CASE STUDY: Custom Field Inspection Software
The Result: Detailed Inspection application improves field inspector efficiency, captures field images and syncs with the enterprise
The Opportunity: Expedite the work order life cycle by giving field inspectors more autonomy and synchronizing data reporting
As consumers began to utilize their 10 year warranties on purchases, mattress companies hired external contractors to inspect the mattresses and ensure that the damages fell under warranty. The use of external contractors meant there was no standard way to inspect products, and our client struggled to uniformly assess and score damage. The manual labor required to manage field inspectors was costly, error-prone, and inefficient.
Our client recognized a critical need for a streamlined work order application, which standardized the field inspection process and allowed field inspectors to manage their own appointments. Atigro created a custom field service app that handled appointment scheduling, image capture, element scoring, and data analysis while reducing administrative labor and improving customer communications.
The Solution: A mobile platform for field inspections that syncs to a central database, prioritizing element scoring and uniform inspections
The custom field service application streamlines work order (WO) efficiency by giving inspectors a mobile solution to manage their assignments in real time. Before this solution, administrators acted as middlemen between inspectors and customers, leading to slow communications, backlogs in scheduling inspections, and frustration from both customers and inspectors over the inefficiency. Inspectors can now communicate directly with clients through the app and schedule appointments without a middle man, granting them more control over their work and helping customers feel more connected to the process.
The app features comprehensive work order management to organize workloads, self-scheduling features, and easy status updates. By organizing work orders into Unscheduled WOs and past and future Scheduled WOs, inspectors can reduce client wait time by scheduling themselves for jobs as soon as they become available. The Sync function allows inspectors to download new WOs and upload their completed or cancelled WOs along with inspection images for others to see. The turnaround time from WO creation to completion has been drastically reduced by the automated updating from the centralized database and the inspectors’ ability to self-schedule.
Status codes of Pending, Scheduled, Completed and Cancelled allow inspectors to quickly assess WO progression and keep track of their work. This gives administrators a better overview of how quickly jobs are scheduled and completed, providing crucial data on inspector efficiency and workload. Inspectors change the status of the WOs in real time as they schedule themselves for pending WOs and complete or cancel the inspection. Once WOs are marked as Completed, administrators can assess the inspection forms and finalize the final associated charges.
Data collection during inspections required detailed documentation on numerous elements. Each element requires inspection and scoring, and can be difficult to assess without clear guidance. The platform provided structured screens for consumer, product, mattress, foundation, and base frame, requiring detailed data entry and a picture capture for every element. By requiring photo documentation and providing clear guidelines from the convenience of a mobile app, the platform standardizes and simplifies all inspections and ensures all customers are assessed efficiently and fairly.
Finally, the results of an inspection could be reviewed quickly by the office staff and then made available to inspection customers through a portal without additional or redundant data entry.
The platform has completely transformed work order workflows and standardized inspections across the company, saving time and money. By providing uniform and fair assessments and images as backup for the inspection results, our client can maintain good relations with their customers and provide faster and more comprehensive services without additional administrative overhead.
The Impact: Quicker work order completion times, fewer manual errors, and standardized inspection workflows
The centralized database has eliminated data redundancy errors, ensuring that inspectors don’t waste time planning or inputting details for jobs that have already been completed. The previous system relied on paper logs which could be misplaced or illegible and adhoc photos, which were cumbersome and time consuming to organize. Moving the system to a mobile app allows errors to be fixed immediately, ensuring field data is always saved correctly.
Allowing inspectors to self schedule through the app has increased their autonomy and work satisfaction. Inspectors have a direct line to the work they must complete and can update appointment times and contact details without hassle, improving both customer and employee satisfaction. Customers can receive inspection status information more easily and feel more in control of their process.
The field service application’s business rules ensure uniform data capture for all inspections, allowing elements to be accurately inspected and scored. Admins approve all WOs after completion, providing quality assurance for customers. Once the WOs are approved, customers gain full visibility into their inspection, reducing back and forth between the client and their customers and automating previously manual inspection reporting procedures.
The custom field service app has allowed our client to increase inspector productivity, reduce office work, and provide higher quality, faster service to customers. It also reduces administrative needs and gives inspectors more accurate, current information. Replacing the previous manual system has allowed them to take on more inspections and maintain their promised warranty policy.
The Bottom Line
The field services platform streamlined the field inspection management process, enabling inspectors to efficiently upload measurements, images, and comments to complete their work orders. Rapid and secure synchronization of all inspection data to a central database allows administrators to better grasp the completed work. Syncing new WOs onto the app provided field inspectors and clients with quicker inspection turnover. With the app, customers and inspectors are more autonomous and efficient in the inspection procedure, keeping all parties satisfied and optimizing the previously laborious workflows.