Why Use a Mobile Forms App for your Construction Business

Why Use a Mobile Forms App for your Construction Business

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The construction industry is competitive, but with the right productivity tools, you can help your company stay ahead. With the current construction trend of rapidly adopting digital processes, a mobile forms app may be the digital boost that your construction business is missing. Learn more here about how a mobile forms app can help your construction company thrive. 

Eliminate the communication gap that exists between your employees in the office and those in the field. Using a mobile forms app, you can easily dispatch important information and forms such as work/service/repair orders, as well as other documents to and from the office, directly to your field tech’s mobile device. This ease of communication makes your team more efficient and can improve your company’s overall productivity. It also means your techs spend a lot less time driving to and from the office. 

Bring your documents with you wherever you go without the fear that they may be lost or damaged on the job site. This includes your audits, work orders, bids, estimates, checklists, proposals, FLHA’s and more – all of which are available right from your mobile device.  With digital processing and mobile sharing, you never have to worry about another misplaced form again. 

Are you looking for a better way to document your work on the job site? By enabling photo capture on your mobile forms app, you can add images directly onto your document. Your descriptions can now be accompanied by an internal picture, helping you better describe construction achievements, progress, issues, and more. Attach an image directly to your forms for reference and clarity to eliminate the time spent on questions and confusion.

Getting contract signatures has never been easier with a mobile forms app. These apps allow you and the client to sign and save directly through the program. Whether you are working with a subcontractor, a third party entity, or directly with the customer, you can get your forms and documents signed and saved through your mobile device. 

Mobile form conversion can help you keep track of the files and paperwork that your construction company produces. You will never again lose or damage important paperwork in the shuffle of a high-paced construction job. This digital conversion also helps you eliminate clarity issues that messy handwriting can cause. Easily keep track of new and old customers and manage your growing business with ease when you take advantage of the organizational capacity that mobile forms provide. 

You can also easily organize your internal processes with construction checklists. Systemize your tasks and your team’s workload with team-wide calendars. This can help you streamline your workflow and ensure nothing important gets forgotten. 

Safety audits are a lengthy but important element of the construction process. With mobile forms, audits such as the popular Safety Inspection – Lockout and Tagout App can be quickly filled out right from a mobile device, edited, saved, and shared with all necessary parties. If a problem is spotted, the inspection can include photos, GPS location, detailed notes and sent immediately to the person or group responsible. This eliminates the trouble that paper safety audits can create such as lost, illegible or incomplete documentation. Since all documentation is stored in the cloud, should an OSHA inspector stop by, you can quickly retrieve and present your safety audits (and more). 

If your construction business has a hard time sorting through the managerial tasks that a thriving company requires, a mobile forms app can help you streamline these processes. For example, a Time and Materials Log App can be completed right on your mobile device to ensure you are getting paid appropriately. IT Help is not required in this simple streamlining of digital processes for your construction business. Instead, a mobile form app makes it easy for you and your team members to do these tasks on your own. 

If you need an easy-to-implement mobile forms app that can help promote efficiency in your construction company, GoCanvas is here for you! Try GoCanvas and all of its features with a free trial – no credit card required. Sign up today to get started! 

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…

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Constructions Digital Transformation

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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…

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

7 Best Oil and Gas Safety Apps

7 Best Oil and Gas Safety Apps

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The oil and gas industry is among the most dangerous industries for workers, with a fatality rate seven times higher than any other U.S. industry. Safety management in the oil and gas industry is a crucial part of operations and one in which every detail matters.

Working in this industry, in safety management or not, requires all individuals to be diligent and knowledgeable about the different safety risks associated with this field of work. Although it can be repetitive, thorough safety training is very important; management wants to know that crew members are complying to their safety training while on site. Stakeholders understand that occupational safety and staying environmentally compliant is not just the right thing to do, but also better for oil and gas businesses in the long run.

One of the best ways to improve oil and gas safety processes is through better data capture and standardization of processes on site.  Capturing data electronically through mobile apps (instead of on paper) gives management real-time business insights to ensure protocols are being met and ensures problems can be resolved quickly if not avoided entirely.

Here are several must-have oil and gas safety apps to track job site safety!

1. Rig Inspection Checklist

The Rig Inspection Checklist app helps ensure the operational integrity of your land rigs. By performing inspections in real time you can ensure your team is always in compliance with the latest regulations. This mobile inspection form lets you conduct drilling rig inspections on: personnel certifications, rig site accommodations, Gensets and engines, SCR room, accumulator, mud pumps, mud tanks and more. Since this Rig Inspection Checklist App is editable you can extend it to include workover rig inspections, drilling inspections, and equipment checklists.

2. Oil and Gas Drilling Safety Checklist

The Oil and Gas Drilling Safety Checklist App helps improve safety operations and performance. This app can be used for anyone is the oil and gas industry looking to improve safety measures and can be used even by those who are dedicated to the occupational health and safety of the job site. This app can be used not just to ensure industry compliance but can be used to entirely prevent worksite injuries for employees. Update this app template to include other particular topics including but not limited to site safety checklists and toolbox talks.

3. Daily Self Inspections

The Daily Self Inspection App helps ensure employees are taking the appropriate precautions when starting their day. In this app employees will be prompted to run through a variety of checklists related to accident prevention, DOT safety audits, hazardous conditions, PPE for employees and more. Once the form is completed the submission will automatically save for your records in accordance with OSHA and MSHA record keeping standards. With features such as required fields, photo capture, and offline capabilities management can ensure that workers have the right personal protective equipment on hand and that hazardous locations are secured before work begins each day.

4. Confined Space Hazards Assessment

The Confined Space Hazards Assessment App is used for pre-work audits to ensure site and environmental safety. Employees will be prompted to inspect atmospheric hazards, work-related hazards, confined space hazards, and human factors. As a supervisor of employees, define entry procedures for potential hazards for health and safety, such as ventilation leading to oxygen deficiency, engulfment hazards, atmospheric hazards, and physical hazards. As with all GoCanvas apps you can add or remove whatever you and your team find important.

5. MSHA Inspections or OSHA Inspections

Whether your business must comply with OSHA or MSHA regulations GoCanvas has hundreds of apps specific to these regulatory bodies. Every oil and gas business needs to ensure that their workplace is up to industry safety standards. These apps help make sure every safety form is not just accurate but also always accessible. Regular use of these inspection checklists can help reduce workplace injuries and keep the work area safe. These apps help both the employees and employers reduce the risk of injury and illnesses.

6. Emergency Response Plan

Proactive risk prevention is essential within the oil and gas industry. The Emergency Response Plan App helps management mitigate the impact of problems if in the off chance they do occur. To help your team feel comfortable with emergency readiness and preparation this app will help guide them through how management expects them to prepare. This app was created specifically for underground coal mine safety, but can be edited to fit whatever environment your team works in. As supervisors and safety professionals, identify where corrective actions are needed according to regulations and requirements as part of OSHA compliance.

7. Job Safety Analysis (Health and Safety Plan)

The Job Safety Analysis App helps staff identify project hazards and specify engineering and administrative controls and personal protective equipment necessary to mitigate the risks associated with these hazards. As new hazards are reported a JSA or JHA must be conducted to stay compliant with industry regulations. This app makes it so staff can submit these reports from their mobile device and assists in emergency response planning of the specific project.

Where does GoCanvas help in improving your oil and gas safety? GoCanvas offers each of these apps as templates that you can customize yourself…or we can help you do it! This automates the way information is captured in the field and makes it easy to deploy these apps through a single platform where data is stored centrally, users can easily be managed and results can be visualized in real-time.

Although increasingly more programs and products are created to promote employee safety, the effectiveness of these tools must be tracked and when it comes to safety the data needs to be real time so corrective action can be taken immediately. Automation is necessary to oversee inspections, performance, and maintain safety in oil and gas extraction with no lag time in communications. When situations arise in the field it is important to have tools in place to prevent and mitigate damage at a moment’s notice. Luckily, operators and contractors in the field can use mobile forms to monitor exposure of chemicals, metals, NORM, and more, then create programs to keep oil and natural gas drilling workers safe. Over 900+ mobile forms are available for the Mining, Quarry, Oil, Gas & Chemicals industry within the GoCanvas Application Store.

Want to learn more about how mobile technology and data can be used in the oil and gas industry?

Take a look at our new eBook, 4 Ways Big Data is Transforming Oil and Gas.

In it, you’ll learn:

  • How to predict when equipment will fail, and how best to structure your maintenance schedule
  • How data collection can help keep track of complex environmental regulations
  • How to enable quicker decision-making to improve worker safety and health

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

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Maintaining your Duty of Care under the UK Corporate Manslaughter Act

Maintaining your Duty of Care under the UK Corporate Manslaughter Act

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More than a quarter of all motor vehicle accidents involve a driver that is driving under the circumstances of their employment. Health and safety laws apply to work-related activities that occur on the road in the same way as they do in the workplace. The UKCorporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act holds companies and employers liable where serious failures in the management of health and safety have resulted in a fatality. Juries in such cases will consider how the work-related motor vehicle activities are managed – such as any systems or processes which are in place to help manage safety and how those were operated in practice.  Companies found guilty will be liable to unlimited fines and may have to publicly declare their conviction and financial penalty.

Companies have a legal duty to adequately inspect their vehicles and put in place suitable arrangements to manage health and safety. Vehicle inspections must ensure (among other concerns) that vehicles are fit for the purpose for which they are used, that vehicles are maintained in a safe and fit condition, and that drivers’ health, and possibly safety, is not being put at risk.

Vehicle inspections do not stop at ensuring that the vehicle itself is safe, however. For example, companies must ensure that the drivers themselves are safe. Inspections must ensure that drivers are competent and capable, that the drivers are properly trained, that drivers have clear safety instructions, that drivers are fit and healthy, and that as an employer, you understand your duties under health and safety laws when hiring contractors and subcontractors. Inspections must also cover the driver’s journey, covering issues like the thoroughness of route plans, whether work schedules are realistic, is enough time allotted to complete drives safely, and are weather conditions considered when planning journeys. There is an immense amount for companies to cover.

If one of your employees is killed while driving for work, and there is evidence that serious management failures resulted in a ‘gross breach of a relevant duty of care,’ your company could be at risk of being prosecuted under the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act. It is therefore essential for employers to diligently compile safety reports when doing inspections to avoid liability. The more an employer can document the inspections they do, the more efficient the inspections will be, the safer employees are, and the more protected the company is from costly litigation. However, risk assessment is about identifying and taking sensible measures to control the risks in your workplace, not about creating huge amounts of paperwork.

The best way for employers to diligently document inspections while avoiding copious amounts of paperwork is to invest in an advanced mobile forms software. Such technology gives employers the best of both worlds. Companies can efficiently and flexibly keep track of and document vehicle inspections from multiple locations, and even on the go, and aggregate the data in real time. This way employers can keep excellent records, keeping their employees safe, and their company safe from censure, while reducing paperwork. Companies can then use the software to analyze the data they gather, fostering better practices by finding potential deficiencies in machinery and workforce.


Now you can easily modernize the way you are conducting and auditing truck inspections. Whether you are looking to improve your data handling processes or improve the safety of your truck operations, we hope you consider using GoCanvas as your data collection tool. Sign up for GoCanvas free and give our platform a try today!

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

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Centurian Transport saves $100k every year with GoCanvas

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TWO MEN AND A TRUCK® used GoCanvas to increase data visibility & compliance

With a workforce that primarily works out in the field, many of the TWO MEN AND A TRUCK® locations found that paperwork was hindering…

Connect with an Expert Today.

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

Fire Inspection Apps for iPad, iPhone, Android and Apple Mobile Devices

Fire Inspection Apps for iPad, iPhone, Android and Apple Mobile Devices

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Fire inspection apps for iPads, iPhones, Android, and Apple mobile devices are powerful tools to help streamline any business doing safety and routine inspections ranging from simple fire extinguishers and alarms to robust fire protection systems. Fire alarm inspection apps, fire extinguisher inspection apps, fire safety inspection apps and more are all common uses of the GoCanvas platform. The major benefits of these apps include:

Time savings – With fire inspection apps, you can insert pictures, notes and signatures at the time of inspection. This saves fire inspectors tons of time because GoCanvas will  generate the reports automatically instead of taking time later manually add photos to your reports and forms and manually send them out to customers.

Improved data accuracy – With paper fire inspection forms, data can often be inaccurate do to a variety of factors, such as skipped fields, illegible data or doing calculations incorrectly. Or worse, the form gets lost and someone has to redo the inspection. With GoCanvas, you can set up your inspection forms so that certain fields are required and can’t be skipped. And since you aren’t dealing with paper, your reports can be instantly shared back to the office when they’re complete.

Since the very beginning here at GoCanvas, fire inspectors have consistently come to us for fire inspection apps and fire system installation apps. They also use GoCanvas for fire inspection app, service ticket apps, checklist apps and more.

GoCanvas allows them to replace every paper form in their clipboard with a mobile form on their iPad, iPhone, Android, or Apple device. They simply pull out their device, launch GoCanvas, and select the particular GoCanvas app they need to fill out.  The data is placed into a PDF document that can be emailed directly to customers and colleagues who need the data. The completed forms are stored on the GoCanvas servers and are accessible anytime via our website.

GoCanvas apps can be customized online using our powerful app builder. You can edit apps found in our application store or build your own from scratch. You can build fire inspection, sprinkler systems and fire safety apps that match the paper forms you’re using today and include some of the great features that paper just can’t match!

Time-Saving Features

GoCanvas apps can be customized online using our powerful app builder. You can edit apps found in our application store or build your own from scratch. You can build fire inspection and fire safety apps that match the paper forms you’re using today and include some of the great features that paper just can’t match!

Signature Capture – Signature capture apps are also popular here at GoCanvas. Signature capture on iPads, iPhones, Android, and Apple devices is done easily with GoCanvas.  Employees or customers can sign right on the screen with their fingers or a styllus.

Insert Pictures/Images – Taking pictures and inserting them into your documents is also very popular. There is nothing worse than spending hours pulling images off of your mobile device or digital camera and then inserting them into a Word document.  GoCanvas allows you to insert them right during the job at the time you capture them.

Barcode Scanning – Barcode apps are also something we see a lot of here at GoCanvas. You could place a barcode on all of the fire extinguishers in a building, for example. When you come to inspect it you just scan the barcode and all the data about that extinguisher auto-populates for the inspector (serial number, model, size, etc.).

GPS – You can ensure that your inspectors were actually on site when they complete their inspections. Your customers don’t want to think that your reports were filled out at the local fast food joint with fake data!

Dispatch – You can queue up jobs for your inspectors using our dispatch feature. Or you can dispatch jobs on a one-off basis as your customers call in needing service. Using a work order app or service ticket app you can fill in the jobsite information and customer contact information and the nature of the problem reported and you inspector or technician can fill in the rest and send it back to you.


Now you can easily modernize the way you are collecting data. Whether you are looking to improve your data handling processes or advance reporting, we hope you consider using GoCanvas as your data collection tool. Sign up for GoCanvas free and give our platform a try today!

Interested in learning more? Check out our eBook on The Power of Data: How to Turn Numbers into Business Insights. 

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

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Centurian Transport saves $100k every year with GoCanvas

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

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Duotank Transforms Business Processes with GoCanvas

Duotank is a bag-in-tank alternative to the traditional keg beer system. The aseptic tank environment enables breweries to maintain the quality of their beer…

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TWO MEN AND A TRUCK® used GoCanvas to increase data visibility & compliance

With a workforce that primarily works out in the field, many of the TWO MEN AND A TRUCK® locations found that paperwork was hindering…

Connect with an Expert Today.

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

How to Be Prepared for Commercial Motor Vehicle (CMV) Inspections and Avoid Fines

How to Be Prepared for Commercial Motor Vehicle (CMV) Inspections and Avoid Fines

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Operating and managing commercial vehicles requires consistent maintenance check-ups for the safety of the driver and others on the road. Since businesses are becoming more focused on delivering goods directly to consumers, commercial drivers are logging more miles and are therefore more likely to experience an inspection check. The failure of an inspection can put a vehicle or a driver out of commission, hurting your business’s ability to operate. Being prepared for CMV inspections is essential for any business with commercial vehicles to operate efficiently.

Commercial Motor Vehicle (CMV) inspections are safety inspections for commercial vehicles administered by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), an entity within the U.S. Department of Transportation. There are four main types of CMV inspections: daily driver inspections, periodic/annual inspections, roadside inspections, and on-site compliance reviews. Each of these inspections target different areas that could create hazards for your employees or for third parties, but the target among each test is the same: ensuring safety. The inspections range from the precision with which a driver has filled out a pre- or post-trip assessment or the safety standards for loading and unloading, to the operating standards of every system on the vehicle – from coupling devices to windshield wipers.

In the event that your vehicle is in violation of any of the CMV standards, a three-step process is applied:

First, if there are actionable violations, such as operating the vehicle without a valid license or a headlight out, the carrier will receive a citation. The fine will depend on the jurisdiction of the law enforcement making the stop.

Second, if the vehicle is deemed to be unsafe to continue, it will be placed Out-of-Service, meaning it cannot continue to be operated until the items have been corrected.

Third, the data collected from the inspection will be input into the Safety Measurement System (SMS). All violations are recorded in the SMS and a company will be given a score based on the number and type of its violations.

If a company’s SMS score exceeds any of the predetermined thresholds in any category, the company will be subject to a variety of penalties, including targeted inspections, company investigations, civil penalties, and even an order to cease operations.

One of the best ways to prevent CMV violations and the resulting penalties is to review drivers’ logs and inspections and immediately address any concerns that are uncovered. For most companies that operate commercial motor vehicles, this can be difficult, however. Due to the nature of the business, it can be tough to quickly aggregate and analyze driver’s logs and inspection reports, and subsequently remedy problems, before a violation is committed. This problem only becomes more exaggerated the bigger a company is and the farther its services reach.

Companies that use commercial motor vehicles need the tools in place to ensure that their drivers are able to quickly and efficiently log concerns and problems so they can be quickly addressed. If a company expects to keep up with the demands of its business, the only way it is going to achieve this goal is through the use of an effectively customized mobile form software. Mobile form software allows drivers to log problems with their vehicles and make the reports immediately available to every branch of your company that needs that information to solve the problem.

Faster and more effective digital analysis makes it easier to detect patterns and problems in your machinery, and coordination among teams who can simultaneously access the same reports makes for a much safer, and more efficient operation. The benefits that come from being able to immediately communicate, aggregate, and analyze inspection reports is essential, not only for preventing CMV violations but also for providing a safe working environment for your drivers.


Now you can easily modernize the way you are conducting inspections. Whether you are looking to improve your data handling processes or improve the safety of your field operations, we hope you consider using GoCanvas as your data collection tool. Sign up for GoCanvas free and give our platform a try today!

Interested in learning more? Check out our ebook on 4 Ways Mobile Inspection Forms Can Keep Your Trucks on the Road! 

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

Woman looking at tablet inside a large vehicle machine.

Centurian Transport saves $100k every year with GoCanvas

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

Image of two men in front of kegs on tablet.

Duotank Transforms Business Processes with GoCanvas

Duotank is a bag-in-tank alternative to the traditional keg beer system. The aseptic tank environment enables breweries to maintain the quality of their beer…

Image of Two Men and a Truck looking at tablet.

TWO MEN AND A TRUCK® used GoCanvas to increase data visibility & compliance

With a workforce that primarily works out in the field, many of the TWO MEN AND A TRUCK® locations found that paperwork was hindering…

Connect with an Expert Today.

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

5 Tips to Prepare for a Restaurant Health Inspection

5 Tips to Prepare for a Restaurant Health Inspection

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Health inspector at a restaurant

Whether you own a small restaurant or work at a major restaurant chain, health code violations can pose a significant threat to the life of the business and its consumers. Every year the USDA sends auditors to perform semi-annual restaurant inspections. Each inspection is unannounced, so restaurants must always be ready.

Without consistent internal audits and inspection checks, it can be challenging for restaurants to ensure they will be prepared when the inspector arrives. Many of the cleaning tasks done on a regular basis don’t even scratch the surface of what restaurant auditors will be paying close attention to. This is why weekly or even monthly inspections should be carried out internally. You can never overdo restaurant cleanliness.

Here are some common violations restaurants often overlook.

Keeping your food at safe temperatures is a must. The USDA requires that a refrigerator should be at 40 *F or below and freezers should be kept at 0*F or below. Refrigerator temperatures can fluctuate throughout the day which is why, if it is not required where you reside, it is recommended to keep a log of refrigerator temperatures and record the temperature two to three times each day.

When the food is ready to be served, the USDA requires hot food to be held at 140*F or above and cold food to match refrigeration standards at 40*F.

*Note – Refrigerator and freezer thermometer reading should be visible when the doors are open.

Just like what you learned when you got your Food Handlers Permit, cross-contamination is a serious issue. Cross-contamination happens when raw meat or other harmful foods come in contact with other foods. As an example, cross-contamination can occur when a cutting board is used for raw meat and then used again to cut vegetables. Cross-contamination can be avoided by clearly labeling and distinguishing between different cooking utensils used.

Clearly labeled food items are also important. Expiration dates should be visible on all products. For example, items that have thawed have a 48-hour lifecycle or less and therefore should be labeled with a visible expiration date within 48 hours. If an item isn’t marked or some inventory has expired this would be marked as critical on your restaurant audit.

How you clean up (or not) can result in a health violation! Many cleaning chemicals and solutions can be extremely harmful if incorrectly used or ingested. Unmarked or illegible cleaning chemicals can be easily confused and mixing these up is no small mistake. Every unmarked bottle could result in multiple critical marks on your audit. Avoiding this is simple, make sure every cleaning item or other container is clearly labeled and stored in an isolated location away from food handling processes. For example, you must keep red cleaning buckets with a micro-quat next to each station with a clean towel inside.

Companies using chemical solutions for dishwashing must be sensitive to PH levels and solution temperatures. Chemical solutions outside of these standards can be ineffective or potentially dangerous. To maintain proper chemical standards have staff perform a daily PH test and frequently replace solution water.

Employee cleanliness is another crucial component of this. Every employee should be sure to wash their hands thoroughly before handling food. When returning from the restroom even if they are not handling food hands need to be washed. Depending on the state you live in each restroom is required to display a sign mandating that “All Employees Must Wash Their Hands.” Inspectors have found creative ways to make sure this is being followed through with, and failure to do so can fail your inspection.

Employee accessories are also necessary to highlight. Things such as jewelry, nail length, and hair care are all stuff an auditor will take note of. Hair should be pulled back, nails should be kept short and preferably in gloves, and jewelry should be avoided. Each of these things is something managers should be diligent to enforce and wary of with their employees.

Bathrooms should be stocked with paper towels (or hand dryers), toilet paper, and hand soap at all times. To ensure that bathrooms are replenished it is recommended to have staff check once every 3 – 4 hours depending on the traffic. Other things to keep in mind is toilet cleanliness, issues such as a loose toilet seat are considered violations as well.

*Note – No trashcan in the restaurant can be full. There should be about 3 inches from the top of the trash to the top of the container.

Restaurant inspections don’t have to be intimidating. GoCanvas offers tons of free resources for small and large restaurants to improve their internal inspection process. To get started, check out a few of our popular restaurant inspection templates.

Find these and other restaurant apps in the GoCanvas Application Store. Use these templates or create your own to ensure your team is always prepared for your next audit. Sign up for GoCanvas for free today, or schedule a demo with our experts to learn more! Be prepared for your next restaurant health inspection with the help of GoCanvas!


Whether you are making the switch from paper or looking to improve your internal processes, we hope you consider GoCanvas as your data collection tool. Sign up for GoCanvas free and give our platform a try today!

Interested in learning more? Check out our how Cerveza Patagonia uses GoCanvas for restaurant and bar audits.

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

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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… 

Connect with an Expert Today.

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

Ultimate Checklist for Effective Toolbox Talks

Ultimate Checklist for Effective Toolbox Talks

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Just five to 10 minutes a day can make a significant difference in your construction or manufacturing company’s safety record. Holding regular toolbox talks — short, informal discussions that focus on one specific safety issue — can result in proven safety and cost benefits, including lower insurance rates, reduced turnover, and less damaged equipment. However, to make these talks successful, you must prepare, deliver, and document them the right way. Make sure you’re equipped to host effective safety briefings by following this checklist.

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.

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.

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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.

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

Breaking Down OSHA’s Top 10 Most Cited Violations of 2017

Breaking Down OSHA’s Top 10 Most Cited Violations of 2017

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2017: OSHA Safety in Review

Where did all the time go? It seems like just yesterday we were posting the results of OSHA’s 2016 data findings, but here we are again.

The reason why it feels like déjà vu is likely because the top 5 most cited violations of 2017 are the same as those from 2016.  Fall Protection – General Requirments, Hazard Communication, Scaffolding, Respiratory Protection, and Lockout/Tagout all come in at the top of the list for the 2nd consecutive year. All combined, the top 5 most cited categories through September of 2017 have accounted for approximately 21,748 violations.

The bottom 5 categories consist of Ladders, Powered Industrial Trucks, Machine Guarding, Fall Protection – Training Requirements, and Electrical Wiring Methods. In total, these have accounted for 10,279 violations, which combined equals 32,027 total violations reported in 2017 thus far.

This amount of violations seems like a lot (which it is), but the good news is that it’s a dramatic decrease from 2016. Last year 36,531 violations were reported in total, which accounts for an overall decrease of 12%! This decrease can be attributed to many things, but overall it shows that companies are finally starting to become serious about the safety of their employees and investing in the right methods/technologies to protect them.

But all the news isn’t positive.

Within the OSHA top 10 violation list, there was one new addition from 2016 to 2017, Fall Protection – Training Requirements. This type of violation revolves around the lack of proper safety training programs in high risk and dangerous environments. This is a common issue in today’s building construction environment as the pressure to complete projects faster increases and proper safety procedures get put by the wayside. Patrick Kapust, deputy director of OSHA’s Directorate of Enforcement Programs, puts it into perspective by telling Safety+Health Magazine that “Many of these violations were specifically related to training requirements and ensuring that a training program for each employee who may be exposed to fall hazards is established. Often, these violations occurred in the roofing, framing and residential modeling industries.

While progress is being made, there is still much work left to do. If you’re looking to become smarter about the way you collect, report, and track safety information on your project sites, GoCanavs can help! Our Application Store has over 100 different OSHA specific mobile form templates available to download and use in seconds. Toolbox Talks, JSAs, Accident Reports, and much more can be customized to fit your exact business needs.

Click here to request a quick demo!

Top 10 OSHA Violations of 2017

OSHA Infographic

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 people in hard hats looking at a tablet.

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

3 Easy Ways to Create the Perfect Mobile Punch List

3 Easy Ways to Create the Perfect Mobile Punch List

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Paper forms are used today as a quick way to collect information on a project site but don’t give much flexibility in the types of information that can be collected.

A Construction Punch List is often meant to be a run through of outstanding items to be completed on a project, but these forms can be found in different formats depending on the size and scope of the particular project.

The issue with paper Punch Lists is that they offer ZERO flexibility in the way they are filled out and completed. You’re restricted to staying between the lines on the piece of paper and aren’t able to deviate or add anything outside of that paper rectangle. This runs in complete conflict with the Construction industry where data is constantly changing and personnel is in need of real-time information. This is why mobile forms, especially mobile Punch Lists, make sense.

Creating the perfect mobile form or app is about incorporating the right features that fit your data collection goals.

When filling out a Punch List the primary goal is to inspect a list of outstanding construction items, update their current status and add current or estimated completion dates. But for companies looking to dive even deeper into their data, solutions like GoCanvas allow them to enhance their Punch Lists with three important features.

Check out the three features below that you can incorporate into your GoCanvas mobile Punch Lists to increase your data quality and efficiency!

Attach Site Photos with Image Capture – Punch Lists are useful for the person who is physically filling them out onsite, but what about the employees in the back-office? The ability to collect and attach site photos allow Punch Lists to become instantly more valuable and give supervisors real-time insight into the progress of project sites. The annotation feature of GoCanvas also allows users who capture photos to highlight and draw on top of the images that they capture with their mobile device. This makes it possible for them to point out aspects of each line item and ensure that nothing is mistakenly forgotten during the follow-up tasks.

Editing Images on GoCanvas

We suggest using the Image Capture feature along with Conditional Logic. This allows you to have an Image Capture field show up only if a particular value is selected. For example, if a line item in the Punch List is marked “Finished”, an Image Capture field would then appear for the user to snap a photo of the completed item for verification. This is an easy way of ensuring you collect the data you need without making the form dramatically longer or more complicated to complete.

Auto-populating Items with Reference Data –  One of the most time-consuming parts of filling out a paper Punch List is having to manually write in each item you are reviewing. Not only are you trying to rush to inspect each item in a timely fashion, but you’re also attempting to be thorough in your inspection as well. Usually, this type of pace leads to horrible handwriting and less than thorough note-taking.

Punchlist on GoCanvas

With GoCanvas and the Reference Data functionality, you can pre-load into your Punch List rows of items that are in need of review. It’s simple as creating an Excel spreadsheet, uploading that into your GoCanvas account, and connecting it to your mobile Punch List form. Now you’ll have every item you need to inspect right in front of you and can even add items on the spot if need be. Each item you load with Reference Data can also be loaded with corresponding “Due Dates”, so that when the user is filling out the Punch List app they will know if the item they are inspecting in on track or past due for completion.  This auto-filling of data in the mobile form will easily save you 10 – 20 minutes per report completed.

Automating Reviews & Approvals with Workflow – The biggest complaint with using paper, across the board, is the time it takes to receive the reports from the field. This delay often makes the data out-dated by the time it finally reaches the back office for analysis. With Punch Lists, in particular, it’s important that the data be collected and REVIEWED in a timely manner so that real-time decisions can be made to keep the project on track.

Workflow on GoCanvas

The Workflow feature of GoCanvas is perfect for Punch Lists because it allows for the user filling out the report to instantly send the data to his or her supervisor’s device for immediate review. The supervisor can review all of the data and photos that the employee captured previously with GoCanvas and then even add notes to the report before submitting the record to the cloud for final review. If the supervisor were to find something that didn’t look right, he or she would have the ability to reject the Punch List and send it back to the original submitter with the reason why it was rejected. The great thing is that this Workflow process can be customized to fit your organization’s process. So if you want the Punch List to not go to a supervisor but instead go to a general contractor who will review and complete any outstanding items, you can!

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…

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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…

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…

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

5 Mobile Forms Every QA/QC Inspector Should Be Using

5 Mobile Forms Every QA/QC Inspector Should Be Using

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The act of performing inspections is almost always a tedious task, especially when paper forms are involved.

For Quality Assurance and Quality Control inspectors in various industries, but especially in construction, the process of completing their project reports can be a daunting task. This multi-form, multi-step process can quickly become disorganized and unmanageable if the proper processes are not in place. The negative effects of not properly completing these reports include delays in project development and major decreases in worker productivity.

So how can these issues be avoided? By using a single platform for the collection, sharing, and reporting of all QA/QC forms. This is what GoCanvas provides.

A typical QA/QC engineer or inspector will typically have to carry and fill out 5 to 10 different types of paper forms for a typical project. This doesn’t include all the additional documents like drawings and photos that the inspector will need to print out and attach separately. Add this to the pain of having to carry around these paper reports and transporting them all the way back to the office for reporting, this can add up to 100’s of hours being wasted every month due to paperwork inefficiencies.

With a platform like GoCanvas, these inefficiencies are entirely eliminated. All the forms an inspector needs can be found directly on their mobile device, and are accessible whether offline or online. These mobile forms can be customized to include easy to use drop-down menus and check boxes, as well as more specialized fields like GPS, Image Capture, Sketching, Time Stamps, Signature Capture, and more! You can also easily organize your forms on your mobile device into convenient folders for easy retrieval based on project and/or location.

But the best part is that as soon a report is completed, the data is synced to the cloud and available for the office staff to begin reviewing in real-time. This can instantly save hours that were previously lost to manual data re-entry and lost paperwork.

Now it’s time to see which mobile forms could begin saving your business hundreds of hours in lost efficiency!

GoCanvas doesn’t just give you a code-free form builder to create and customize your very own mobile forms and documents, but it also provides you with over 20,000 pre-built mobile form templates to choose from and download in seconds.

Below are 5 mobile form templates that every Quality Assurance/Quality Control inspector and engineer should download and customize to fit their particular needs. Click on any of the templates below to get started!

RFI mobile form
Material Order Form Mobile App
Engineer inspection request mobile form
Daily construction project report mobile form
Subcontractor agreement

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 people in hard hats looking at a tablet.

Smarter, Faster, Safer: Improving Safety Compliance with Mobile Technology

Compliance, there are many ways we talk about it. A necessary evil, a chore, a struggle, or a critically important part of business. We all know how crucial it is, helping save…

Woman reviewing information on a tablet.

Your Guide to Waiver Forms — Examples and Templates

Waiver forms are a type of legal protection used by businesses to reduce their liability and risk. This type of agreement between a business and its customers is used…

Closeup of a handshake.

Duotank Transforms Business Processes with GoCanvas

Duotank is a bag-in-tank alternative to the traditional keg beer system. The aseptic tank environment enables breweries to maintain the quality of their beer after it leaves…

Connect with an Expert Today.

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

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