By Drew Slocum
As technology advances in every area of our lives, we should expect things to change in fire protection, too. Changes in technology mean changes in processes and workflows that should make things easier. The reality is that you need the right technology to really make a difference.
The move away from traditional pen-and-paper methods of conducting inspections should lead to increased efficiency at every step of the process. But solutions that aren’t designed for the unique needs of our industry, from complex codes and standards to varying inspection frequencies, can sometimes result in just as much work as before. Finding the solution that works for your business’s and your customers’ needs is essential to success.
Form-Based Inspection Software
Form-based software is precisely what you would imagine: based on inspection forms. Essentially, input your paper or fillable PDF form into the software. It’s the next step up from that fillable PDF, making it easier to complete the forms on-site and giving you the ability to make your own customized forms. The process largely remains the same—and you have many of the same challenges you had before.
There are benefits to form-based inspection software that may make it a good fit for your business. Form-based programs are based on your forms. You upload forms with the fields you need and can customize them to your business’s processes and the needs of specific customers. Plus, these solutions can have a lower barrier to entry.
While there are some benefits, a form-based solution won’t work for every fire protection business. There are a few key questions to consider:
- Who manages the custom forms within your business?
- Do you have forms that meet the needs of different systems and the requirements of different inspection frequencies?
- What kind of controls do you have in place to ensure consistency across technicians?
- How are the forms updated when codes and AHJ requirements change?
- If your business has multiple locations, how do you manage code and form differences across jurisdictions?
- What happens to the data beyond the completion of the form at the inspection?
Because form-based solutions can’t effectively address these problems, I usually see them as a band-aid solution. They may help transition your business from traditional, low-tech methods but won’t necessarily help you scale it to the next level.
System-Based Inspection Software
Fire protection is not like other field service industries. It’s a highly regulated industry with various niches, requirements, and workflows. A system-based inspection software supports more complex fire protection operations through clearly cataloged buildings, systems, and individual devices. Keeping track of buildings and systems at a high level and devices at a granular level isn’t possible if you’re limited to forms.
System-based inspection solutions also tend to make report generation easier. How can you generate an accurate report off of a form completed for a thousand-device fire alarm system? Because those devices are all within your software, you can create a specific workflow for each fire protection system, leading to a custom, effective, and professional report.
That’s what system-based solutions are for: to help your business effectively manage each customer and maintain compliance.
Code Compliance & Inspection Frequency
Codes and standards are central to fire protection operations. Most codes and standards are updated anywhere from every three to 10 years. Different jurisdictions may require different code year editions of the standard, further complicating compliance.
Compliance reporting software, such as The Compliance Engine or IROL, should also be considered. How frequently are you reporting to these platforms? Does your form cover all inspection frequencies or just one?
Some states and cities have additional requirements that fire protection businesses need to be aware of, too. Regardless of state or jurisdictional requirements, some of your customers’ insurers may still require the latest national standard set by the NFPA. Accrediting bodies, like the Joint Commission or DNV for healthcare facilities, add yet another layer of complexity to inspection and reporting processes.
Fire protection is not like other field service industries. It’s a highly regulated industry with various niches, requirements, and workflows.
Plus, different systems in different jurisdictions require varying inspection frequencies with unique tests and tasks to be completed at each frequency. By nature, an annual inspection will have different requirements and question sets than a quarterly, monthly, weekly, or daily inspection. It can quickly become complicated without effective system management.
A system-based inspection software accounts for compliance needs with up-to-date code information and ensures technicians use the correct form for each system and inspection. The system and its inspection frequency determine the code and, as a result, the question set. There’s no need to make yet another custom form when the correct one already exists, is compliant, and is readily available. A single form input can also be exported into different report formats to meet requirements for the AHJ, accrediting body, or insurer.
Standardization
Custom forms are useful for unique business needs, but they present a significant issue when it comes to your business’s processes and data. If everything is customized to the situation and different technicians use their own forms, there’s no standardization of processes or data. Different forms mean different workflows, which can lead to confusion on the side of your customer—and your technicians. And, if a new technician takes on an inspection for a long-time customer, you can expect disparities between the form inputs and report output.
On the data side of things, standardization matters, too. Standardized data means better business intelligence (BI) and analysis to allow for better decision-making. It can be incredibly difficult to run effective analysis with countless form versions. If different techs are gathering different information in different ways, it’s virtually impossible to aggregate data in a digestible way.
Beyond your business, standardization helps the entire fire protection industry. In the past, NFPA and its technical committees have worked to pull data from various sources to get a more complete picture of what is happening in ITM. Do we need more or less frequent inspections? Standards like NFPA 25 have even changed because of this data. But without standardization, it’s tough to trust the data sets.
System-based software allows you to get a detailed view of every system your company services. Access to good, consistent data is essential to running your business—from operational data like the number of systems you service, the most common deficiencies you identify, and the number of inspections completed by each technician to key revenue information, proposal acceptance rates, and ROI.
Finally, standardization simplifies the process for both office staff and technicians. No one has to worry about having the right form selected and prepared ahead of time—that’s automatically done with a system built for your processes. Technicians will always have the right code year and question set for the inspection they’re conducting.
A Solution Designed for Fire Protection
We created Inspect Point to address these very challenges. Our platform is more than just forms or inventory.
Within Inspect Point, you can manage all your customers, from the building level to the device level—and each one is related to the proper codes and standards, streamlining recurring inspection workflows. We have the largest code library in the industry, featuring NFPA, UL-C, Joint Commission, DNV, and regional and state-specific codes.
Inspect Point equips technicians with the right, code-compliant question sets, ensuring systems are checked, tested, and found compliant every time. Our analytics dashboards aggregate the data from your business’s operations to provide key insights about the work you do, your revenue, and your growth.
Inspect Point not only gives you the tools to better service your customers, but helps you better understand and scale your business long-term.
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