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A Guide To Find The Best Inspection Software Online – Part II

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This is the second article in our series titled “Guide For Finding The Best Inspection Software Online“.

The list of questions you should ask yourself in the search for good inspection software is not a small one. The more questions you have listed in your research, the better decision you will be able to make at the end of this process. After clarifying the major questions you should ask in the research for inspection platforms, it’s time to focus on some more secondary questions, but with undeniable influence on the quality of the inspection solutions research.

1. What about the User Experience?

Even though an inspection software may be described as the brightest bulb in the box on paper, from the user’s perspective this may not be the case. It means that the software must be easy to work with. If the inspection software promises great results, there’s no guarantee that the results will be achievable by the inspection teams.

It is a problem that the good products are usually solving with good UX design. So when you’re making your list with requirements for inspection software, make sure that it will include UX questions from this sort:

  • How easy for use is the software?
  • Are users managing to use it intuitively?
  • Are long hours of training needed?

Related: How Inspection Management Platforms Are Bringing Customer Satisfaction

2. The inspection management team’s opinion

The user’s perspective doesn’t start and end with the UX. There are also other questions you should consider on your quest to finding the best inspection management solution. While an inspection software with good looking UX may leave lasting impression to you, the workforce that will operate with the software must also be able to create their own impressions. That’s why requiring a proof of concept is a key tactic to ensure that the software will not only look good, but will also work good.

Requiring proof of concept for inspection management software may sound like a very small detail. But if the solution integrates variety of functionalities like: case management, CRM, inspection management, inspection scheduling,  self service portals, etc., this details become crucially significant. It’s so mostly because the proof of concept is the best way to make sure that a complex platform will work in a simple way.

We in Canalix use the proof of concept method as a key point in the interaction with our potential customers. This is the best way for them to experience the work with our product before buying it.

If you ignore this important step of your research, the inspection management team may end up going back to the old ways of manual operation mode and even stop using the inspection software you’ve found. That’s why the decision making process must involve inspectors, administrators and other participants in the inspection workflow.  Our recommendation is to make a meeting with these parties, introduce them to the list of questions you made and ask them for their opinion.

3. Price of the inspection software?

Software prices, especially for complex all-in-one inspection solutions, are hard to be fixed. Anyway, having a budget range is a good start. If you have all this mapped out, then you will be up to a fast and productive research. The moment you have shortlisted all the possible solutions that might work for your organization, you may start contacting them. Giving them a budget range is only going tho make the communication faster and more clear.

Are you in the middle of software research for inspections? Send us your questions here.

Read also the first part of this article, if you haven’t already: A Guide To Finding The Best Inspection Software Online – Part One

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Cloud Inspection Solutions – The New Normal of Regulators

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In our previous article we wrote about the reasons why SaaS solutions are smart choice for transforming the inspection management model. The 2020 pandemic is expected to accelerate the use of SaaS platforms. This is so mostly because SaaS solutions are offering fast and easy solution for working outside the premise of the office. This kind of flexibility is strongly needed by the regulated industries and the regulators themselves. Especially the part of them that uses old systems that can’t provide functional integrity in the post pandemic new normal.

Related: How SaaS inspection platforms are providing security and productivity boost to the regulators?

The post covid-19 acceleration in the use of SaaS solutions is yet to be measured. What’s clear as of now is that the use of cloud-based inspection solutions is one of the optimal shortcuts to efficiency in the work-from-home era.

A survey of over 820 IT decision makers conducted in March by 451 Research (now part of S&P Global Market Intelligence), titled Voice of the Enterprise: Digital Pulse, Coronavirus Flash Survey March 2020, brings insights that some of the transformations, imposed by the pandemic are likely to have a long lasting effect. That’s why the planning of the future of enterprises and governments must be long-term.

cloud inspection solutions and management

This graph was taken from the “Voice of the Enterprise: Digital Pulse, Coronavirus Flash Survey March 2020”.

What does long-term means for the regulatory compliance & inspection industry?

Simply said it means that enterprises and government agencies that were using old systems (inspection software, case management systems, bpm, etc.) prior the pandemic, should fundamentally rethink their systems for the future. Productivity and security are the first important issues that should be resolved in crisis-induced transformation. These problems are important and their solving is a really great progress for the companies that look forward temporary solution. But looking at the bigger picture, there are other benefits at hold  in the using of cloud-based SaaS solution. If we look at Canalix’ costumer’s data, the list of benefits goes beyond productivity and security:

• Up to 75% of submissions can be processed automatically and up to 60% reduction in process time
• Up to 50% reduction in inspection report writing time
• Up to 40% reduction in total travelled distance
• Planning of inspectors reduced from days to seconds
• No wasted time by wrongly skilled inspectors send on-site

Related: The Benefits of Using Inspection Software In Regulatory Compliance

However, the real value of these efficiency improvements can be experienced only if the implementation of the new cloud-based inspection model is a long-term strategy. If we look at the benefits from the perspective of long-term value, we will go beyond productivity and security straight into the field of cost cutting:

1. Reduction of costs for maintaining hardware

The use of cloud-based inspection solutions leads to cutting the costs for maintaining the hardware that ensures server infrastructure on-premise. The larger the enterprise, the bigger the cut of the costs. In the post pandemic world where the new normal will include more work from home, the efficiency and costs optimization can walk hand by hand. In the world of inspection management and regulatory compliance, SaaS solutions can realize this promise fast and secure.

2. Reducing the time and cost of training

Talking of fast, you probably wonder what’s the meaning of the fastness in terms of cloud-based inspection software. The development and implementation of tailor-made software solution can take months to years. In more conservative environments such as the public regulators, the training of staff is also a challenge. This whole set up process can be reduced literally to days and hours if a reliable SaaS platform is involved.

Related: Choosing Inspection Software: Tailor-made or SaaS solution?

Of course, specific industries as the regulatory enforcement have more specific needs than a regulated business enterprise. SaaS platforms allow customization that can fit better the specifics of the inspection management field.

Related: Industry-specific vs all-purpose inspection platforms

The conversation about benefits from using cloud-based SaaS inspection software could be endless. Whether we talk about obvious advantages of the SaaS model or not that obvious, the current growth in the use of these platforms proves that there’s a big value in their usability. Facing a future where the remote work model is one of the most viable ones, makes the need of reinventing the traditional work models more urgent.

Do you want to experience first-hand the steps to migrating inspections and regulatory compliance to a cloud service? Contact Canalix now.

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SaaS Inspection Platforms – Solution For Regulators & Enterprises After The Pandemic

The COVID-19 health crisis induced tones of conversations about digital transformation. This naturally led to many researches that are trying to define the level of preparedness of both public and private sector to work from home. In one of their researches on the topic, Gartner are sharing that:

  • By the time Generation Z fully enters the workforce in 2030, the remote work will increase by 30%.
  • In 71% of organizations today remote work is an existing policy.

These findings are clearly indicating that remote work is here to stay. However, Gartner’s research also states that:

54% of HR leaders indicate that poor technology and/or infrastructure for remote working is the biggest barrier to effective remote working.

Looking long-term there’s a clear sign that the business is unprepared to enter the future. At least that was the big picture before the global outbreak of COVID-19.

The few months we’ve spend into the “new normal”, have already send a signal to the public and private sector that the business must adapt to the remote work model.

We’re being forced into the world’s largest work-from-home experiment and, so far, it hasn’t been easy for a lot of organizations to implement.

says Saikat Chatterjee, Senior Director at Gartner.

What are the challenges for adopting remote work model?

Right now there are many questions for the future of business and almost all of them revolve around the work from home perspective. Every organizations has unique needs and ways to implement a model for remote work. The bottom line that connects them all is the technology. A solution brought by modern technology is what’s going to help every kind of business out there to meet the future.

Related: Why safety inspection programs need digital transformation?

Since Canalix is an inspection management software, our expertise in an relatively overlooked field in terms of digital transformation gives us deep insight into the most typical challenges that enterprises with outdated systems face when trying to implement a remote work model. The list of these challenges starts with:

Security in accessing data

The regulatory enforcement industry is a good example for industry where workers are going through security protocols while doing their job. If regulators restructure their work process to remote work, they must have working solution for granting secure access to sensitive data. This solution will allow every link in the inspection-driven enforcement chain to function remotely. This is an existing issue for a variety of enterprises: financial authorities, banking, insurance, governments and local governments, health & medical compliance subjects, etc.

Now imagine if the future of remote work comes sooner than 2030 and all of these essential industries are still using outdated software systems. In this scenario security will be just the first of a series of problems. Then will come the productivity challenge. If the outdated technology had worked good in the office setting with the organization, it’s no longer going to be the same in home setting. The security is just the first and most visible problem that will bring others issues later.

SaaS inspection platforms are solution to the remote work problem in regulators

These challenges can be most fully addressed right now by SaaS solution. We already talked in our blog why SaaS software is a better deal than tailor-made software for inspections. Granting secure access to data to everyone within an organization is a promise that can be realized by cloud-based SaaS solutions. In the context of inspection management it means that inspectors, administrators and all kind of personnel can have an access from anywhere to the digital infrastructure that allows them to do their job.

Related: Five Benefits Of Using Inspection Management Software

Security and productivity are the general reasons why enterprises should update their inspection systems now. The ones that already did, are working as efficient as before the covid-19 global outbreak. By looking at the SaaS market landscape, you’ll see that there are different solutions for case & document management, CRM, BPM, etc. But if you’re looking for solution with focus on inspection management, you will have to narrow your search. Read our article about the benefits of using an industry-specific solution. 

Related: How to compare different software solutions for business optimisation?

Are you looking for cloud-based SaaS solution for regulatory compliance? Do you need a software that will transform the inspection management process of your organization? Canalix can show you how it works. Contact us for live demo now.

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Automating Inspection Planning and Resource Allocaiton

One of the first association one has when hearing about inspection planning is complexity. What comes to the imagination is a big complex structure with a lot of processes going on in the same time. To some it may looks scary and impossible for optimization. However, that is not entirely true. Canalix is a product that is dedicated to making inspection management simple. That’s why we wrote this article to explain how things really are working in an inspection management platform like ours.

What is inspection management?

Inspection management is series of operations that are more complex than business process management. They are more unpredictable because they involve cases, which very often have a complex structure and relationships with other cases and processes. While automating a simple business process is easy, because we have pre-defined steps, automating cases is the harder thing to do. It’s hard because if we automate case-based process (such as the inspection management), we need to automate possible scenarios involving human judgement. If it was a video game, automating business process will be level 1, while automating a case process will be the final level.

Related: Read more about the difference between case management and BPM

And so we come to the burning question:

How to automate inspection planning that usually need human judgement?

Let’s imagine that a citizen files a complaint to a state regulator via self-service web portal. After describing the issue, the citizen has to complete a quick questionnaire about the nature of his case. Depending on the answers, the case is being profiled within a category of complexity.

Related: Why Self-Service Portals in Government Agencies Matter?

Now let’s imagine that there are hundreds of other cases. Each with different complexity level and only dozen of inspectors that can do an inspection. If every inspector has a unique skill set, then the matching of cases with inspectors should be done very precisely. So how should we approach the inspection planning and allocation without making costly errors?

Precision takes time when done manually. By looking at this complex picture, one would think that it will take an eternity to finish each case. It is partly true. But not if inspection management platform like Canalix is processing this complex model of work.

Related: Five Benefits Of Using Inspection Management Software in 2020

Are cases allocated automatically after receiving data from self-service portal?

The short answer is yes. Thanks to a pre-defined set of rules, Canalix is scoring the complexity of each case. It means that once a citizen submits the data for his own case, the inspection platform starts moving the case through the inspection pipeline. This movement includes the matching of the case with relevant inspector. And this is not the best of it. By defining a priority score and using different options for constraints, the inspection scheduling and planning can be done in the most optimal way. It means not only that cases can be allocated to the right inspector without making a mistake, but also allocated in a way that is more optimized in terms of resource utilization (for example reducing the costs for transportation).

The power of artificial intelligence is making big difference by allowing us to work smarter than before. That’s why AI is one of the main technologies that stands behind our inspection management software. It is literally a technology that can replace the need of human judgement.

Related: The Benefits of AI in Inspection Software

Replacing entirely human judgement sounds scary and uncomfortable for more conservative business environments. This is where another perk of using inspection management solution like Canalix comes. When a case has a high complexity score, the inspection platform sends it for control by real human. In other words it means that the inspection software is smart enough to judge when a case needs to be processed manually by human.

Is specific technical knowledge needed to automate inspection planning?

The short answer is no. Simplifying complexity runs on every level in Canalix. It includes the usability of the software. With simple and minimalistic user experience everyone with general technical knowledge can use Canalix.

Related: How Inspection Scheduling Is Being Optimized With Canalix?

Describing how the complex structure of inspections can be automated is not always the best way to demonstrate how inspection optimization platform works. This is why you can book a live demo with us. Contact us here.

Do you want to know more about the benefits that inspection software like Canalix can bring to your organization?

• Up to 75% of submissions can be processed automatically and up to 60% reduction in process time
• Up to 50% reduction in inspection report writing time
• Up to 40% reduction in total travelled distance
• Planning of inspectors reduced from days to seconds
• No wasted time by wrongly skilled inspectors send on-site

Read more here.

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How Inspection Management Platforms Are Bringing Customer Satisfaction?

Inspection management is a process that includes many other activities. So when we research software solutions for inspections, we must keep track of many other functionalities aside from inspection execution itself. It’s correct to say that the talking about inspection software is actually a talk about a platform that provides in one place the following:

  • Full information about recent and on-going inspections
  • All the customers data (in this regard the inspection software has a crm-like function)
  • Inspection scheduling tool
  • Information about inspection sites
  • Inspector’s data (skill set, location, etc.)
  • Inspection related documents and media
  • Options for interaction and communication between cases, inspectors, employees, etc.
  • Inspection reporting

If we have to make a simple and short operations checklist of what we need to look for when we look for inspection management platforms, it will be: case management, inspection scheduling, inspection execution and self-service operations.

Maintaining all of these levels in the inspection management process is expensive and time consuming. And since the responsibility of regulatory compliance is big, there is no place for compromises. However, there is a lot of room for optimization of the whole inspection model. Especially when we talk about transitioning from manual to digitally automated inspection management.

Related: The benefits of transitioning to an entire new digital inspection solution deserves a separate topic. Read our article about the benefits of inspection management software.

You can read in details how the time optimization can reduces the cost of inspections in our dedicated article about the reasons why government agencies need inspection software. But the end user’s perspective is no less important than the regulator’s. The longer-term benefit of using inspection software is mostly connected with the customers (the citizens). The reducing of operational time for inspecting gives organizations more time to focus on the engagement with their customers. And this is a great opportunity for driving more public trust. Because customers will always like the fast and efficient service. Nonetheless they will always appreciate transparency. And one of the sure ways for this kind of trust to be gained is when inspections are done digitally.

Do you want to know more about transforming the inspection model of your organizaton? Contact us for free demo.

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