mind that public sector regulators are rarely the first movers in adopting new and innovative inspection models compared to other sectors like insurance risk inspection & claims, financial inspections, etc. So when we consult our clients from the regulatory sector, very often we have to explain to them why resource optimisation is not a high-risk digital transformation project by giving them practical directions that can lead them to successful adoption of resource optimisation.

Here are some of them:

Regulators in different states are at a different level of digital maturity. For some of them, resource scheduling and optimisation is the first move towards digital transformation, for others, it is thе next step after digitising their case management system. Regulatory agencies must plan not only their first digital transformation step but also their next steps in that regard. If they digitise the regulatory case management process in 2021, they must have a plan for digitising the resource scheduling and inspection planning in 2022 and 2023. Expanding the digital transformation scope must be done with the right partners who have industry expertise and can help regulators move their process gradually on one platform. Whenever they decide to adopt an inspection allocation optimisation system into their operations, they will have a readiness that will lower the risk of failure.

  • Change the service mode into a more user-oriented experience.

With or without pandemic, the public sector services faced a trend toward improving the customer experience for citizens and businesses. However, the post-pandemic expectations for a more digital and value-driven user experience have raised. In the regulatory inspections aspect, it means that users are more accustomed to receiving real-time insights into inspection resolution timelines. If regulatory agencies are going to keep improving the user service, they will have to start planning the introduction of more visibility for the inspected entities. This is extremely valid for organisations that embrace the self-service and remote inspection models. Optimising resource scheduling is one side of the coin towards regulatory process optimisation. The other side is having a well-informed end user with whom to realise the digital moment that the inspection management platform is creating.

  • On-site inspections must be dynamic.

Even though complex and high-risk inspections must be conducted on-site, it doesn’t mean that their process should not include self-service points as an alternative to unexpected issues like blocked access to an inspection point, etc. Having an alternative solution for unexpected disruptions during on-site inspections to avoid shutting down the whole inspection is what makes sense to reach inspection resolution on time, as planned resource-wise.

How Canalix transforms the world of regulatory inspections?

Regulatory inspections are more prone to change now than in the past few years. Acceleration in the digital transformation strategy is advancing throughout the regulatory sector. This means that inspection teams must be encouraged to deliver value while also learning to work in a new operational model. Following these three directions is a sure way to bring the digital transformation efforts to their expected realisation with low risk of failure.

Canalix is an inspection management platform that helps regulators to transform their inspection process effectively. Contact us now to help you transform yours.

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Where do remote inspections and resource allocation optimisation intersect?

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One of the major shifts in inspection management that happened in the past 15 months was the mass adoption of the remote inspections model. The remote inspection management allowed regulators to efficiently comply with travel restrictions and pandemic safety regulations. It also enabled them to apply successful resource allocation optimisation.

What did regulators found in the remote inspection model?

Regulators saw an opportunity to improve the quality of their inspection services and to develop a new customer-friendly way for performing low and medium risk inspection.

Related: Why remote inspections are important for the reopening of the EU economy?

Of course, the pandemic didn’t invent remote inspections. The digital transformation of the inspection management model has been around for some time. So there comes the question: why this revolution happened now? Why not in 2010? The reason for that is mostly psychological – redefining the operational processes is a big step for conservative organisations such as public sector regulators. The pandemic was the trigger that provoked this major shift and made the change necessary.

How remote inspections are boosting resource allocation optimisation?

Adopting a remote inspection model can happen fast. But obtaining value and connecting the new inspection model to optimised resource allocation techniques, requires thought and time. How do we make sure that remote inspections will deliver resource optimisation value?

Set KPIs

When we talk about resource allocation optimisation, we should know what resources we’re aiming to optimise. If we look for an intersection point between remote inspections and resources, then it would be cutting the cost of inspections and improving the quality of completed work.

In that case, public sector regulators will have to set KPIs to measure the success of resource allocation optimisation. The adoption of the remote inspections model is the perfect time for optimisation of that kind. Possible KPIs will include reduced time spent on travel, cutting travel costs, increasing the number of completed inspections, reduced number of pending cases in the backlog, etc.

Help inspectors and case managers embrace the needed change

The adoption of the remote inspections model requires changes from the human resource’s end. Inspectors need to convert their inspection M.O. into a remote version, specific criteria must be set about which inspection case is eligible for remote inspections and which not so that case managers can make sense of this new prioritisation.

Related: Remote video inspections – benefits, constraints and risks

What are the pain points inspectors should focus on while adopting the remote inspection model? For example, an inspector who performs a remote inspection may need to ask the customer on the other end to interact with an object. A pre-defined list with the higher risk areas may serve as a good guide for the remote inspections. The digitalisation of inspections makes it easy for inspectors to prepare a pre-defined risk-oriented scenario for each remote inspection based on the data for the case in question.

Long story short, what inspectors need to focus on when converting to remote inspection is the interaction points. How would each interaction happen? To do that effectively, inspectors must be able to prepare a scenario for each inspection based on the data submitted for it.

resource allocation optimistion and inspection management

Remote inspection workflow + resource allocation optimisation

To illustrate the importance of this point, we will describe a classic workflow that our inspection management system Canalix triggers for remote inspections.

An inspectee calls the regulator’s office to request an inspection. Then a support agent sends him a link to a self-service portal where the inspectee can fill in the required details. There the user can upload pictures, video or other shreds of evidence needed for categorising the priority of the case and its complexity.

Once this information is submitted, a case manager can schedule a remote inspection or make another relevant action – assign an on-site visit due to higher complexity or downscale the case to a self-inspection procedure due to its low risk. Since this whole procedure happens digitally, the regulator is saving hours of work, driving and manual paper processing.

The reopening of the economy after the pandemic covid-19 waves serves as a great example of the efficiency of this inspection management system. However, this example is valid for other disaster scenarios. In such situations, efficiency is vital to response time. That’s why the remote inspection model is here to stay. The question is how long will it take for the rest of the world to adopt it.

Resource optimization and business scheduling software

CASE STUDY: OPTIMISING THE RESOURCE ALLOCATION IN REGULATORY AGENCY
          • reducing the scheduling time with up to 75%
          • increasing efficiency of operations with 40%
          • fully eliminating errors in the resource allocation process.
Download a case study.

Conclusion

The remote inspection model can go hand-to-hand with resource allocation optimisation. The effective implementation of remote inspections enhances the regulator’s ability to reduce operational costs, improve the response time and deliver efficient inspections even when the inspector can’t do an on-site visit.

The adoption of remote inspections is not a complicated idea. But it has a serious impact on inspectors, case managers and ordinary citizens who need regulatory inspection services. That’s why any change of the inspection model should be put in a framework to drive value – whether it would be in terms of resource optimisation or just productivity boost.

Canalix is an inspection management system that serves as a solid foundation for a remote inspection model. Its low-code and high configuration saas nature allow regulators to adapt to the change of the current times. Learn how your organisation can find the perfect intersection point between remote inspections and resource allocation optimisation now. Contact us here.

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Route Optimisation: The benefits of reducing travel time between jobs

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Travel time optimisation is one of the most crucial steps to keeping operational costs under control while expanding their scope with the volume of the same resources. It usually starts with applying a route optimisation solution to find the perfect work optimisation formula. Route planning for complex schedules with hundreds of resources assigned to different entities is tricky. That’s why serious thought is required in optimising complex work models and keeping costs and inefficiencies under control in the meantime.

So how can we save time, money and effort by optimising the total travelling time between field jobs?

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.

Route optimisation 

When we talk about optimising the travelling time between jobs, we mean applying a route optimisation solution for finding the most cost-efficient route from point A to point B and point C, D, E, etc. And if needed, we change the order jobs to fit more completed tasks in a day.

Google maps can indeed do (and has done) route optimisation for almost every person with access to the internet. But when we mean complex jobs like field inspections and managing hundreds of teams, we should start looking to end-to-end work optimisation systems. And that goes far beyond the functions of google maps.

Related: Where do resource allocation optimisation and remote inspections intersect?

The hidden benefits of route optimisation

We already said why it is crucial for companies to use route optimisation – to reduce efforts, costs and time. But there are also hidden benefits that are nonetheless important. To name just a few of them:

  • Improving field service for the end customer: increasing the number of daily completed jobs is going to shorten the response time. Therefore it will bring more satisfied customers. 
  • Improving employee productivity: reducing the travelling time of inspectors, technicians or other entities to enhance their focus and motivation.

We already said that it takes more than google maps to optimise complex operations with many variables. If we have to plan ten different field inspections today to 10 locations, we will have to open a file, fill in the details, and assign the tasks to relevant inspectors.

Manually designing a conflict-free schedule will be a very time-consuming endeavour. But throwing all of this data into an electronic inspection management system and then leaving the AI engine automatically to make an optimal schedule will take seconds.

route otpimisation software

What science is used for efficient inspection scheduling with optimised routes?

Certain factors define how long an inspection will take – the complexity of the case, the distance between a job and an inspector, the available technical devices (if needed), the location of the warehouse (if there’s such), the inspector’s skill set, etc. Based on these factors, is created a route between the ten inspection jobs and the assigned inspectors.

This example serves as a good case for regulators and organisations performing field inspections to understand how route optimisation can help them. Their specific objectives often require error-free inspection scheduling to send qualified inspectors to relevant jobs with minimised travelling time. The skillset is a crucial variable in the route optimisation formula. Based on our expertise with regulators, we refined this formula and offered it as a successful model to our customers from the regulatory sector. Read the case study now.

But when we talk about resource optimisation in other industries, the business objectives will be different. New variables must enter the equation to find the most suitable route optimisation formula. Canalix dedicated a significant amount of time developing a suitable proof-of-concept to mirror a real-world scenario. That’s how we help our new customers find a working route optimisation formula that serves their business objectives. Request a product tour here.

How is route optimisation implemented into field operations?

Canalix offers a resource scheduling software to help field service providers with route planning and safety management. Our track record includes regulators that successfully use our solution as an inspection optimisation tool. Book your free demo with us today if you want to learn more about our resource optimisation system.

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How does resource scheduling optimisation work?

No matter how much comfort and productivity technology brings to the world of business, wasteful activities like traveling, misalignment of resource scheduling, and delays in resolving customer issues can lead to colossal losses. That rings especially true to public sector regulators that have to send inspectors to complete the inspection workflow. Minimising wasteful activities consistently leads to finding the proper resource scheduling optimisation technique. Let’s dig into how RSO solutions can be implemented into inspection management processes (or other field services) and how organisations can benefit.

Most of our clients who perform inspections say that resource scheduling has been a very time-consuming process for them. Many mistakes are happening in the process of scheduling, and therefore it’s hard for them to predict and measure the performance of their inspection teams. Their burning questions is always the same: How do we make our schedules profitable?

Optimising work schedules and making them profitable, not wasteful

The introduction of our inspection management software into our customers’ processes (mainly regulators) made scheduling optimisation an achievable object for them. Canalix includes a particular product feature called Jobtimizer that encompasses skill-matching capabilities to ensure that an inspector with the right skillset is being assigned to complete successfully a job that requires his skill profile.

Inspection teams need to finish their assignments to resolve inspection requests successfully and quickly. The more finished inspection jobs by inspectors mean more realised potential. That has a positive impact on the financial sheets of the organisation and also on the customer’s satisfaction.

The goal of every scheduling optimisation software is the same – to fit as many jobs as possible per day while minimising drive time. If we pick up exact figures, the resource scheduling optimisation tool Jobtimizer constitutes in:

Resource optimization and business scheduling software

CASE STUDY: OPTIMISING THE RESOURCE UTILISATION IN REGULATORY AGENCY
          • reducing the scheduling time with up to 75%
          • increasing efficiency of operations with 40%
          • fully eliminating errors in the resource allocation process.
Download a case study.

How does resource scheduling optimisation work?

Jobtimizer as a resource scheduling optimisation system can design the most optimal daily schedules for each inspector of field technician. The schedule plans are optimal because Jobtimizer considers various factors like geo-location, the driving distance between subsequent inspection jobs, risk level, complexity, required skill set and available equipment. One of the most impactful RSO benefits is minimising the driving distance between inspection jobs.

Manually designing efficient schedules will take hours or even days. When there are last-minute changes in the schedule, it becomes almost impossible to craft a new effective program on time. But with automated resource optimisation tools like Jobtimizer all this is being done fast and easy.

The benefits of resource scheduling optimisation software

The problem with crafting efficient schedules for inspection management is standard. That’s why it’s easy for us to predict the best possible solution for the regulators that turn to us for help. Speaking in benefits, the most common problems that we help our clients fix are:

  • Inspectors spend more time performing inspection jobs than driving between jobs compared to the period before automating their resource scheduling.
  • Schedulers get excellent assistance in scheduling operations and can do more with their time.
  • More completed inspection jobs mean more profits, which benefits everyone.
  • Resource optimisation doesn’t optimise only the routes of inspectors but also the course of technical equipment needed for a specific job.

Read also: How to achieve a measurable ROI from resource management software?

Last but not least, our resource optimisation solution is designed to fit the needs of any inspection job that requires technicians on-site, not just inspectors.

Why should you consider the use of resource scheduling optimisation software seriously?

The RSO software can help an organisation achieve the intersection point between productivity and efficiency. Regulators and enterprises can spare hundreds of hours of manual scheduling work and automate it all using a single RSO solution. See for yourself how it works in the video below and schedule a meeting with us to show you even more:R

How Canalix transforms the world of regulatory inspections?

Read now: 7 resource management software tools to look for in 2022

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How resource optimisation improves task management in field inspections?

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The global pandemic brought companies’ focus back on cost efficiency and resource optimisation. But in the process of chasing these objectives, organisations have to keep the customer experience undisrupted. To do that, they must be aware of the risks on the road to achieving cost efficiency.

Achieving the balance

The benefits of cost-efficiency would always outnumber the risks of disrupting the customer experience. Following a balanced strategy will minimise the disruptions in the customer experience and customer may not even notice them if there are any. This rings especially true for process-driven work like inspection management and other field operations. Resource optimisation can be implemented with zero disruptions for the customer but also it can boost the task orchestration.

Before explaining how exactly this happens, let’s dive into the essence of resource optimisation and task management.

What is resource optimisation in inspections?

Process-driven jobs like inspection management and field operations are often being subjected to resource optimisation projects. Resource optimisation aims to align the work process (inspection) with deadlines and available resources. Organizing resource optimisation properly can boost efficiency by allowing staff to be productive and prioritise their tasks according to standardised risk levels. Resource optimisation is often recommended to process-driven industries as a mean to achieving cost optimisation and improving the customer experience.

What is task management in inspections?

Every job in a process-driven work routine contains several sub-tasks that need to be completed to finish the job. The orchestration of these tasks – their prioritisation based on their level of importance and interdependency is called task management.

Where’s the connection between resource optimisation and inspection task management?

Looking at the descriptions of both – task management and resource optimisation, we’ll see that prioritisation is mentioned in both descriptions. So let’s first dive into the symbiotic relationship between resource optimisation, task management and prioritisation of jobs.

1. Prioritisation of tasks on field inspections

The planning of field inspection requires the efforts of inspectors, back-office administrators and other actors. But if there are not enough inspector with the most needed qualification, then the backlog of cases will start growing exponentially. This is where prioritisation of inspection cases is needed. The prioritisation may be based on available resources, complexity score of each case, geo location of the site, etc.

task management inspections

2. Timely completion of jobs

If we have a deadline for inspection completion, but our inspector is working overtime because he travels too much between inspections, then we’ll have an overallocation issue which may lead to low productivity. Resource optimisation software can allocate an inspector to cases that will follow an optimised route between each one of them. This work optimisation will ultimately decrease the total travel time.

Fun fact: Our portfolio includes a success story with our client – a UK regulator that achieved 40% reduction of time spent on travel. Download our case study and find out how we dit it.

3. Eliminate errors

Thanks to cloud technology everyone involved in a work process can get updates in real-time. When everyone is in the loop with what’s happening, the possibility of errors is minimised and collaboration between teams is being improved. This is one of the aspects of efficient task management.

4. Keep employees productive

If David spends more time travelling for inspection jobs than Maria, and at the same time David has to finish an equal number of inspections as her, soon he will burn out. Resource optimisation software promotes the mental well-being of staff. An aspect that is directly related to the long term quality of the completed jobs. Resource optimisation can resolve the issue with the equal distribution of the caseload. This on the other can leads to improving the task management because inspectors are staying productive and don’t suffer from overallocation.

How Canalix transforms the world of regulatory inspections?

If you’re already giving a thought to implement resource optimisation techniques to improve task management, keep reading.

Jobtimizer is a resource optimisation feature part of the inspection management platform Canalix. Now it is offered independently as a stand-alone product. Read more about Jobtimizer and schedule a meeting here.

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How to achieve a measurable ROI from resource management software?

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Investing in resource management software is a significant step towards digital transformation in public sector organisations and private enterprises. This step is always accompanied by the question of return-of-investment. What the ROI of my digital transformation investment is going to be?

Read more
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