RSS Feed

OSHA Requiring Employers to Electronically Submit All Injury Records: 4 Things You Need to Know

Posted on by April Jones

OSHA Requiring Employers to Electronically Submit All Injury Records: 4 Things You Need to Know

| |
Breaking News: OSHA

Starting January 1st, 2017, OSHA began enforcing a new resolution to the Federal Occupational Safety and Health Act. | 404 This new resolution put into place requirements that include the electronic submission of all workplace illness and injury records for the purposes of posting on the Occupational Safety and Health Administration website.

The motivation behind this new workplace regulation is to encourage workplaces across the country to “increase their efforts to prevent worker injuries and illnesses, and, compelled by their competitive spirit, to race to the top in terms of worker safety”, according to the official OSHA website. They have also enacted the new reporting requirements to better enable researchers to analyze safety data from across thousands of workplaces in order to develop new ways of addressing and preventing serious injuries.

Who Does This Affect

construction worker

This is a far-reaching regulation that is impacting companies of all sizes and industries across the United States.

Criteria for companies required to digitally report injury data using an OSHA 300, 300A, or 301 Form includes:

  • Organizations of 250 employees or more that currently file injury reports using OSHA Forms 300, 300A, or 301
  • Organizations with 20-249 employees that fall within specific “high risk” industries

If you are still not sure if your company falls under the new regulation, you can read the final rule e-document on the Federal Register website by clicking here.

What You’re Required To Do

Any organization that falls within the criteria of the Federal Occupational Safety and Health Act is mandated to electronically submit all their Summary of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses reports for 2016 (Form 300A) by July 1st, 2017. The same organizations will then be responsible for submitting all their documentation (Form 300, 300A, 301) for 2017 by July 1st, 2018.

To assist with this reporting process, OSHA has created three different ways that companies can submit their form data online. The three options include:

  1. Webform: Companies can go online and input data directly on the OSHA website.
  2. CSV File: Upload single or multiple reports using an Excel based file.
  3. API Integration: Companies that have recordkeeping software can connect it directly to the OSHA database.

How GoCanvas Can Help

With this new regulation taking effect, we at GoCanvas immediately began working to see how we could help our clients. What obviously stood out to us was that the forms that OSHA required to be completed were being filled out on paper. Why hadn’t there been a mobile alternative for these forms even before this ruling to help increase efficiency?

The fact is that GoCanvas has been converting paper-based OSHA forms to mobile templates for almost a decade. In fact, Form 300, 300A, and 301 were already available as mobile templates in the GoCanvas application store before this regulation even took effect!

two mobile devices with OSHA apps

The advantage to having the ability to fill out a mobile version of these three forms is that it can essentially eliminate all back-end data re-entry you would be forced to spend if you continued to use a paper version. And since OSHA requires most records to be kept for at least 5 years, all your digital reports will be automatically stored in your secure GoCanvas cloud database for whenever you need them and won’t have to worry about lost or damaged paper records any longer.

How To Automate 95% of Your OSHA Reporting

The way GoCanvas significantly automates your back-end OSHA reporting is by quickly collecting and sharing your data via a  CSV file or API connection  – which are two of the three ways that OSHA allows for electronic reporting. GoCanvas is cutting out the “middle-man” in the data transfer process and allowing you to get the data in an OSHA compatible format. No longer does someone in the office have to wait for forms to be faxed, scanned, or driven back to the office. Everything is submitted in real-time and available in the format that you need when you need it for OSHA reporting! No data duplication required.

If you’re ready to get started,  just click on the button below or email us at Info@gocanvas.com if you have any questions!

 

 

About GoCanvas

GoCanvas® is on a mission to simplify inspections and maximize compliance. Our intuitive platform takes care of the administrative tasks, freeing our customers to focus on what truly matters – safeguarding their people, protecting their equipment, and delivering exceptional quality to their customers. 

Since 2008, thousands of companies have chosen GoCanvas as their go-to partner for seamless field operations.

Check out even more resources

Three inspection workers on job site.

The Ultimate Guide to Quality Control Inspections

Managing a construction project is a complex and stressful process. Among other things, you have to coordinate project team members, materials, and equipment and ensure that contractors are not afflicted by the potential risks and hazards present at the construction site. That said, quality means different things to different people which is why you should…

Read the blog
A man using GoCanvas for the digital transformation of his workflow.

Constructions Digital Transformation

Your competition is finding faster ways to capture data and get critical insights from the field into their existing systems. In short, they’re not going bigger, they’re getting smarter. In this 15-minute broadcast on the construction industry’s digital transformation, find out why the trend is to modernize workflows – and how you can stay ahead of the curve…

see for yourself
A electrician inspecting equipment.

See how VIP Lighting optimized efficiency with GoCanvas

VIP Lighting is a retail lighting and electrical maintenance business that services over 10,000 retail locations all over Australia and New Zealand. Before GoCanvas, VIP Lighting had two separate systems that were impossible to integrate, leading to inefficiencies. GoCanvas made it easy to integrate their systems into single, centralized platform…

read their story

Connect with an Expert Today.

We’ll help you put together the right solution for your needs.

Let’s Build A Plan Together

Why States Need to Improve their Bridge Inspection Processes with Mobile Forms

Posted on by April Jones

Why States Need to Improve their Bridge Inspection Processes with Mobile Forms

| |

The American Road and Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA) recently declared almost 56,000 bridges in the United States structurally deficient. Almost half of all states fall into the category of having 9% or more of their bridges structurally deficient. According to the ARTBA, “this means one or more of the key bridge elements, such as the deck, superstructure or substructure, is considered to be in “poor” or worse condition.”

Percentages of structurally deficient bridges by state 2017 data

More than 25% of all bridges (about 174,000) were reported as being at least 50 years old and never having major construction work. 

This is pretty scary stuff. Officials tend to agree on the need to find new sources of funding for bridge and highway repair projects, as the current funding mechanisms haven’t kept pace with the cost of construction in recent years. However, this data also highlights the potential need for improved bridge inspection processes to ensure accurate data is collected, shared and analyzed quickly. Here are 5 reasons why bridge inspectors should be using mobile forms and apps for bridge inspections. 

Mobile Bridge Inspections

Easily document bridge conditions and structures with photos

 If inspections are currently being done on paper, it may not be easy to see visually the extent of damage and it may be easier for folks to put off improvements. If an inspector does happen to have a digital camera, time is probably wasted around getting the photos off the camera, printing them, attaching them to the inspection report and then storing them somewhere in a filing cabinet. 

With mobile forms and devices, inspectors can complete bridge inspection forms and add photos to the reports at the same time, eliminating the need for an additional device and time wasted compiling the photos into a report later. 

Prove an Inspection Happened

Ever wonder if an inspection really happened? Or if the form was filled out on-site instead of at another location? With mobile forms, a GPS and time stamp can be required as part of the process, so you can ensure inspectors are where they are supposed to be and doing the inspection on-site. 

Standardize Inspection Processes

Ever have the problem where one person may fill the same form out differently than another? Maybe person A starts on page 3 and works backwards while person B starts on page 1. Or skips around. Or skips various fields. Or standard langauge to describe something isn’t being used so analysis becomes difficult. 

With mobile forms, you can set them up so that various fields must be filled out, in a specific order, or the inspector cannot advance forward. This helps standardize inspection processes and ensure the right data is captured every time. 

Get Data Back in Real-Time

With paper bridge inspection forms, someone fills them out and then has to get them back to the office. Many times, they’re just physically taken in, then scanned into a computer or worse, transcribed by hand into another system. All of this takes time and resources. And if there’s a crucial issue, it might not be seen until days later! 

With mobile bridge inspections, the data is captured via mobile devices and stored in the cloud so it can be accessed instantly. No waiting around, no manual data re-entry or having to worry about expensive and annoying filing cabinets. 

Digital Data = Easier Analysis

Can you imagine combing through paper inspection forms for thousands of bridges and trying to determine what the most common issues are with the deck or substructures? And trying to look for trends based on location, temperature, time of year, inspector, building material, etc? And you’re doing this with data that may not be structured optimally, having to read messy handwriting and account for missing fields and forms? 

NIGHTMARE. 

With digital inspection data, dashboards can easily be set up so you can see data at an aggregate level for a variety of fields and conditions. It is much easier to analyze digital data, look for trends and then prioritize issues so action can be taken! 

As you can see, there are clear benefits to digitizing bridge inspections with mobile forms and apps. If you’d like to see how GoCanvas can help you improve these kinds of processes and save time while getting more accurate data, try us free today! 

Back to Top

About GoCanvas

GoCanvas® is on a mission to simplify inspections and maximize compliance. Our intuitive platform takes care of the administrative tasks, freeing our customers to focus on what truly matters – safeguarding their people, protecting their equipment, and delivering exceptional quality to their customers. 

Since 2008, thousands of companies have chosen GoCanvas as their go-to partner for seamless field operations.

Check out even more resources

Three inspection workers on job site.

The Ultimate Guide to Quality Control Inspections

Managing a construction project is a complex and stressful process. Among other things, you have to coordinate project team members, materials, and equipment and ensure that contractors are not afflicted by the potential risks and hazards present at the construction site. That said, quality means different things to different people which is why you should…

Read the blog
A man using GoCanvas for the digital transformation of his workflow.

Constructions Digital Transformation

Your competition is finding faster ways to capture data and get critical insights from the field into their existing systems. In short, they’re not going bigger, they’re getting smarter. In this 15-minute broadcast on the construction industry’s digital transformation, find out why the trend is to modernize workflows – and how you can stay ahead of the curve…

see for yourself
A electrician inspecting equipment.

See how VIP Lighting optimized efficiency with GoCanvas

VIP Lighting is a retail lighting and electrical maintenance business that services over 10,000 retail locations all over Australia and New Zealand. Before GoCanvas, VIP Lighting had two separate systems that were impossible to integrate, leading to inefficiencies. GoCanvas made it easy to integrate their systems into single, centralized platform…

read their story

Connect with an Expert Today.

We’ll help you put together the right solution for your needs.

Let’s Build A Plan Together

Feature Focus: Automate Approval Processes with Workflow

Posted on by April Jones

Feature Focus: Automate Approval Processes with Workflow

| |

How Workflow Can Improve Your Daily Process

Two Mobile Devices with Canvas

The Background

Many companies, whether they have gone paperless or not, struggle when it comes to processes that require the review and signature of multiple people within the organization. Often this, the collection of signatures, can be the most frustrating and time-consuming part of any data collection process. You are often forced to wait around until someone shows up with the forms for you to sign, or you have to become a detective and attempt to track down the last known whereabouts of the paperwork you need in order to get something processed. It can take a real toll on productivity.

Paper Forms - People

Workflow was created to eliminate the need for the manual transportation of data.

Typical examples of forms that are involved in this type of approval process include Change Orders, Time cards, Safety Inspections, Expense Reports and more.

Industries that paper-based workflow procedures are most commonly found in today include:

How Does Workflow Work?

Essentially Workflow allows you to create a step by step procedure of how a form should be filled out, completed, and submitted using a mobile device.

The online “Workflow Manager” allows you to setup how each part of the mobile form should be filled out and who should receive each section of the form for review. This creation process ensures that when a form is being filled out on a project site that it will be reviewed and completed the proper way every single time.

Calendar and Clock - Facts

It works as simple as a technician opening a GoCanvas mobile form on their smartphone and filling it out. Once the technician reaches the pre-determined end of that section, they will be notified that the data is being transferred to their supervisors’ device for review.

In real-time, the supervisor will get a push notification (similar to a text message) alerting them that they have a GoCanvas report to review. When they open it, they will be able to review all the past data and even add comments or reject it if they deem necessary. Once finished, the supervisor can submit the final report to the main office or transfer it to the next supervisor(depending on how the Workflow was created).

Why You Will Benefit

You will notice the impact on your business almost immediately. Instant benefits include:

  • Ability to review, sign, and submit reports in real-time
  • Recover 100’s of hours spent tracking down employees or reports
  • Eliminate the need for annoying texts, calls, or email reminders
  • Share photos, signatures, GPS coordinates and more directly from one device to another

Workflow gives your company a structured way to communicate data from the field to the proper supervisors in real-time. No more delays due to travel or human error. Get all the data that you need, when you need it.

Phone and Tablet with Canvas

Take a look at how Certarus has processed over 15,000+ invoice and time card submission requests using Workflow!

WANT TO LEARN MORE?

Button - Try GoCanvas Free
Back to Top

About GoCanvas

GoCanvas® is on a mission to simplify inspections and maximize compliance. Our intuitive platform takes care of the administrative tasks, freeing our customers to focus on what truly matters – safeguarding their people, protecting their equipment, and delivering exceptional quality to their customers. 

Since 2008, thousands of companies have chosen GoCanvas as their go-to partner for seamless field operations.

Check out even more resources

business people discussing project

Gown Your Business with GoCanvas Partner Program

Join our Partner Program and gain instant access to our global network of thought leaders and industry experts enjoying shared collaboration and collective success.

Learn more
Forte Supply Chain Solutions Partner Video

Partner Snapshot: Forte Supply Chain Solutions

Explore how Forte Supply Chain Solutions partnered with GoCanvas, combining in-house industry expertise with our white-label mobile forms to revolutionize their processes.

Watch VIDEO
Closeup of a handshake.

GoCanvas Integrations: Streamline your Workflow

Integrate with over 1,000 software applications. Enhance your GoCanvas experience by syncing real-time data to one or all of your business tools.

View integrations

Connect with an Expert Today.

We’ll help you put together the right solution for your needs.

Let’s Build A Plan Together

4 Mobile Forms Every Field Service Company Should Have

Posted on by April Jones

4 Mobile Forms Every Field Service Company Should Have

| | |
Construction Truck with people

When it comes to the Field Service industry, time means everything. Many companies charge customers a flat rate fee instead of an hourly rate, so it’s in the best interest of the service technician to complete as many jobs per day as possible.

So how do mobile forms come into play? Efficiency!

Using mobile forms instead of paper has proven to be a faster way to collect, share, and learn from your data in real-time. GoCanvas has an app store of over 20,000 mobile form templates from various industries.

So the only question is, which forms should you get started with first?

The Top 4 Mobile Forms for Field Service Technicians

#1.   – This form is key to getting any job done, no matter what service you are performing. With this mobile report, you have the ability to capture key data points like Time on Site, Project Images, Customer Requirements, Project Costs, and more. The best part is that you can create tasks to be assigned to technicians that are already out in the field by using GoCanvas Dispatch. The technician simply has to open up the Field Service Report on their mobile device, read the assigned dispatch, and complete the rest of the report when they arrive on the job site.

#2.   – A crucial part of any business is getting paid. But most companies still struggle with collecting payment in a timely manner. That is why the mobile Invoice form is critical for those who struggle with this issue, and for those who no longer want to wait days or weeks to get jobs processed. Another feature is the ability to collect payment instantly using our integration with Square! You can have your data flow from GoCanvas directly into your existing invoice software .

Workers Dispatching information

#3. Change Order Form – The ability to make quick changes on a job site is key. With the mobile Change Order Form and our calculation functionality, you can quickly display the costs of the proposed change to the customer and get their digital signature in seconds. A copy of the form will be sent to the customer, the back office, and to the parts supplier for immediate delivery.

#4.  Daily Time Sheet –  The hardest thing for any company to accurately capture is an employee’s work hours. The problem is that this data is usually captured on a weekly basis but rarely turned in on time. If this data isn’t turned in on time, then no one gets paid. With the mobile Daily Time Sheet form, an employee can simply input their hours each day and submit it to the office. At the end of the pay period, the office accountant can simply export every employee’s work hours into an Excel spreadsheet. We can even help you create an automated dashboard or report that neatly organizes and totals up each employee’s weekly hours for you!

Request a demo button
Back to Top

About GoCanvas

GoCanvas® is on a mission to simplify inspections and maximize compliance. Our intuitive platform takes care of the administrative tasks, freeing our customers to focus on what truly matters – safeguarding their people, protecting their equipment, and delivering exceptional quality to their customers. 

Since 2008, thousands of companies have chosen GoCanvas as their go-to partner for seamless field operations.

Check out even more resources

Two people in an office looking at a tablet.

Improving Your Operations with Field Service Management Software

Whether you have two or 200 employees, your business’ success depends on their hard work. Passionate, motivated team players are the difference between…

Read the Blog
Two people in hard hats looking off camera.

Should You Connect Field Service Management Software with QuickBooks?

Field service management software has shown to increase productivity both for employees in the field and operations teams in the office. You may be wondering how field service…

Read the Blog
Person in safety vest smiling.

How the Best Field Services Businesses Use Mobile Apps

Mobility and field service: the talk has been happening forever. The idea that real-time information improves customer service and boosts technician productivity is changing…

Read the eBook

Connect with an Expert Today.

We’ll help you put together the right solution for your needs.

Let’s Build A Plan Together

3 Things I Learned at the World’s Largest HVAC Expo

Posted on by April Jones

3 Things I Learned at the World’s Largest HVAC Expo

|

HVAC Professionals at AHR ExpoWhere HVAC Meets IoT

The Las Vegas Convention Center was buzzing with excitement as the 2017 AHR Expo opened its doors Monday morning. With 2,000+ exhibitors and 100’s of free seminars, it was almost overwhelming the amount of knowledge being crammed into one building. 

Working for GoCanvas, a company whose goal is to automate how work is done, our mission at the expo was to identify the movement of the industry and the ways that we could better incorporate our platform to further increase efficiency for our current and existing HVAC mobile app customers.

Key highlights from our two days at the 2017 AHR Expo:

Building Automation is the Present and the Future

This was one of the major themes observed in the various seminars. Businesses are looking for a way to leverage technology as a means to better manage their facilities and the expensive HVAC equipment within them. Many of the new products coming onto the market – whether they be boilers, chillers, blowers, pumps – are all coming equipped with Wi-Fi enabled sensors that can “talk” to technicians and let them know when an issue occurs or is no longer working at peak performance. This type of technology allows for facility managers to be more pro-active about the servicing of their HVAC equipment and ensuring that small issues don’t snowball and cause a drop in performance.

Below is an example of what Mitsubishi has brought to the HVAC market. Their smart heat pump allows for facility managers of large or small buildings to instantly view, control, and manage heating/cooling needs for various units – all from their phone. They can even set minimum and maximum temperatures for each room or unit, and the heat pump will auto-adjust to fit those parameters if exceeded. This is just one example of how technology is increasing automation within HVAC, and in particular, facility management.

Mobile App - Mitsubishi

Sensors, Sensors, Sensors!

One of the biggest surprises for me was seeing the mass adoption of “smart sensors” throughout the HVAC industry. The concept of the “Internet of Things” or IoT, was a major point of emphasis for both HVAC distributors as well as partners. It touches upon the idea that more companies than ever are wanting access to as much data as they can get their hands on, as fast as possible. Whether they be for pressure, humidity, temperature, etc — companies want access to this data in real-time without having to manually measure it themselves. The ability to make informed decisions such as “We need to fix or replace part XYZ immediately because we’re not hitting the minimum performance standards” can save a company thousands of dollars in energy costs on a monthly basis.

Nest Smart Thermostat

With the emergence of smart sensors and IoT, the HVAC industry is beginning to shift into the world of predictive maintenance, remote diagnostics, and much more. Enterprises like Emerson, Samsung, and Johnson Controls are causing the “tech disruption” of the old school ways of approaching HVAC. In the coming years, technicians will know immediately what is wrong, where it’s wrong, and how to fix it using the right parts. There will be significantly less productivity wasted on tracking down the source of issues with the introduction of smart sensors in HVAC.

The Importance of Data & Analytics

The theme of “Big Data” was prevalent among everything at the expo, but with the rise of IoT and devices like smart sensors, how do we ensure that we use the data that we capture efficiently? It was consistently preached that the goal of implementing “smart HVAC” equipment was not that it looks cooler or can give you all the data you want instantly, but that it can substantially increase your overall productivity.

Analytics on ComputerThis is of huge importance since the U.S. finds itself in the lowest period of labor productivity growth since the 1970’s. But with sensors sending you data to your fingertips in a matter of seconds, it can be very easy for companies to become overwhelmed and not know where to focus. One speaker pointed out that “Analytics can tell us what is wrong and what we should work on, but communication actually gets things done”. This is an amazing point.

We can have all this data on what needs to be done to fix an issue, but if that data isn’t properly communicated to the right parties — in this case the HVAC or maintenance technicians — then nothing actually gets completed. For data to be valuable, it must be put in the hands of the people who can actually use it and not just sitting on a computer screen.

Keep this in mind as your company begins to explore “smart tech” for your business, whether it be HVAC or beyond. Data is great to have, but the proper communication of it is essential.  

I would highly encourage anyone who works or is connected to the HVAC industry to attend the AHR Expo in the future!

Buried Under Paperwork - Canvas
Back to Top

About GoCanvas

GoCanvas® is on a mission to simplify inspections and maximize compliance. Our intuitive platform takes care of the administrative tasks, freeing our customers to focus on what truly matters – safeguarding their people, protecting their equipment, and delivering exceptional quality to their customers. 

Since 2008, thousands of companies have chosen GoCanvas as their go-to partner for seamless field operations.

Check out even more resources

A person sits at a desk holding their phone showing a graph, while their laptop sits on the desk showing more charts and graphs.

How TE3CO Leverages Data Analytics to Unlock Business Potential

TE3CO provides mission-critical pressure relief technology and services to customers across the oil and gas industry. They employ a highly trained and capable workforce of field technicians and engineers. Before working with GoCanvas, TE3CO relied on spreadsheets and emails to manage their ticketing process but found the system time-consuming and difficult to track.

Read their story
Two men in hard hats look onto a tablet.

VIP Lighting Gains Business Efficiencies with GoCanvas

VIP Lighting is a retail lighting and electrical maintenance company that services retail chains across Australia and New Zealand. The business has been operating for 25 years and now services 10,000 retail sites across both countries. Prior to joining GoCanvas in 2018, the business had multiple systems running different aspects of their technician and contractor network.

Read their story
Man in a hard hat inspecting HVAC vents.

Three HVAC Maintenance Checklists that will Reduce Errors and Grow Your Bottom Line

For HVAC technicians, so many errors within their daily tasks come from using outdated paper forms while completing a job. Using these HVAC inspection checklists will prevent issues before they happen, so your technicians can collect comprehensive and consistent data at every job.

View checklists

Connect with an Expert Today.

We’ll help you put together the right solution for your needs.

Let’s Build A Plan Together

3 Reasons Why Every Electrician & Plumber Should Be Paperless in 2017

Posted on by April Jones

3 Reasons Why Every Electrician & Plumber Should Be Paperless in 2017

|

Plumbers and electricians are not just the men and women you call when you have an issue in your home, they are the same people who get contracted on commercial construction projects in cities and suburbs all across the world.

For these larger projects that involve permits, zoning, and large contracts it’s essential that data be properly collected and stored for documentation.

Over the years as technology has progressed, so has the complexity and speed of these construction projects. Yet, when we look at how companies process, share and analyze their data on these job sites we find that they are still using the same methods from almost a half-century ago. They are still stuck using paper!

What Paper is Actually Costing You

It might seem obvious, and something you have heard a MILLION times, but using paper is negatively impacting your company’s overall efficiency.

What does this mean? Take a look at some of these figures and facts:

1.) The average company spends $80 per employee annually and loses 2 hours per day just on paperwork

2.) TechRadar reports that up to 70% of business would fail within 3 weeks if their paper records were destroyed in a fire or flood.

3.) A found that 49.6% of time spent in construction is “devoted to wasteful activities” like looking for tools, errors in communication, attempting to locate forms, etc.

How Can Mobile Technology Help?

There are a variety of ways that mobile tools will and currently are making an impact for Plumbers and Electricians. But when we focus in, we can clearly identify 3 primary ways that mobile tools affect a business’ bottom line.

# Renewable Energy

According to the 2015 U.S. Clean Tech Leadership Index, approximately 47% of electricity generation in the United States came from renewable sources including wind and solar. Projections for 2017 and beyond have made it clear that the shift towards renewables is not a wading fade, but a systematic change.

When it comes to the services of a Plumber or Electrician, they are not immune. Understanding of the new “high-efficiency” parts and materials that are required by government regulations are now a key for being competitive in the industry and mobile apps can help! Mobile apps can assist technicians with looking up product manuals and documentation with just a scan of a barcode, finding the solution to common questions about pricing or equipment, and even help with the calculation of common service charges!

#2 Streamlined Operations

Mobile technology is great because it allows for the sharing of data in real-time without having to worry about driving or scanning the contents to the office later. A platform like GoCanvas gives Plumbers and Electricians the ability to send and receive job orders from wherever they find themselves.

Tools like Dispatch allow the office to schedule customer appointments and assign task directly to the technician’s device out in the field. Once the technician receives the notification on their smart device, he or she can read where they need to go and begin completing the ! To track the status’ of all their tasks throughout the day/week, the office can view the Dispatch Manager online and view what has or has not been completed in real-time. No more guessing or trying to track down employees to find out if something has been completed. All the information is sent directly to your GoCanvas database.

Another great example of streamlining communication is with  With any big job, Change Orders are normal but time-consuming. With GoCanvas you can send an order, have it processed, and get paid within minutes. No need to wait around for paper invoices to make their way to everyone, GoCanvas sends it to the right people in seconds.

#3 - Foster CollaborationIn today’s highly engaged business world, Electricians and Plumbers can’t afford to work in informational bunkers. They need to have the information that they collect be communicated to the right people and systems in real-time.

An example is an Electrician completing a Work Order or mobile Invoice form that requires supervisory approval before it can be completed. How can this be done faster without paper and having to drive all the way back to the office for a signature?

Simple! With GoCanvas and our Workflow functionality, the document that was completed on the technician’s device will be transmitted to the supervisor’s device for digital signature approval and then sent to the customer in real-time. The supervisor can even add comments and reject the work order back to the original Electrician if he/she feels it is incomplete in some way.

But this is not the only way that mobile apps like GoCanvas help foster collaboration. The simple act of a dispatcher being able to create, assign and track assignments to technicians in the field is another great example. Another way is the simple ability for a technician to go out to a job site, fill out a mobile document, and be able to send a PDF copy to a customer, supervisor, and the office staff before they even start their truck to go home.

This is the essences of going mobile and fostering collaboration with GoCanvas, and how on average we increase our customers’ productivity by 30%!

Electricians + Plumbers eBook
Back to Top

About GoCanvas

GoCanvas® is on a mission to simplify inspections and maximize compliance. Our intuitive platform takes care of the administrative tasks, freeing our customers to focus on what truly matters – safeguarding their people, protecting their equipment, and delivering exceptional quality to their customers. 

Since 2008, thousands of companies have chosen GoCanvas as their go-to partner for seamless field operations.

Check out even more resources

Man inputting digital work order into a tablet from a work site.

How Digital Work Orders Impact Your Key Business Outcomes

Is your company still using paper sheets to manage work orders? The drawbacks of using paper forms are often hidden, making it difficult to understand the true impact of paper forms on a business…

Read the Blog
Woman reviewing data via her mobile phone.

See How Centurion Got Amazing ROI from GoCanvas

Centurion is the largest heavy haulage provider in Australia. They deliver national supply chain solutions to the resources, energy, construction & retail sectors throughout Western Australia, Queensland & the Northern Territory…

Read their Story
A man reviewing data on tablet collected by GoCanvas solutions.

5 Tips to Improve How Your Business Collects Data

Companies rely on collecting data in order to operate. In a fast-changing world, companies that focus on streamlining and improving their data collection processes will be able to do more. The good news is that it’s become easier than ever for businesses of all… 

Discover the 5 Tips

Connect with an Expert Today.

We’ll help you put together the right solution for your needs.

Let’s Build A Plan Together

Feature Focus: Import Your Database with Reference Data

Posted on by April Jones

Feature Focus: Import Your Database with Reference Data

|

Introducing: Reference Data

Speed up data collection with automated fields

When new users ask, “what makes GoCanvas so different than paper?”, I immediately point out Reference Data. The reason is that with paper, you are always stuck in 2nd gear filling out your form. There is no faster way to manually fill out a piece of paper unless you grow a 3rd arm. With Reference Data, you are instantly putting your employees into 5th gear by giving them access to your company catalogs and database from right within your mobile forms.

How it works

Reference data is a core feature that is available for all users of the GoCanvas platform. You simply upload a .CSV(Excel) file with the information you wish to connect to your mobile form(s) and use the App Builder to connect that datasheet to the relevant data fields. After this quick update has been made, your users will be able to dynamically pick from these values when filling our their mobile form.

Getting started with Reference Data

For example, say your employee selects the value “John Doe” from a drop down field in the mobile form. By selecting “John Doe”, this will automatically populate the Address, City, State, and Zip Code fields that correspond to that specific value. Below is an example of the datasheet that would have been uploaded and connected to the mobile form.                                             

Best use cases

The great thing about Reference Data is that it can be applied to almost every industry and process.

The most popular use cases are:

  • Customer & Vendor Lists
  • Project Locations
  • Parts, Price, and Material Lists
  • County or State Tax Rates
  • Employee Names
  • Inspection Scoring

Each of the above would typically reside in an Excel sheet (like the one above), so Reference Data simply takes that data and makes it accessible through your mobile forms. No more carrying around spreadsheets or catalogs.

Benefits

The first obvious benefit of using Reference Data is the time savings. Instead of having to look up and fill out multiple fields manually, you can simply just fill out a single field (usually a drop down) and have it automatically populate the rest of the form. This can easily save you 5-10 minutes per section compared to manually filling out each field.

The second benefit is data quality. When using Reference Data, you are eliminating the need for data lookup or hand typing. What this means is that since the information is being populated from a company spreadsheet, the likelihood of a misspelling or incorrect value is essentially eliminated. Therefore you no longer have to worry about things like incorrect client addresses or inaccurate service quotes since all the information is pulling directly from the corresponding spreadsheets.

The third benefit is automated scoring and reporting. Many customers use Reference Data to create inspections with simple sometimes complex) scoring based on how each user fills out the form. This is most prevalent within inspection forms where you are reviewing a number of items and need to get a final score/rating.

Reference Data allows you to assign a numerical value like “1” every time an item is marked as “Pass” and then automatically total up each item into a final score. This scoring functionality not only allows you to get instant insight as soon as one of your employees fills out an inspection, but it also saves you the time of having to manually review each form and count up their score.

With automatic scoring, reporting is made a snap. Now a manager can receive a PDF report, see if it “Passed” or “Failed”, and immediately start making corrective actions if necessary.

Overall, Reference Data is for anyone looking to cut down on mistakes, speed up data capture, and increase the quality of their data. If you are not currently using this feature, reach out to Info@gocanvas.com to learn more!

Back to Top

About GoCanvas

GoCanvas® is on a mission to simplify inspections and maximize compliance. Our intuitive platform takes care of the administrative tasks, freeing our customers to focus on what truly matters – safeguarding their people, protecting their equipment, and delivering exceptional quality to their customers. 

Since 2008, thousands of companies have chosen GoCanvas as their go-to partner for seamless field operations.

Check out even more resources

Manage Risk for Oil and Gas Companies With a Risk Assessment Checklist

Today, the challenges faced by the oil and gas industry are considerable. Effective business leaders and managers must thoroughly understand them to determine…

Read the blog

Solutions to Waste Management Issues For Oil & Gas Companies

Waste management compliance is important in every industry. The oil and gas industry, in particular, has a strong risk of waste emissions…

Read the blog

4 Ways Big Data is Transforming Oil and Gas

Oil and gas companies are getting smart about using the data they collect to gain insights and manage people, equipment, and worksites more effectively…

Read the eBook

Connect with an Expert Today.

We’ll help you put together the right solution for your needs.

Let’s Build A Plan Together

Release Notes: New Functionality for the App Builder & PDF Designer

Posted on by April Jones

Release Notes: New Functionality for the App Builder & PDF Designer

I’m not even sure where to start with this release! There are a lot of new things along with some enhancements to the user interface in our App Builder and PDF Designer in the spirit of making them easier to use. A number of these changes were done to make the controls inside the App Builder identical to the controls inside the PDF Designer so there is familiarity between the two tools.

Brand New Functionality

I’m sure you’re more interested in the brand new stuff, so let’s start there.

App Builder

We added a number of new things to help you save even more time using GoCanvas!

Barcode Field – Read-Only Capability

Now you can make a barcode field “Read Only”. This might be a misnomer, but what this allows you to do is force your user to use the camera and actually scan a barcode. They are not able to manually type in whatever value they want. Customers have wanted to ensure that their mobile users are actually scanning a barcode and this will do the trick.

View Grid

Our “Grid” functionality is an alternative way for your mobile user to use a “Loop” or “List” screen. Now you can see what that Grid will look like on mobile inside the App Builder. One thing to note is that you cannot edit when viewing the Grid. It just shows you a preview so you can see how things will look for your mobile user.

***NOTE***: Grid functionality must be enabled for you by our team here at GoCanvas. If you want it turned on, please email us at support@gocanvas.com. We are happy to enable it for your account.

Identify Conditional Screens and Fields

One thing that can be rather painful is not knowing which screens and fields are set to be conditional. We have added some icons so you can easily identify them now. This will save you a lot of time when building and editing your GoCanvas Apps!

Here is how a conditional screen will be identified…

Here is how a conditional field will be identified…

Identify “Invisible” Fields on Mobile Devices

For years and years we have provided the ability to make a field on the mobile device “invisible”. This is used for all kinds of reasons like triggering conditional screens or fields or hiding calculations from mobile users because they don’t need to see them and much more.

The challenge was then knowing which fields were invisible when working inside the App Builder. Problem solved!

We have added a dotted line around a field that is invisible.

The name of this setting was changed to “Mobile Visible”, too. We wanted to clarify that this setting impacted the field on the mobile device only. You can always see it in the App Builder so you can edit it.

PDF Designer

We continue to add functionality to our PDF Designer so it is faster to create beautiful PDFs and so you have functionality that makes the PDF more engaging for your audience.

More Social Icons & Styling Tools

We really want to encourage you to use your customer-facing documents as additional marketing tools. Encourage your customers to connect with you on Facebook, review your services on Angie’s List (Or Google or Yelp), follow you on Twitter and more. I know this might be new to many of you, but you will grow your business doing this.

Outside of that you can link people to your website, of course. Or link them to specific pages on your site to provide additional information outside of what is in the PDF.

  1. New social icons: We added Angie’s List, Google Reviews, Home Advisor, and Yelp.
  2. Alignment: You can now align the social icons just like any other Element.
  3. Vertical Spacing: This control is on other Elements and fields in the PDF Designer, but it allows you to control the spacing around the social icon itself. Play around with it to see how it works.

User Interface Enhancements

We made some changes within both tools to make them easier to use and a lot more understandable for newer users.

App Builder

You’ll notice some new “Tool Tips” placed throughout the App Builder to help folks understand how things work. Sometimes there will be a question mark you hover over and sometimes you’ll just hover over the word or icon associated with the feature. Here is an example for Screen Conditions.

Field Settings – More

GoCanvas is really powerful, which makes it harder for folks to understand. So we have made changes to the More area under Field Settings.

  1. Mobile Visible: As mentioned above, we changed the name of this feature. Previously it was called “App Visible”. We wanted to more clearly call out that this impacts behavior on the mobile device.
  2. Place value in…: Previously these were all presented as separate choices. We wanted to group these together to help folks understand that the behavior for each is somewhat similar. You are placing the value entered in the field in the areas listed.
  3. PDF & Web Label: Previously this was called “Report Label”. No one really knew what the “report” was, though! The report is the PDF and the label would show up on the web view, too. So we wanted to make this clearer.

Field Settings – Standard PDF

The Standard PDF is the default design that all GoCanvas Apps use initially (Although this has started to change, too!). Some of the controls in the App Builder impact behavior on that Standard PDF. Previously this was not clearly communicated to our users. It is even more confusing now that we have the PDF Designer.

So we created a new section under Field Settings called “Standard PDF”. Any controls in that section impact the Standard PDF ONLY. You will find this under any field that has controls that only impact the Standard PDF.

Top Controls

We moved the buttons that were previously on the top left up higher to create more space inside the editing area. The buttons are now on the right and are higher. You’ll also notice a very slight change to the “Add Screen” button.

PDF Designer

You will also find some “Tool Tips” throughout the PDF Designer to help folks understand how things function.

Top Controls

We changed the buttons around to match what is now in the App Builder. These buttons are also found at the top right instead of the left.

And we moved the Auto Layout controls to the left side.

Feedback

Phew! That is a lot of stuff! Please tell us what you think! You can send feedback to feedback@gocanvas.com anytime. We love, love, love hearing from you. Tell us what YOU want GoCanvas to do to save you even more time.

Back to Top

About GoCanvas

GoCanvas® is on a mission to simplify inspections and maximize compliance. Our intuitive platform takes care of the administrative tasks, freeing our customers to focus on what truly matters – safeguarding their people, protecting their equipment, and delivering exceptional quality to their customers. 

Since 2008, thousands of companies have chosen GoCanvas as their go-to partner for seamless field operations.

Check out even more resources

Two people in an office looking at a tablet.

Improving Your Operations with Field Service Management Software

Whether you have two or 200 employees, your business’ success depends on their hard work. Passionate, motivated team players are the difference between…

Read the Blog
Two people in hard hats looking off camera.

Should You Connect Field Service Management Software with QuickBooks?

Field service management software has shown to increase productivity both for employees in the field and operations teams in the office. You may be wondering how field service…

Read the Blog
Person in safety vest smiling.

How the Best Field Services Businesses Use Mobile Apps

Mobility and field service: the talk has been happening forever. The idea that real-time information improves customer service and boosts technician productivity is changing…

Read the eBook

Connect with an Expert Today.

We’ll help you put together the right solution for your needs.

Let’s Build A Plan Together

Feature Focus: The Benefits of Dispatch

Posted on by April Jones

Feature Focus: The Benefits of Dispatch

| |

This week we spotlight Dispatch, the easiest way to communicate with your field personnel without picking up a telephone.

Dispatch allows companies, big and small, to eliminate the need for time-consuming task assignment and tracking. It gives the ability to create tasks, assign them to employees, and track their completion status in real-time right from the Dispatch Dashboard on the GoCanvas website.

Dispatch is perfect for:

  • Assigning Work Orders, Inspections, and more
  • Scheduling assignments individually or in mass
  • Tracking job status & reports in real-time
  • Construction, HVAC, Retail, Energy & Utilities, Home Healthcare

How it Works

The best part about the Dispatch functionality is that it connects the office with the employees who work in the field.

Office employees, those of who typically interact with the GoCanvas website, would use the Dispatch Manager to create and organize their field employees’ daily tasks. They can choose any of the mobile forms that are currently published and begin pre-filling out details for the task before it gets assigned. The types of fields within the mobile form that can be pre-filled include Text Boxes, Checkboxes, Dates, Times, Dropdowns, and more. You can even dynamically add items into “Loop” or “List Screens”, which allows for tables to be pre-filled out before they arrive to field employees.

Keep in mind, the dispatched task does NOT have to be immediately sent for completion. The “Dispatch Type”, as seen below, can be toggled to “Schedule Dispatch” and be triggered to be sent at a future date and time. This is perfect for companies that have re-occurring inspections(3,6,12-month), have the need to schedule follow-ups, or book appointments days in advance.

Learn More About Dispatch

The Benefits

When the office completes creating dispatches, any marked as “Immediate Dispatch” would instantly notify the assigned employee with a push notification. This immediately reduces the time it would normally take for the employee to come into the office, pick up their assignments for the day, and drive out to the first location.

Learn More About Dispatch

Once the employee receives their Dispatch(s), they are able to scroll through the details and view the pre-filled info of each report. This can include addresses, dates, times, and more. When a Dispatch has begun being filled out, the employees in the office will view the status on the Dispatch Manager online change from “Assigned” to “Received”. And once the task is fully filled out and submitted to the online database, the status will once again change from “Received” to “Completed” in real-time. These status updates give management up-to-the-minute insight into how many tasks are being completed daily, if they are on-time, and which need to be re-assigned to other employees.

Learn More About Dispatch

Is Dispatch For You?

If you are a company looking to increase efficiency by increasing the speed of data moving from A to B, then Dispatch is definitely a feature you should consider.

Dispatch will allow your company to cut out 100’s of hours a month when it comes to task management and scheduling, and will also increase the overall visibility of data across your entire organization. This will help in the communication of daily KPI’s like job completion, as well as assist with giving instant insight into reports as soon as they are submitted.

Want to learn more? Click here!

Learn More About Dispatch

Back to Top

About GoCanvas

GoCanvas® is on a mission to simplify inspections and maximize compliance. Our intuitive platform takes care of the administrative tasks, freeing our customers to focus on what truly matters – safeguarding their people, protecting their equipment, and delivering exceptional quality to their customers. 

Since 2008, thousands of companies have chosen GoCanvas as their go-to partner for seamless field operations.

Check out even more resources

Best Ways to Collect Data in Manufacturing

Data analysis is the heart of any well-functioning manufacturing company. Without accurate, real-time data, manufacturing plants are left in the dark about costs, areas that need improvements, quality assurance, employee production, and so many other valuable insights.

Read the Blog

Improving Your Manufacturing Workflow With Apps

Have you ever wondered how manufacturing companies like Nvidia, SpaceX, Tesla, Intel, and Nike remain at the forefront of their industries? These companies obsess over optimizing their manufacturing process. To create and maintain a near-flawless workflow…

Read the Blog

Wastewater Processing: 8 Tips to Make Your Manufacturing Site More Sustainable

When it comes to wastewater disposal, manufacturers can place a significant strain on municipal water systems. The lack of proper waste management leads to sanitary waste, particularly in metropolitan areas’ water supply.

Read the Blog

Connect with an Expert Today.

We’ll help you put together the right solution for your needs.

Let’s Build A Plan Together