Inspections—especially annual audits and facility condition assessments—can be complex and expensive. Beyond the sheer number of assets and facilities that need to be checked, the process may involve recruiting additional personnel, some of whom may be third-party workers hired at considerable expense. All this work is necessary to get a clear picture of the age, history and expected lifespan of your assets. This data is crucial to building a case for maintenance budgets. Inspections and audits may also be required for compliance with regulatory regimes.

During inspections, some people still carry a laptop on their rounds, holding it in one hand and navigating through complex tabbed spreadsheets with the other. That’s a hassle, as is sharing the spreadsheet data across multiple applications and with every worker who needs access to it. Compare that experience with using a single dedicated mobile app for inspections, pre-populated with current information and service histories and equipped with checklists to help make the whole process as efficient as possible. That’s the idea behind mobile inspection apps that work with your integrated workplace management system (IWMS). Mobile apps are better for inspections not just because fiddling with spreadsheets can be unwieldy—they’re better because they extend your IWMS into the field.

Mobile Inspection Software Gives Users Real-Time Access to an IWMS

When inspectors use mobile apps integrated with an IWMS, they gain real-time access to information from systems like IBM TRIRIGA®. That means they know immediately when they step onsite which specific areas or pieces of equipment are in need of assessment; there’s no need to make guesses that may turn out to be incorrect. The IWMS helps inspectors audit usage of space and report notes at the individual asset level. All this makes the inspection process easier and more straightforward, saving time and money.

Other mobile inspection software features that help speed up the inspection process are:

• Barcode scanning for quick data access to equipment manuals and service history
• Linked AutoCAD floor plans and occupancy data
• On-the-fly record updating
• Space assignment and allocation metrics

When inspecting an area that’s outside of a network range, users can work offline, and the app will upload the new data when a network signal is once again available. Apps like eCIFM’s Inspections On-The-Go help auditors collect, assess and record highly accurate data. This data can help you:

• Make decisions that can save your company money
• Ensure you budget appropriately for a given property’s maintenance
• Know a building’s exact value
• Decide when to continue equipment repairs, and when to replace it

By providing immediate access to necessary and accurate date, mobile inspection software can help users retain all the functionality of an IWMS from the inspection site.

A Note About Third-Party Inspectors

As mentioned earlier, sometimes third-party personnel will be part of your inspecting or auditing team. These may be engineers or equipment specialists, or other types of workers brought in for their particular expertise. This is often the case with Facility Conditions Assessments (FCAs), which require trained specialists to give an accurate picture of the age and level of wear-and-tear of an asset. Since these workers often have hefty hourly or project rates, make good use of their time by equipping them with the same mobile inspection software as your own people. They’ll be able to work more efficiently with the right information at their fingertips, such as:

• All relevant asset categories
• Asset location
• Condition scale for assets

That last point can be especially valuable. Following an inspection or audit, you may choose to make repair vs. replace decisions based on the expected lifetime of an asset in light of its use and service history. These decisions will be made based on the available data and the level of thoroughness of an inspection. When all members of your entire team of experts have access to the same accurate and comprehensive data, you won’t have to guess how old a piece of equipment is, or what type of wear and tear it may have seen. You’ll know.

Extend Your IWMS Into the Field

Using the right mobile app can increase the functionality of your IWMS during inspections by allowing you to use it where you need it the most: on the inspection site. Mobile inspection software provides inspectors and auditors with a wealth of information at their fingertips, enabling them to make highly accurate on-site assessments of facilities and equipment. By streamlining the processes of gathering, assessing and reporting information in the field, mobile inspection software works with your IWMS to make inspections run smoothly.

Inspections On-The-Go is one of a suite of supporting mobile apps eCIFM has developed to extend your IWMS beyond the desktop. Each leverages the power of Android or Apple mobile devices and works with any version of IBM TRIRIGA 10.x. Regardless of which company originally installed and implemented TRIRIGA, we’ll help you get the mobile apps you want up and running. If you would like to learn more about any of our mobile apps, contact us today.