What Are Online Checklists?
Online checklists help organizations save time by decreasing paper trails and streamlining jobs, such as assessments, inspections, and audits. Through online checklists, organizations can do away with the woes of paper-based processes and shift to a more efficient, paperless system.
Why Use Online Checklists?
The struggle most people have with paper checklists is that they aren’t reusable. Aside from being inefficient, paper checklists are also not environmentally friendly. Online checklists can be reused countless times without wasting a single sheet of paper. It also ensures that your records are safe in the cloud or in a private server, meaning you don’t have to worry about file folders and physical storage of documents.
Paper checklists can also be difficult to distribute. Large organizations would benefit from using online checklists so that this isn’t an issue. Paper checklists have to be converted into reports manually; a digital solution ensures that reports are automatically generated and easily shared.
With paper checklists, you also have to contend with physical storage space requirements. This is especially problematic for construction, manufacturing, and transport companies because they go through a lot of checklists each day. If these companies used paper checklists, they would need multiple storage rooms. An online checklist app allows for online storage of checklists and inspection data for easy access and safekeeping.
Common Uses for Online Checklist
Online checklists are great for both personal and professional use. In the workplace, the most common uses for them include the following:
- Construction
- Manufacturing
- Transport & Logistics
- Facilities Management
- Retail
- Hospitality
Here is a sample online checklist in use for toolbox talk meetings for reference:
Common Myths About Online Checklists
With all the benefits provided by online checklists, it’s a surprise that there are still some who doubt their effectiveness. The hesitance to rely on online checklists for business can be attributed to a few misconceptions that have been floating around for years; the most common of which are discussed below.
“I don’t need an online checklist because I already know what my job is.”
In any industry, the possibility of mistakes can never be completely eliminated. No matter how good you are, you’re still prone to human error. The example checklists above show that even highly trained professionals can benefit from online checklists that can act as guides or measures to ensure that every standard of safety and quality is maintained.
“I don’t need an online checklist because it will only slow me down.”
Although online checklists seem like an added responsibility, they actually help you get more done by ensuring that mistakes are prevented, scheduled inspections aren’t missed, and inspection reports are assigned and shared with the right people. In the long term, online checklists will help make inspections and reports more efficient and records accurate and always up to date.
“I don’t need an online checklist because it’s very limiting.”
Instead of limiting opportunities or stifling your creativity, online checklists help you discover new ways of achieving your goals because you don’t have to worry about the little things, like what to check during an inspection, what corrective actions to take, and who to assign these actions to. Regular inspections also help you come up with ideas that you can add to your checklist to create the ultimate online checklist for your use case.
“I don’t need an online checklist because I already have a paper-based workflow that works for me.”
While paper checklists may suffice for your current needs, they are very problematic in the long run, especially once you decide to expand. One of the main problems with paper checklists and inspection reports is storage. As documents pile up, physical storage can become a very costly problem. There’s also the possibility of misplacing or losing paper documents and sharing them from one site to another.
Online checklists allow you to do all this in minutes while providing a cost-effective storage solution via the cloud.
FAQs about Online Checklists
Yes, online checklists can be used for recording and storing sensitive information. However, this can only be done with a secure checklist app, one with the following features:
- Cloud storage
- Access controls for each checklist and their respective reports
- Regular security checks and patches
Depending on the checklist provider you are using, you can. Choose an online checklist provider that allows you to integrate with your most-used work software, particularly those that you can seamlessly transfer data and results to.
Yes, there are mobile apps for online checklists available today for you to better manage your tasks when on the go. However, it would still be best to use a checklist app that has both mobile and desktop capabilities for maximum flexibility.
