One critical piece of this transformation will be mobile data collection from mobile devices. The transformation starts by replacing paper forms with digital forms. Just this one step can have a huge impact, cutting costs across multiple processes. The rest of this short article will highlight three of the immediate advantages that result to increase efficiency, increase effectiveness, and reduce costs.
Collect Data Faster
Traditionally, data collected on the plant floor or out in the field is captured on paper. Paper works, but it can be difficult to change the data you’re collecting (e.g.: adding employee temperature checks due to COVID). You may not have the original of the form, and some users may have stashed old copies of the paper form and continue to use them. With a digital form, you can make changes quickly, and those changes automatically update all users.
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Share Information Immediately
When collecting data on paper, that data needs to get to the person or teams that need it. When a person is collecting data in the field or on a plant floor, there are two additional steps required:
- First, they need to transcribe the data.
- Then they need to share the data.
On a plant floor this may mean heading back to their desk and putting that information into a different system. If you are in the field, it could require driving 30 minutes to the office and handing the paper to an administrative assistant. That administrative assistant might have to review it for accuracy, and possibly put it into an Excel spread sheet. Then they may need to push it into an ERP or send it out manually in reports. Each of these steps take time and slow up the flow of your data.
However, with mobile data collection, raw information is shared immediately. This may include:
- Sending emails
- Sending automated reports
- Automatically pushing data into other systems
Using mobile can save time and costs in processing the information.
Reduced Errors in the Data
With increased compliance requirements, your organization is tasked with collecting more data than ever before. Your facilities may have hundreds of different products, each with different specifications, different production lines, and different workflows. You may be trying to manage a huge growing operation, or possibly a large workforce. Transitioning to a mobile data collection process will reduce the number of touches required, eliminate many of the transcription errors and greatly increase the overall accuracy and integrity of the data collected.
Mobile Data Collection Automates and Streamlines the Quality of the Data
Mobile data improves the quality of the data at a much lower cost. Phones and tablet have the ability to take photos, utilize the built in GPS, bar code and RFID scanners. With a click of a button or the bump of the phone you can capture:
- Accurate time stamps
- Latitude and Longitude
- Pictures
- Lot or inventory information from a barcode
All this can be done instantaneously.
Easier to Train Staff, Onboard New Staff and Increase Customer Satisfaction
You may have a new product. You may have a customer that now requires increased safety inspections or additional checks. With mobile data collection you can program that workflow directly into the digital form. The application then walks the employee through the data collection process and will not allow them to complete the task until the necessary data is collected. If you need to enforce minimums and maximums, and send notifications if things are out of spec, you can do that with mobile. If an inspection fails, and on fail, you require additional information and pictures, you can do that with mobile.
So rather than having to manually train all employees on procedural changes, you can simply embed the rule changes directly into the app from your desk or your phone, and the changes are instantly pushed out to all users. GPS, RFID and barcode tools available with mobile data collection also allow for robust, instantaneous verification of when and where the event took place.
Automated Analysis and Reporting
KipTraq includes a powerful, flexible reporting tool accessible from the Web. Collected data can be visualized against any field in an infinite number of ways – in a time-series, by product type, by thresholds, etc. This visualization can be done in an Excel-like format, bar charts, graphs and heat maps. The possibilities are endless. The data visualizations can then be set up to be emailed to your staff or your customers on a recurring basis. The data can also quickly be pulled PowerPoints, Word Documents, PDFs, etc.
Automated Reporting Online Demo
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Summary
Ultimately, mobile data collection removes the complexities and inaccuracies of paper, while at the same time improving accountability. It does this while also reducing employee effort and increasing employee job satisfaction. With the right solution, a time savings of 20% or more for your employees and managers is possible.
With an intuitive mobile data collection platform, businesses gain greater control over their data collection processes. Knowing what is being collected and by whom leads to increased visibility and accountability with fewer errors and real-time data analysis. This all leads to better business results and less risk for compliance.
For a custom demo to learn more about how KipTraq’s mobile data collection improves accountability or to see how it can be customized for your specific data collection processes, please contact us for a custom demo.