Beginner’s Guide to Digital Inspection Form Builders

What is an inspection form?

Inspection forms are used during the inspection process to collect information that is compiled into a report. An inspection form can be completed using a standard sheet of paper or it can be completed digitally using software for inspections on a mobile form.

Many different types of inspection forms exist and will depend on the use case. For example, there are home inspections, commercial vehicle inspections, building inspections, safety inspections, equipment inspections, operational inspections, and even more. Each of these inspection types will require different form fields to collect the information that is relevant to that industry. Checklist forms are commonly used for many inspection types to give the inspector a simple checklist to ensure all items are filled out.

Inspection forms are most commonly used in the fields of construction, service industry, oil & gas, transportation & logistics, utilities, and various other industries. These industries can benefit greatly from software designed to streamline the inspection process for field teams collecting data.

Why do businesses need software for inspections?

Companies are adopting software to transform their business operations in many different ways. Inspections are a perfect example of a paper-based process that works more efficiently when performed digitally. The reason for buying inspection form builder software is to save time and money for your business. Here is how most companies make the business case and ROI for inspection form builder software:

Eliminating cumbersome data entry from the field

Inspection form builder software allows field teams to capture data from the field using inspection forms. Data is captured in real-time and shared with anyone that needs to see it, rather than relying on paper forms and manual data entry.

Avoiding risk and liability

Most inspections contain information that is very important to a business and needs to be kept safe. With paper documents, there is no way to control if documents are lost or illegible. With digital inspections using software and forms, organizations reduce their risk by having the information automatically saved to the cloud. Inspections can even be performed offline and then synced to the cloud when an internet connection is available again. This ensures that inspection reports are always available, whenever they are needed.

Gaining insights into field operations

It’s really difficult to spot trends and have meaningful insights into your business in real-time when manual processes and paper forms are involved. You may get to the reports, but your staff spends too much time creating reports on a daily and weekly basis. Moving the inspection process to software will give your organization the ability to analyze trends and potential problems. You can even get alerts to know when inspections fail, so you can send someone to resolve the issue right away. All of the reporting is done in real-time and available in the cloud, giving your business greater visibility into field operations.

How does inspection form builder software work?

There are many different features and functionality offered for inspection form builder software and forms. Here are some of the main ways that inspection software can be used:

Dispatch

One key feature of inspection form builder software is dispatch. With Dispatch, you can create, assign, and send tasks to your team from the software application. Field technicians can then head directly to the next call without ever having to check in with status updates. The software will also let you create custom report approvals between employees and supervisors using workflows. The goal of dispatch is to send jobs directly to your workers in the field to improve their productivity and reduce their downtime.

Forms and checklists

Another feature of inspection software is the form builder for field data collection. Forms and checklists that were once paper-based, now become a digital process for technicians to complete on tablets or mobile devices. The best form builder inspection software will allow you to build customized inspection forms using a low-code or no-code platform. This means that you can easily create customizable forms and apps on the platform, without any advanced technical knowledge. Mobile forms and checklists for inspections make the entire process simple. Easily collect all of the relevant information for your industry’s inspection, collect electronic signatures on the spot, and have the information digitized for record-keeping.

Reports

Once the inspection is completed in the field, the next step in the process is to generate a report. Without software for inspections, this might require several hours of additional work to compile the reports and send them to the appropriate parties after the job has been completed. Inspection form builder software streamlines this process by generating a digital report in real-time that can be shared via email and other communication channels.

Analytics

Another important feature of inspection form builder software is the ability to perform analytics across inspections. For many industries, this is useful for visualizing what’s happening across the business and distributing findings throughout the organization. Analytics is designed to allow you to drill down into one facet of your business or keep track of everything in a high-level view. All of this is meant to empower data-driven decision-making that can result in improved productivity and greater profitability.

Getting Started with Inspection Form Builder Software and Forms

The best part about inspection form builder software and forms is that the process to get started is simple. You can get started for free by signing up for an account with GoCanvas and companies that use the platform see a very fast time to value with digital inspections. Here are some common inspection form templates and examples.

Inspection Form Templates and Examples

Building Inspection Form

Looking for a customizable inspection form for your business? This versatile inspection form is designed for building inspections and can be adapted to fit your needs. This digital inspection form simplifies the processes to assess home condition and safety.

The inspection template covers general property condition topics covered during the inspection process, including cleanliness, safety and overall condition. Jot down notes about whether or not the home is in good condition and add photos.

Follow this link to try the GoCanvas Building Inspection Form.

Quality Control Inspection Form

The Quality Control Inspection form enables inspection of mechanical devices and equipment inspections. The form is designed for quality management and can be used by many different industries.  The form is designed to help you detect problems and identify where quality improvement  through corrective measures is needed. The digital quality control inspection form allows you to make recommendations in real-time using inspection form builder software to streamline the process for your business.

Follow this link to try the GoCanvas Quality Control Inspection Form.

Vehicle Inspection Form

Vehicle inspection forms can be used during the pre-purchase phase of the vehicle, to ensure that the car is ready to be sold. Vehicle inspection technicians can use this mobile form to review the vehicle’s condition and assess what repairs are needed in order to have the vehicle in top condition for the new owner. Use this inspection form to ensure customer satisfaction and document your dealership’s attention to detail when performing vehicle inspections for the customer.

Follow this link to try the GoCanvas Vehicle Inspection Form.

Housekeeping Inspection Form

The housekeeping inspection form is designed for companies that provide cleaning services and janitorial services. Use the mobile form to add specific details about the building, including areas that need extra attention from cleaning staff, and the overall condition of inspected areas.

This inspection form helps to ensure that the highest level of standards are met and inspections are performed consistently using the template form provided to employees. Going digital with this type of inspection form allows your teams to complete inspections faster and provide instant feedback from their inspections. For example, if an issue is detected during the inspection, an image can be attached to the report and submitted instantly to have the item corrected as soon as possible.

Follow this link to try the GoCanvas Housekeeping Inspection Form.

Food Service Inspection Form

The Food Service Inspection Form helps restaurants to perform full  inspections of food service operations electronically.

The food establishment inspection form includes all areas of the food service facility and can be completed on a mobile device with a report that is automatically generated with the results of your inspection. This form is essential for restaurants and other service businesses to ensure the quality and cleanliness standards are met.

Follow this link to try the GoCanvas Food Service Inspection Form.

Looking for something different? See another helpful resource that is a compiled list of inspection templates and examples for many different use cases and industries. You can also find all of our inspection apps on the GoCanvas App Store.