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Select the best inspection software for your company
Published January 7th, 2021
The construction industry is considered as one of the dangerous industries to work in. Various hazards can be found present in ongoing project job sites. Safety officers take on the responsibility of ensuring that equipment and machinery are operating properly, and that construction site is secured from possible incidents. This doesn’t eliminate every possible hazard and something can go wrong halfway through. The workers in the construction site should routinely inspect and report their findings since the safety officer can’t be in all of the locations at the same time and even with video surveillance.
What is the iAuditor software?
iAuditor by SafetyCulture is a dynamic app that is used in over 85 countries by small businesses and large enterprises. This app is dedicated to the safety and empowerment of various front-liners such as construction workers. The iAuditor inspector software allows you to create your own templates and checklists within minutes and manage your reports using your mobile device or the web platform. This app will help you provide a safe worksite for your employees and the data collected can also be utilized to ensure that standards are met.
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Should I use iAuditor?
iAuditor is an award-winning inspection software that helps identify issues and create solutions for multiple industries including the construction industry. This app is for you if your company needs an interactive digital inspection tool to integrate into the system that offers high flexibility in terms of customization. The public library contains more than 100,000 free templates that can be customized to your requirements. This free resource will help you save time that you can spend on other tasks. iAuditor is free to use but premium and enterprise accounts are available. To unlock more features, sign up for a 1-month free trial.
What is OnSiteForm?
This is a niche app for conducting construction site inspections. This construction site inspection app allows you to record and manage reports in your system. There are pre-made templates available according to industry standards and templates have to be requested if it needs to be customized. OnSiteForm, an ISO registered company, is known for its lifting equipment inspections.
Should I use OnSiteForm?
The OnSiteForm app is made for construction companies that uses lifting equipment and cranes. Skyscraper projects will benefit from this site construction inspection software. One notable feature is the monitoring of the stability of structures. This UK based app is for your company if a basic interface is preferred. If third party inspectors are required by law, the app helps ensure all standards have been checked and met before the assessment. The inspection templates are based on standards and guidelines but you will have to contact support if customization is required.
What is Synchroteam?
This app is used for industrial companies to manage teams. This app is an all in one application that can be customized depending on the systems your company needs. Use this app if your company doesn’t have an integrated management system. This app doesn’t use inspections as the main feature and the reports can be limited depending on the company’s need. Customization of inspection templates should be requested to their support channel. There is a free trial available for 14 days with no credit card needed.
Should I use Synchroteam?
Use this app if your company doesn’t have an internal system that consists of worker, job, and inventory management and as well as field service CRM, invoicing, mapping, and GPS tracking. Synchroteam will get your team on the same page but inspections aren’t the main feature. Contact their website to inquire about customizing templates and forms since it might be too limited for some users. Make sure to maximize utilization of this site construction inspection software’s multiple features.
What is LetsBuild?
This construction management software provides onsite visibility. This app is for safety officers and supervisors that need eyes in the work area at all times. Workers are able to show actual images of the site in real-time. This type of inspection app uses templates or forms but the library is limited. These tasks are listed numerically which allows users to work step by step.
Should I use LetsBuild?
This construction site inspection software is useful to your company if you need visuals on the site in real-time. The main benefit of this app is the ability to send an internal message to the workers and the contractors. The LetsBuild interface is user friendly and tasks are arranged by order. The inspections display the task and the site’s progress which helps streamline processes. Use this app if your company does a lot of large-scale projects for better progress tracking and loss prevention. Keep in mind that equipment such as cameras or drones may be needed for viewing the whole construction site to utilize that feature. Mobile devices can be used to take pictures and be uploaded for smaller scaled inspection tasks.
What is Novade?
The construction site Novade app is an app that digitizes processes for field management. This app is utilized by contractors, developers, and facilities managers. The main feature of the app is to create an integrated system to allow multiple processes of different departments to work together. One of the processes is the inspection feature for the quality and maintenance of the worksite. These inspection reports could be viewed on their website platform aside from the mobile app.
Should I use Novade?
The Novade app is made for the construction industry. The multiple processes available are suitable for companies that need other features such as workforce and task management aside from doing inspections. Managers can quickly check a project’s KPI using the dashboard on the web platform. This software is for you if your company prefers to create your own templates and forms for the inspections. Novade can be utilized for different types of projects such as tunnel construction, building quality, rail construction, condominiums, and private homes. Scheduling inspections is possible like the iAuditor app earlier on the list.
This article will tackle the following:
People in the construction industry are aware that their jobs put them at risk and even with safety standards and protocols that are required to follow, there is a possibility that incidents can happen. The problem is not lack of awareness and action but rather the follow through to the actions done. Performing construction inspections needs to be consistent and sending out reports should be real-time. Paper-based inspections take more time to accomplish and critical hazards may be gone by the time the report has been submitted. Construction site inspections that are written on paper are prone to incorrect data and reports getting lost. It’s now recommended to use digital construction site inspections such as software and apps.
OSHA said that Hazards such as falls, electrocutions, struck by objects, and being caught between objects are the top causes of worker fatalities (58.6%) in construction sites. These are known as the fatal four. Preventive measures such as conducting consistent construction site inspections will help eliminate the fatal four and lower construction site related deaths. The following will help you know what to look out for and precautions you can include during inspections:
The main causes of workers falling are the improper use or lack of safety harness, unsafe work platforms, and unprotected roof/floor at a working level higher than 6 feet in construction. OSHA recommends that employers examine if the work platform is adequate. When it’s deemed to meet the work platform criteria, the employer or safety officer needs to check if fall protection is required and comply with the standards. These standards include guarding rails for leading edges 6 feet off the ground, safety net systems for sloping work areas, and wearing appropriate uniform and safety gear like harness and hard hat.
Electricity-related hazards such as fire, explosions, and shock happen when workers make contact with unsafe equipment or other energized sources. Electrocution is the fatal exposure to electrical energy. OSHA recommends workers to utilize insulation, guarding, grounding, electrical protective devices, and safe work practices to prevent electrocution.
Getting hit by an object can lead to death since there are dangerous materials in the construction site such as sharp and heavy objects. A scenario is steel bars rolling down and hitting someone below. Another common occurrence is building materials such as nails and concrete can fall off during construction. Keep your workers safe by making sure everyone is wearing their hard hats and boots. Inspect if precautions are placed and that materials off the ground are secured. Remind workers to check if a task is properly executed.
Workers that are caught in and between objects such as operating equipment (pulled into or caught in machinery), caved in structure, and rolling/sliding equipment (truck frame and a lowering hydraulic bed). OSHA stated that identifying objects that could cause these incidents is the first step for safety precautions. Workers should stay behind locked and prohibited areas which can contain hazardous materials and equipment. Employers should know that equipping workers with protective gear isn’t enough when dealing with heavy and large equipment. Machinery and tools need to be guarded, supported, and secured. Workers that are conducting repairs should make sure that the equipment is de-energized as well since this can cause objects to suddenly move.
A construction site inspection app is a type of software that is used as a tool to conduct inspections with. A construction site safety inspection app carries a wide variety of features such as templates for the inspections, schedules, and the record of the inspection reports. Another app feature is organizing reports. This helps detect repetitive issues that could be used for your company’s corrective action plan. The construction industry benefits from using apps since mobile devices are more accessible and reliable on the job site. Using this tool makes sending and receiving reports possible in real-time which is critical for construction workers. Another factor is that immediate attention will be given to the necessary areas due to its efficient inspection reports.
There are many construction site applications available that your organization can select from based on the requirements. It’s good to take note that construction site apps should be selected not because of popularity but from their suitability to your workplace. Apps such as iAuditor by SafetyCulture, Onsiteform, Dashpivot, and LetsBuild have similarities and uniqueness as well as both pros and cons. There are more available applications but these construction site inspection apps emerge as the top ones to use this 2021.
Knowing how to choose an app for your whole organization, especially one that involves the safety of your workers can be daunting. The first step is to list down features you want and need from an app. Here are the features to look out for in choosing the right construction site inspection app:
Templates and forms of your inspections should be customizable. There are apps that don’t allow any form of modification but there are ones that offer a library of templates for download that could be altered as well. Companies that do construction site inspections will benefit if the app allows workers to upload media file types. Safety officers can take immediate action from the images of vital areas especially those that need attention. Some construction site inspection file templates could be uploaded and will be converted for the app. This enables file formats such as DOC and PDF to be automatically transferred and usable for an app.
Construction site inspections should be sent and received in real-time. This useful feature decreases the likelihood of workplace injury and incidents since safety officers can review reports quicker. Having real-time reports also means that the filing of these will be timely and won’t be backlogged. Some workers would choose to not report and fix the issue themselves since processes take a lot of time. Workers will not have to pass around the report to the next shift by having a digital inspection report. Owning a record of all inspections done can pinpoint recurring problems that can’t be done if workers don’t submit their reports.
Construction site inspection apps that have a scheduling feature should be considered when choosing an option to integrate into your system. This will allow the people in your site to be able to consistently conduct site inspections. Having this feature can help your company ensure that quality and safety standards are being followed. Users will get notifications on their mobile device, this could vary but is normally sent out 5 minutes before the inspection needs to be done.
Conducting site inspections using an app shouldn’t be a chore. Apps are made to be accomplished quicker and easier compared to paper-based forms. The app’s interface should be simple and understandable to every user in your organization. Some app providers provide tutorials on how to use their apps so check their website and see if they have resources and support available before committing to integrating it into your system. Make sure that the users in your organization learn how to use the app first before implementing it in your site to prevent late reports or reports with erroneous information.
Author
SafetyCulture staff writer
As a content writer for SafetyCulture, Erica is tasked to contribute to the expansive information available on the website. She makes sure that her content contains correct and timely sources for various industries. Her goal is to help spread awareness and create a culture of safety in the workplace.
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