The Checker Blog

Mobile technology has become almost synonymous with the 21st century. Digital and mobile technology have changed the business landscape virtually beyond recognition. Despite these trends, some companies are still operating with paper-based processes.

When it comes to asset audits and inspections, paper still makes sense in certain situations—such as when you are inspecting a remote facility or job site outside of any internet range. But most companies can benefit tremendously from audit/inspection software. 

Some companies are already using software for this purpose, but it’s essentially nothing more than e-forms unconnected to any system. Other organizations use ERP or other software that has an audit/inspection function but isn’t designed specifically for that purpose. These software “solutions” have some advantages over paper-based audit/inspection processes, but they don’t help users make the most of the information that’s being gathered.  

Where Should You Begin Implementing Audit/Inspection Software?

Safety in the workplace is an essential aspect for the well-being and smooth functioning of an organization. It's always advisable to make use of state-of-the-art technologies to help you achieve this task.

Audit/inspection software such as The Checker Software has numerous capabilities that far surpass paper-based audits and inspections. However, somewhat paradoxically, these many capabilities make it difficult to decide where to focus initial software implementation efforts.

The answer, however, is somewhat simple and straightforward. You should begin this implementation in the areas where audits and inspections will have the most significant impact on your costs and risk.

Regardless of what these areas are, audit/inspection software should be able to forward all results gathered to the appropriate personnel and notify them via alerts, emails, notifications, etc. The software should also be able to initiate corrective actions, report on progress, archive all data, and provide configurable dashboards for automatic reporting.

Scoring capabilities, allowing you to rate the severity of a problem or defect, can also be highly valuable.

Takeaway

Audit and inspection processes stand at the foundation of every comprehensive safety program. In addition to ensuring that you comply with regulations, these procedures will help you identify and correct problems before they can lead to accidents and costs. 

The Checker Software provides all of the above and more. It's a versatile tool that can be used remotely or in-office from any device connected to the internet. For more information, feel free to visit our website or contact us directly. 

The so-called Age of Efficiency is upon us. For the past several decades, the consensus was to buy cheap, wear out, and buy again. But this model has proven to be inefficient. It also greatly strains the environment. 

A more sensible and logical approach to the issue is to prolong the life and, by extension, the value of your assets. This approach ensures you achieve the highest ROI possible, all the while keeping your carbon footprint at a minimum. It's a win-win situation for everyone involved. 

So, what are the five most natural things you can do to prolong the value of your assets? 

Doing Regular Maintenance

Taking the necessary time to create a scheduled preventative maintenance plan is an excellent way of preventing any minor issues from turning into large and expensive events.

You can even turn to a bit of predictive maintenance. By looking at the manufacturer's service records, you can predict when your equipment needs repair, based on the average lifespan of various components, the extent of their daily usage, etc.  

Employee Training

Your employees should be trained on the proper handling and maintenance of the tools and equipment they handle. It's important to remember that, since assets such as these are not employees’ personal property, they will frequently disregard their value, thinking it's not their problem if they break down. 

And while this is technically true, since you will be the one who will have to pay for repairs or replacements, your employees should nevertheless be trained on how to handle company assets correctly. Not only will this prolong an asset’s life, it will ensure the users' safety. Even seasoned workers may need refresher training from time to time.

Conducting Regular Inspections 

Regular inspections for compliance are not only mandatory but also a great way to keep your assets working better and longer. These inspections are specifically for identifying any potentially hazardous conditions, determining the root causes of those risks, and monitoring hazard controls. They also recommend corrective actions, take into account employee and supervisor concerns, and offer further understanding of safety standards. 

Keeping Clear Records

Recordkeeping transparency plays an equally crucial role in maintaining the value of your assets for a prolonged period. By knowing what inspections and maintenance have been performed, your staff can determine with a higher degree of accuracy when the next review is due. This ties in with the predictive maintenance mentioned above. 

Proper Housekeeping

Keeping the workspace clean and organized is yet another easy step you can take to protect the value of your assets. You should make a habit of cleaning the floor after work hours have ended and make sure that assets are safely stored away from the elements.

Takeaway

Prolonging the life and value of your assets should not be something hard to do. With a bit of care and mindfulness, it can be easily achieved. And by using The Checker, you will ensure that all of your inspections, audits, and maintenance plans are up-to-date and performed on a regular basis, leaving no stone unturned.

Inspection books are in high demand. Accurate and regular inspection of your equipment is critical in keeping your workplace safe, maintain compliance, and improve productivity. Most employees would agree that preventing these accidents should be a natural priority for any business. Safety irregularities are never intentional, but they do come about when companies try to cut corners and don't take the time to adequately train their staff on the importance of safety and safety protocols. 

And it's important to remember that, in the event of an accident, it's not only the employee who has to suffer and pay. According to the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OHSA), "employers pay almost $1 billion per week for direct workers' compensation costs alone." Likewise, it's important to remember that the gap in coverage of an underinsured employer is still the responsibility of the employer and they will have to continue paying employees who miss work as a result of a workplace injury. 

It should also go without saying that proper inspections, or a lack thereof, can affect your business in other ways. For starters, fewer workplace accidents mean higher or steady productivity, whereas a single mishap can result in a steep drop in company-wide morale. Then there's the negative public perception in the event of one such accident, not to mention the legal liabilities that will follow.  

The New York Limo Crash

In early October 2018, a stretch limo carrying 17 people in upstate New York resulted in a deadly crash with all the passengers, driver, and two pedestrians killed. With a total death toll of 20, this incident is the deadliest US transportation accident since 2009 and made headlines around the nation. 

On closer examination of the crash site, it revealed that the driver never hit the brakes, plowing straight through a T-intersection. Also, the driver didn't have the appropriate license to drive that particular vehicle, while the limo failed an inspection only the month prior. 

The 5 Inspection Books

And while the investigation of the accident is still ongoing, with the authorities looking into all the activities and regulations of the limo-renting business, the takeaway could not be more apparent - proper and regular safety inspections are mandatory. To ensure that these inspections are done correctly, you will need the right inspection books. Below are five such inspection books that you may not know existed. 

Passenger Transportation Vehicles - It is for all applications, operations, and industries such as public transit, school, hospital, tourism, airport shuttle, limos, carriers, rentals, and all other enterprises that involve passenger transport.  

Railcar Mover - This inspection book applies to all mobile railcar movers, regardless of industry (construction, mining, forestry, industrial, warehousing, etc.) It also applies to all models, makes, manufacturers, sizes, etc.

Battery Charging Areas - Applies to the inspection and use of a battery and equipment such as charging, inspection, changing, maintenance, filling cells, production, models, sizes, voltage, etc. 

Wood Chippers - Available for inspection, operation, and use of all brush and wood chipper equipment in all industrial applications, regardless of make, manufacturer, size, brands, etc. 

Chainsaw - Applies to all chainsaw equipment in all industry applications such as firefighters, emergency responders, construction, forestry, landscaping, grounds keeping, etc. It also covers all areas such as the chain, saw bar, engine, controls, startup, PPE, and it applies to all brands, models, sizes, and fuel types.  

The Checker has been providing its Checklist Books since 2000, contributing to more over 20 million successful inspections. If you're interested in your company following the latest safety standards in your field and industry, or if you want to ask us for more details regarding our services, be sure to visit our official website, right here.

Even if a lot of today’s companies are using paper to conduct their daily business, the truth of the matter is that the current technological advancements are slowly but surely turning this material into something of the past. This transition will not happen overnight, mind you, but it is an ongoing process, nonetheless.

We live in a very fast-paced world, and almost everything under the sky is becoming digital, which means that everything is growing faster, easier to use and way more efficient. The benefits of inspection software far surpass the costs. They are a proven and profitable medium and long-term strategy for many company.

With that being said, here are five benefits of moving away from paper-based inspection systems to inspection software.

Storage Cost

The storage cost for inspection software is lower than paper-based inspection systems only because the entire logistic and bureaucratic processes are handled more effectively, making everything cheaper and more reliable in the process.. 

Instant Access to information

Now that almost everything is at a click away, why should our inspection procedures be any different? Paper-based inspection systems are harder to access at any time of day, as opposed to modern inspection software which is accessible from any part of the globe, day and night, 24/7. 

Ability to "Close the Loop" on Action Items

Closing the loop assures that a system or a process performs within controlled limits. This process can best be described as the most effective way of planning and monitoring in order to assure that the desired outputs are obtained. While this is also possible in a paper-based system, the inspection software comes with more benefits and it's easier to manage, considering that the amount of actions needed to achieve the desired results is reduced. Reducing the number of actions leads to reducing the chances of mistakes appearing throughout the entire closing the loop process.

Inspection software has a high capacity of being customized for the client's needs, offering the ability to "close the loop" on action items and a wide variety of other features which are, most of the times, easier to use than the classic paper-based inspection system.

Standardization of Inspection Checklists Across Locations

Uniformity across locations is one of the most significant problems encountered in the industry. It's extensive type work, and you need that special type of efficient employee who enjoys checking out all the little details to perfection. It requires a lot of hours and attention, and it's one of the areas where mistakes are most likely to appear.

By using inspection software, anyone can quickly check in real time if the standardization of inspection checklists (for example) across various locations is being met. Unfortunately, this is something the old pen and paper can't do!

Transparency

When it comes to this line of work, facility compliance audits, safety reviews, hazard assessments, inspection processes and anything in between; transparency is critical. It's one of the first things somebody looks at, at the beginning of a proposal, collaboration or before signing a contract. Everyone transparently wants the facts and figures, accessible at any moment. It is where inspection software like The Checker Pro comes into play. 

The Checker Pro takes your inspection program to the next level with a revolutionary software solution, with the incorporated options of allowing you to add only those exact modules you require for your company.

The Checker Pro enables its users to connect on any Internet-connected tablet, smartphone, laptop, or desktop computer, on any iOS, Android, or Windows device. The software comes with pre-built features and flexible configurations and can be setup to meet any individual needs while reducing costs and allowing users to see and manage their entire operations all at a click of a button.

Today's working environment is being changed by the many technological advancements that have been taking place over the past several years. In fact, we are now going through the so-called 4th Industrial Revolution, pushed in large part by what is known as the Internet of Things (IoT). These technological innovations are merging the mechanical and digital into a single device that can be controlled remotely or even left alone to manage itself.

In its annual EHS Technology Trends Survey, Cority has looked at what are the 2018 EHS technology priorities. EHS professionals from over 25 countries and 12 industry verticals were asked what their priorities were going forward and their answers are indicative of the trends happening around the world.

“With the GDPR compliance deadline fast-approaching and ISO 45001 soon to be published, it’s no surprise that standardizing procedures is the number one priority for EHS leaders in 2018,” said Pam Bobbitt, Director of Product Marketing and Channels at Cority.

“All of the emerging tech trends explored in this survey are integral to operational excellence and maintaining a competitive advantage, but EHS leaders looking to kick-start 2018 program performance will focus on streamlining and standardization procedures within their EHS management systems.”

Inspection and Auditing Technologies

After standardizing procedures, on the number two spot came sharing data across EHS departments enterprise-wide. It then was followed by predictive analytics and EHS mobile functionality.

When it comes to inspection and auditing, in particular, mobility is a key feature that stands out. Mobile phones and tablets are becoming widespread in this industry as they offer the required versatility and efficiency needed to do the job correctly. Instead of relying on paper and clipboards, more and more inspectors are turning to tablets.

Various voice-to-text technologies are also working their way into the audit sector. These can significantly increase the productivity and efficiency of the inspector when conducting their investigation. Instead of having to write everything down, they can now dictate to their tablet what needs inclusion in the report.

Cloud-based software is another piece of technology that inspectors are using when conducting their business. The Checker Software will provide an inspector conducting an audit with plenty of benefits that no portion of paper could match. This software is highly more accurate than writing things down. 

It can generate immediate benefits such as faster, reliable communication of results; easy monitoring; instant creation of corrective action steps; as well as electronic document archiving for compliance and analysis purposes. Since it's cloud-based, the Checker Software is also easy to set up, with no substantial investments required. Nevertheless, it is a solution that will improve your efficiency and safety and is something that more and more managers are turning towards.

Takeaway

In short, technology is quickly changing the way businesses conduct their inspections and audits. As more EHS professionals are turning to these technologies in their day-to-day business, it is safe to say that the quality of audits and the results they will generate will be of a higher quality than ever before. There will be less room for error, more visible improvements, and fewer accidents overall.

It is always disheartening to hear news about various workplace disasters. It is also during this time that questions begin to arise – question such as what happened, who is to blame, and could this have been avoided? It is no surprise that regulatory safety inspections will improve the safety of employees. Inspections should be an essential for any organization, regardless of their field of business.  

These inspections have several specific functions that include:

• Identifying already existing or potentially hazardous conditions
• Determining the underlying causes of those hazards
• Monitoring hazard controls
• Recommending corrective action that could address each issue at hand
• Listening to concerns from workers and supervisors
• Offering a further understanding of jobs and tasks from safety standards. 

The truth is, some managers are concerned about the organizational costs that revolve around compliance, opting instead to risk going without a safety inspection in the hopes that nothing wrong will happen. 

Nevertheless, statistics show that inspections lower the risk of an accident or an injury by 23%, even after three years. Random checks were shown to work equally as well, reducing the risk of injuries by 9% and, even more striking, the reduction of costs of reported injuries by up to 26%. 

The following factors usually dictate the frequency of these inspections:

• National or regional legislation.
• New processes and machinery that haven't been inspected
• Past accidents or other incidents
• The number and size of work operations
• The type of equipment and work process

The Importance of Regulatory Inspections

There are several reasons why such regular inspections are right for an organization. For starters, failing to comply with safety standards can attract a hefty fine. If something terrible happens, that fine could be even higher. 

Secondly, there is a matter of reputation. No company is looking forward to appearing on the news when something wrong happens. It will attract unwanted publicity that will flag an organization for some time. 

The health and safety of your employees are also at play here. Even a minor accident such as a trip or a fall can lead to a severe accident which can put that employee in the hospital. When such an accident does occur within an organization, a company-wide drop in morale usually follows. 

Last but not least is a case of lost revenue. This will take on different forms, depending on the exact circumstances. Lost revenue after an accident or injury comes from reduced productivity as a result of lowered employee morale.

Negative media attention can also cause a reduction in sales or terms of partnership opportunities. Then, there is a matter of legal fees, fines, increased administrative costs related to the injury, damaged property, machinery, or tools, as well as the cost associated with a new hire - if applicable.  

Takeaway

Investing in regulatory inspections can and will increase revenue. If all goes well and these audits do their job, the day-to-day operations will run smoothly and without a hitch. But when accidents happen, there will be a significant disruption that will extend well beyond the incident itself. The company will spend considerable time of weeks or months to recover. A cloud-based piece of software, such as The Checker Software , will provide you with many valuable management tools for higher accuracy, effectiveness, and safety.

Regular workplace inspections are essential in preventing all sorts of incidents, injuries, illnesses, property damages, or loss of revenue. There are some companies out there that for mainly financial reasons skip these inspections in the hopes of cutting on expenses. Unfortunately, however, this can only be considered a short-term solution at best or an accident waiting to happen, at worst.  

Only with a critical examination of the workplace enables business owners to save on costs, injury, and future liabilities. These inspections, if done professionally and regularly, will identify potential hazards, issue a corrective action, gain a deeper understanding of jobs and tasks performed, and listen to employee concerns. Here are five ways that will improve the effectiveness of your workplace inspection. 

1. Identifying Potentially Hazardous Situations

Every inspection needs to take a close look at all elements that comprise the workplace. It includes the who, what, where, when, and how. You should, nevertheless, pay extra close attention to such things as noise, lighting, temperature, vibration, and ventilation - elements that could develop into unsafe or unhealthy conditions down the line. Inspections also need to go out of the areas where work is regularly conducted, and extend to such places like the parking lot, locker rooms, rest area, etc. 

There are many types of workplace hazards that you need to look out for and classified as biological, chemical, ergonomic, physical, psychological, and safety hazards. Among them, there are things like inadequate machine guards or unsafe workplace conditions, viruses, bacteria, fungi, and parasites, repetitive and forceful movements, as well as prolonged awkward postures, improper or faulty equipment, noise, temperature, overwork, stress, or even violence. 

2. Listen to Employees Concerns

The employees most exposed to the day-to-day activities are the ones most qualified to address concerns. Their input will prove valuable in determining what areas need particular attention, as well as what improvements are necessary to streamline operations and increase productivity.

3. Identify Underlying Issues

When looking for health or safety issues within your workplace, you should not stop at just identifying them. Once such a hazard is detected, you should also try and look for any underlying issues that may have caused it firstly. Depending on the circumstances, these issues, if not identified, can result in the same problems to reappear. 

4. Report Everything to Management

Nothing should be left out or somehow swept under the rug, not during an inspection, or during every other day. The faster an issue is identified and reported, the easier and less costly it will be to fix. Whatever may seem out of the ordinary, potentially dangerous, or something that stifles productivity or wellbeing should be addressed as soon as possible, for everyone's benefit. 

5. Don't Just Say What's Wrong, Make Recommendations 

For a workplace inspection to be successful, it is not enough to merely point out what is wrong. Realistic solutions need to be brought forth to complete the circle and help improve conditions in the workplace.

Takeaway

Regular workplace inspections are not a drain on resources, as some managers may believe, but the exact opposite. They ensure that everything runs smoothly and without interruption, all the while keeping the workforce safe and productive. For an even more effective auditing process, consider The Checker Software , a fully integrated and scalable software solution.  

When I talk to management for companies that use cranes, I always ask, “Do you inspect your cranes?”

An answer I often here is, “Of course, we do. We inspect them when we get them. And we inspect them again every year, as required.”

Standards vary worldwide, but OSHA’s rules for the U.S. are illustrative. A company can be in compliance with OSHA’s regulations for overhead and gantry cranes by conducting only one complete crane inspection a year.  

OSHA does require operators to daily keep an eye out for:

• Maladjustment of any operating mechanism that interferes with proper operation
• Deterioration or leakage in lines, tanks, valves, drain pumps, and other parts of air or hydraulic systems
• Hooks with deformation or cracks
• Hoist chains that are worn, twisted, or stretched beyond manufacturer recommendations
• Excessive wear of any component.

But these aren’t necessarily formal inspections (i.e., documented, with each component of the crane clearly passing or failing). A formal inspection of the hoist chains is required monthly, but the other “inspections” can be done by simply looking to make sure there are no issues.

Depending on the activity, severity of service, and environment, formal inspections may be required more often than annually, but in normal conditions, once a year satisfies OSHA’s requirements. That’s just not enough. Annual inspections may keep regulators off your back (as long as no incidents occur), but inspecting cranes that infrequently is simply bad business.

Regulations about crane inspections shouldn’t even have to be put into writing. They’re beyond common sense—like don’t walk in the middle of a busy road. The potential cost of a crane accident is so far beyond the labor involved in conducting very frequent and documented crane inspections that’s it’s not even a close decision.

With a few minutes of inspecting a day, using inspection checklists for cranes, you can ensure that crane operators are actually doing their daily inspections. Plus, the completed checklists serve as documents confirming “no negligence” if anything terrible does happen.

Heavy machines and heavy loads, with humans and property all around—much is at risk. Why not reduce that risk as much as possible?

Takeaway

When it comes to crane safety, doing only the minimum inspecting required is risky business.  Using inspection checklists to conduct frequent crane inspections pays off by protecting against the potentially enormous human suffering and financial costs associated with crane failures.

“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” may be a wise saying in many cases. But not if it’s taken to mean, “If it ain’t broke, don’t do anything to it.”

Reactive maintenance—waiting for vehicles or equipment to break down before giving them maintenance attention—is clearly not the smart strategy. The short-term cost of providing routine, proactive preventive maintenance is almost always negligible compared to the costs of an on-the-job breakdown.

Just think about the last major breakdown your company had. Did you have any of these costs associated with it:

• a more-expensive repair than if the problem had been detected earlier?
• damage that could have been prevented?
• production downtime?
• overtime for repair or catching operations up to schedule?
• penalties for falling behind schedule?
• replacement equipment?
• lost opportunity for other work?

Wouldn’t it have been far less expensive if you had detected the problem that caused the breakdown before the equipment broke down?

And preventive maintenance has other benefits in addition to minimizing the disruptions of breakdowns. Preventive maintenance also helps reduce costs by:

• extending the useful life of assets
• increasing energy efficiency
• minimizing the risk of non-compliance with health and safety regulations
• enabling lower-cost, bulk procurement of spare parts in advance
• allowing for the alignment of scheduled maintenance with downtime and slower production periods.

If you do an honest assessment of your maintenance program and determine it’s mostly reactive, the good news is that you have an ideal opportunity to significantly improve your business.

The Role of Inspections

As you seek to lower maintenance costs with a preventive strategy, it’s important to understand that preventive maintenance involves more than the maintenance department. Preventive maintenance requires company-wide policies and processes that identify issues before they escalate into more-costly problems.

Audits and inspections are a primary component of this proactive approach. Not only do they identify defects earlier than waiting for a breakdown, they provide insight into the cause of recurring problems so they can be corrected (e.g., if defects repeatedly occur after a specific operation, you can look to determine if there’s a way to improve the operation to prevent the defects from occurring).  

Inspection checklists are a tool that empowers all personnel responsible for inspecting assets to play a vital role in preventive maintenance. Checklists such as those in The Checker inspection books or The Checker Software guide personnel as they conduct inspections, ensuring that they check everything that needs to be inspected. All defects will be discovered early, when they can be addressed less expensively.

The Role of Management

Management support of preventive maintenance is essential for the strategy to work. Preventive policies and procedures must be followed, and without management support that adherence becomes far less likely. For example, if personnel aren’t mandated to correctly complete inspection checklists, there’s a good chance they won’t.

Unfortunately, management often views maintenance as a cost—not as an opportunity to cut costs. This view leads to short-sighted decisions such as cutting the current maintenance budget rather than seeking a solution to permanently lower maintenance costs.

On the other hand, management that understands the long-term cost savings of preventive maintenance can give their company a meaningful competitive advantage over companies still in a reactive mode.

Takeaway

Reactive maintenance results in costs that could be avoided. Preventive maintenance tools such as inspection checklists help a company eliminate these costs and run a more-efficient maintenance program.

Audits and inspections keep people safe and help businesses run more efficiently, and so we want to encourage our customers to do more of them … not less.

That’s why we when we sell The Checker Software audit/inspection checklists, we don’t charge in the traditional way—per checklist used. This pricing model disincentives organizations from doing all the inspections they should be doing. That’s the last thing we want to do.

Instead, with The Checker Software, you can use as many of our checklists as you need, at no extra cost for each checklist (up to a maximum limit that makes sense for your business).

The cost of checklists is minimal compared with the benefits derived, but nonetheless, we don’t want anyone to cut back on audits and inspections to save money in the short-term. Our goal is to help our customers succeed, so we want them to do being conducting all the audits and inspections they need to be.

With The Checker Software, you can also add as many users as required, with no extra cost per user. If someone needs access, they can have it without any concern about extra spend.

We believe this approach to pricing is consistent with our mission to promote the use of audits and inspections to increase safety, reduce risk, lower insurance premiums, lower maintenance costs, and provide multiple other business benefits.

Takeaway

With The Checker Software, you never have to worry about cost when deciding whether to conduct an audit or inspection that should be done.