Posts

Digital transformation is a big step for some businesses. With a variety of business optimisation solutions out there, it’s hard to decide from where to start and what to do. That’s why we wrote this guide for taking the first steps towards business transformation.

Comparing business optimisation software solutions is always a good idea for a start.

  1. Make a list of the demands of your organisation.
  2. After knowing what the demands are, make an initial google search.
  3. Make sure that you are looking for specific solution that will answer to the specific needs of your enterprise.
  4. Shortlist 10 possible business optimization platforms.
  5. What’s next is to compare each one of the possible solutions.

Let’s dive a little bit deeper into comparing business optimization platforms. There are couple of factors to which you must pay close attention.

1. How easy for use is the platform

In order to realize the benefits of business optimization, the product itself must have good usability. At most basic it means that the platform must provide intuitive interface. When someone starts using the optimization platform, the navigation through its functionalities must happen by intuition. If you’re testing different platforms, then you should definitely pay close attention to how easy is the navigation for the users.

2. The price of the otpimisation platform

Some solutions like general business optimization platforms cost less than solutions that are more industry specific. This is a basic economical principal. The price is a serious factor to consider, but it must be considered in context. A general business optimization solution or broad targeted crm platform will definitely have lower price to offer. But what really matter is: can a general solution can answer to the needs of a specific industry like the inspection driven enforcement? The answer is clear and you should always keep it in mind when comparing the price between general bpm platform or specific inspection software. Having this context in mind will guide you into making the better business decision.

Read our article about the differences between specific inspection software solutions and general business optimisation solution.

3. Customer support

It’s important to have good customer support. Make sure that the inspection platform you’ll use have an adequate support policy. You would know the answer of this question in the testing phase of the product. But for the purpose of your initial research it will be good to have a list with your enterprise’s requirements for customer support.

Contact us if you need to know more about testing Canalix as a business optimization solution for inspections.

Canalix is a product that is inspired by a vision for a future with smart cities and better quality of life. This vision has been capturing the human imagination for decades. There are as many different visions about it, as there are people. But we can still outline one common definition that answers to the question “What is a smart city?”:

“Smart city” is a vision that integrates technology and ideas for better, faster and more effective management of city’s assets with the purpose of improving the life of the citizens. A smart city uses data-driven automation and AI optimization to drive digital transformation. It is the key point for realizing the promise for better life.

As a business optimization platform Canalix delivers the kind of transformational efficiency improvements that the top smart cities in the world have already adopted in one way or another. If we have to draw a line that connects the top smart cities in the world, then it will all come to data. It means that if there is available data, then there is a base on which digital transformation can start its way. This is so because the transformation we talk about depends only on facts, not on politics.

Which are the top five smart cities in the world?

This article will introduce you to the top five smart cities in the world for 2019. We selected the cities based on the IESE Cities in Motion index. It is an initiative that connects global network of experts in cities, specialists in private companies and local governments from around the world. The platform’s mission is to promote the Cities in Motion index with an innovative approach to city governance. It also aims to promote new urban model for the 21st century based on factors and values that are at the heart of Canalix’s values: transformational efficiency, sustainability, public trust and connected territory.

The ranking index includes hundred cities. But the top 5 is always the most interesting. Since the HQ of Canalix is located in the city that ranks at number 5,  we are very excited to begin with it.

  1. Reykjavik

reykjavik-smart-city-inspection-optimisation

Reykjavik is a small city but with high ranking in the Cities in Motion index. There are solid reasons for this good position. What this city does extremely right is in the dimensions of environment. 99% of the electricity production and 80% of the total energy production in Reykjavik come from hydroelectric and geothermal energy. In other words it means that the buildings in this city are naturally green. When we talk about winners in the environmental dimension of the smart cities, Reykjavik is definitely one of them.

Side note: the environmental appeal is important in times of climate change. That’s why one of the promises of Canalix is the reduction of carbon footprint. Our users data shows that the product can optimize the inspection regime of public and private organisation by reducing the total travelled distance by up to 40%.  Read more about the benefits of Canalix here.

  1. Paris

paris-top-smart-city-inspection-regulatory-software-management

Paris ranks 4th in the index for 2019. The French capital claims its position mainly because of its international outreach, mobility and transportation. One of the remarkable characteristics of Paris is that its development is led by the idea for open innovation. This gives to citizens and interested parties access and control to the city’s data flows. It’s a confirmation that in a world where the access to data is the first step towards digital transformation, the winners win by approaching open policies about it.

  1. Amsterdam

amsterdam top smart city

Amsterdam is a city that combines technology, energy efficiency and rich culture. It’s no wonder that the city ranks so high in the index. It was no surprise to learn that 90% of the households in Amsterdam have bicycles. On the other hand this is directly connected with the city’s advanced system of automated services for the public use of shared bicycles. By 2025 the Dutch capital will be Europe’s first zero-emissions city.

  1. New York

new york top smart city

New York is the world’s most important economic center. It’s no surprise that the Big Apple takes the second highest position in the ranking. It can be said a lot about NYC’s human hapital, urban planning, technology, international outreach, mobility and transportation. No one will be surprised to learn that the city ranks good on all of those dimensions, given its booming economy. The only dimension in which New York lacks is the social coherence. Which is also no surprise no anyone.

  1. London

london top smart city

London tops the ranking, because the city scores remarkably good on all dimensions analyzed by the index. The British capital ranks first for human capital and international outreach. It is also recognised for the factors mobility and transportation, international outreach, economy, governance, technology and urban planning.

In London there are more start-up companies than almost any other city in the world. The city also has an open data platform (London Datastore) that is used by more than 50,000 individuals, companies, researchers and developers every month.

We started this article with the definition of smart city and what’s the common between the top smart cities in the world. It’s the data. And now you probably wonder what’s the common between Canalix and the vision for smart cities? Thanks to a data-drive automation and AI optimization Canalix delivers transformation efficiency improvements to regulatory bodies. The product’s specific focus on inspection driven enforcement turns it into a regulatory management software that can add-up to the smart city plan your organisaton is following.

If you’re looking for a digital transformation solution that is compatible with your smart city vision, contact us here.

Smart cities rank good in the index because they provide service automation. If you want to learn more about the digital transformation solution with which regulatory bodies can automate their services, read our article about industry specific inspection platforms.

In our previous article we compared industry-specific inspection software solutions vs all-purpose solutions. There we mentioned the four functionality pillars that optimize the inspection regime of public organizations. They are:

  • case management
  • inspection scheduling
  • inspection execution
  • self-service portals

Now we’ll pay attention to one specific pillar – inspection scheduling. Keep reading if you want to learn the exact ways in which this functionality could be improved via business optimisation platform.

Inspection Scheduling Improvements

Inspections play a crucial role for many public sector organizations to ensure safety, compliance and effective operation. If we have to define what a good solution for inspection optimisation is, then it will be something like:

A good solution for inspection optimization includes optimization of the four functionality pillars – inspection scheduling, inspection execution, case management and self-service.

Since Canalix is a product that prides itself by supporting the optimisation of every part of the inspection regime, we have a lot to tell about the different way through which this is achieved. Let’s start with three main points, dedicated to the improvements of inspection scheduling:

1. Technology improvements and time optimisation

Here’s a “secret” – time is priceless. That’s why every optimization starts and ends with saving time. Inspection scheduling is not an isolated action. It is a group of operations that are taking big pie of the inspector’s time. That’s why Canalix is a solution based on data-driven automation and AI otpimisation technology. This technology transforms the inspection scheduling into a digital and more streamlined process that saves time.

2. Intelligible UX

Technology is not the only way through which inspection optimisation is achieved. Have you ever heard of scandic shic? This is the UX philosophy that the interface of Canalix is based on. With other words – minimalistic and comprehensible. This means that the user friendliness of the inspection scheduling software allows inspectors to work intuitively with it. On the other hand this also means: without having to read long FAQs and manuals.

The UX optimization is both – a competitive feature and a process-based optimisation. So when it comes to comparing two different solutions for business optimization, make sure that you had tested the usability of the product and felt comfortable with it as a user. Because user friendliness is the only way to realize the benefits that the product promises.

Do you want to test the user experience of scheduling inspections with Canalix? Contact us through this form.

3. Reducing of costs

What’s the reducing of time without reducing of costs? The consumer data of Canalix shows that direct improvements in inspection scheduling like time management and usability have their indirect impact on costs. The benefit goes not only to the work process on organizational and individual level. But also to the community itself. Especially when we talk about the public sector. Read more about the benefits of using inspection optimisation platform.

The inspection scheduling optimisation is just a part of a larger digital transformation movement that both the private sector and public organisations are part of. This transformation includes the other pillars of the inspection regime as well. Read here why self-service portals are more important than ever for the inspection driven regulatory enforcement. 

It’s a global trend that both customers and organisation are preferring the self-service as a way to interact. The presence of covid-19 in our lives with rules for social distance is expected to make this trend even more growing. Different industries are in different stages of adopting digital transformation. For organisations that are at their very beginning of digital transformation, self-service is a good starting point. Here’s why.

We’ve already discussed how inspection software platforms provide the public organisations with more optimal ways for inspecting. Self-service portals play crucial part in this process. In the current times of social distancing rules, this functionality is more relevant than ever.

Organisations that offer self-service are more compatible with social distance rules

A good example can be given with social institutions. They have strict state regulation. Nevertheless they must keep strict social distancing rules as well. The both set of rules must be kept, but in the traditional sense they may contradict each other. This is where self-service portal can make the mutual existence of those rules possible. Long story short: the self-service portals are letting service providers to register and do their risk profiling digitally. Thanks to this digital solution the inspection industry can work efficiently even in times of social distancing.

Another reason for public organisations to adopt self-service for their customers is that it is one of the best first steps for starting digital transformation. Self-service portals usually provide costumers with the opportunity to do a relatively simple process by themselves. The simplicity of this process allows its automation to happen more stress-free for inspecting organisations and their customers. This is why it’s a very good first step in business optimisation before going into more complex level of digital transformation.

Are you interested to know more about digital transformation in public sector? Contact us from here.

Read also what digital transformation solution is more suitable for public organisations enforcing regulations?

The inspection optimisation is crucial for public organisations responsible for enforcement regulations. The improvement of this process brings benefits not only to the regulators, but also to the community. We’ve already mentioned what kind of values are brought by the use of inspection software. Now let’s have a look at our detailed list of 5 reasons why an inspection platform can make a difference.

Inspectors are spending big part of their time to search, organize and process data to do their job. The inspection software is doing big difference by automating these operations. The manual process of collecting data, communicating with different entities, sharing data, making decisions, documenting changes in the regulations and applying them can be done in entirely different way. Basically this process is now having its digital face lift thanks to the inspection management software platforms.

Benefits of using inspection platform

Here are 5 benefits of why public organisations enforcing regulations need to use inspection software:

• 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

1. Reduced process time

One of the advantages of using inspection optimisation software is the reduction in process time. For example Canalix is a platform that optimises the work process for inspectors by applying data driven automaton. Based on our consumers data this means up to 75% of submissions can be processed automatically. On the other hand this equals up to 60% reduction in process time.

2. Reduced inspection report writing time

When inspection is executed, a report must be published. The use of software that documents every process in the routine of inspectors, makes possible the creation of auto generated reports. This is another benefit brought by the data driven automation. Make sure that the inspection software you’re using can generate reports automatically. According to consumers data, Canalix’s inspection platform reduces up to 50% the inspection report writing time.

3. Reduction in total travelled distance

It’s a big challenge to create the optimal inspection plan. With good automation and AI algorithms the inspection program can easy map the most optimal route. The factors that are considered for mapping this route are inspectors’ skill set, availability and other requirements and constraints. Based on our consumer data, the  inspection optimisation with Canalix can reduce up to 40% the total travelled distance of inspectors. This benefit is making an impact not only for inspectors and the public sector, but also for the local community and the planet.

Related: How Route Optimisation Can Reduce The Cost of Regulatory Inspections?

4. The time for planning of inspectors is reduced

A good inspection platform will reduce the planning time for inspectors. This has a direct impact on individual’s productivity. It also optimises the use of their expensive time.

5. No wrongly skilled inspectors are send on site

Another aspect of optimising time in the inspection programs is the benefit of no wrongly skilled inspectors send on site. The skill set of inspectors may vary and that’s why Canalix uses sophisticated AI algorithms to allocate inspectors with the right skill set to the right place. When there is wrongly skilled inspectors send on site, there is also stress. A good inspection software can basically eliminate this stress.

When we walk about benefits, we can go on and on.  If you’re interested to know more about how your organisation can benefit from using a platform like Canalix, get in touch through the Contacts us page.

How do you know what inspection optimisation software your organisation needs? If we separate all of the available platforms for regulatory inspection automation, we will get to two general types of software: industry specific and all-purpose software.

The industry-specific business optimisation software is created for the needs of specific industries. For example Canalix is designed to optimise the inspection regime of public sector organisations. The product itself support entire end-to-end process of registration of service providers or entities underlying a regulation, planning, scheduling and performing of inspections, ongoing enforcement and management of complaints. It is a specific solution that answers to specific needs.

On the other hand, the all-purpose platforms provide their clients with general options for business optimisation. For some companies optimisation means to automate their work processes, for other companies it means to personalize their marketing. This kind of general solutions are designed for businesses that have broad target.

Why we need an industry specific inspection software?

Every product that offers efficiency solutions promises list of benefits to the potential clients. But if we want to experience the effect of these benefits, we need to be able to assess how much the product is suitable for our industry. For example if we want to optimise the inspection regime of regulatory bodies, we need to think not only of inspection execution, but also of other functionality pillars like inspection scheduling, case management and self-service.

A private B2C company with broad target of users may not need all of these functionalities. But public organisation that enforces regulation will need every bit of functionality hat involves these four pillars.

The comparing between industry specific solutions and all-purpose platforms could go on and on. In summary it will always come down to this: specific needs require specific software. The challenge is to identify these needs and to translate them into relevant requirements. Once you have clear picture of what the regulatory enforcement of your organisation requires, you would be able to make informed decision about what’s the best inspection software solution for your needs.

You can start informing yourself on the subject right away. Read more about what’s at the heart of inspection opitmization software.

It’s no secret that technology is changing businesses through optimisation every day. Regulatory enforcement is undergoing its digital change as well. However, when searching for inspection software or any other case management system for regulators, chances that you’ll find a universal solution are big. But when we search for a specific and targeted platform that is build to serve the purpose of optimisation for regulatory bodies, it gets tricky to find relevant results.

Inspections are one of the most important ways to enforce regulations and to ensure regulatory compliance—the process of inspecting means examining and assessing something. When we talk about regulatory bodies, inspection management is a serious part of their work. As there are many business optimisation solutions for various businesses, there are business optimisation solutions for regulators as well. Canalix –  inspection management software is such.

BENEFITS OF USING INSPECTION SOFTWARE

When we describe the benefits of using resource optimisation software, it usually comes down to the benefit of two entities – the business and the client. But when the optimisation solution involves government agencies that enforce regulations, the use is not only for the regulator and the subject of inspections but also the community. Since public sector agencies operate with the taxpayers’ money, the constant optimisation of their spending should be a priority. One of the ways to achieve this is by using a business optimisation platform.

The capacity of benefits for the different inspection tools varies. But based on the consumer data we have in Canalix, we can outline these advantages:

  • 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 sending on-site​

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.

 

Read moreThe complete list of benefits that inspection management software can offer in 2020

We will explore each side of the benefits for the regulators and the community in our blog. If you want to see how regulatory enforcement and inspection optimisation products like Canalix work, contact us now.

Learn more about the differences between industry-specific inspection solutions and all-purpose platforms.