Why is it worth digitizing information collected in the field? What advantages do smart forms offer? In which industries can they be used? Read on to find the answers.
Any company operating outside its offices generates and gathers data, whether it’s a district heating company working on its network or a research institution collecting environmental samples for analysis. Each of them needs to collect information about the performed work, report its completion, and then forward it to the central information repository within the company.
There are various ways to collect information in the field—by taking notes on paper (usually in standardized forms) or by using digital solutions. Given the widespread trend of digitization, even paper-collected data must eventually be digitized in order to participate in internal company processes.
Alternatively, data can be collected digitally from the start. How can this be done, and what are the benefits of such a solution?
Digital Forms: Convenient Information Collection in All Conditions
Digital forms can be filled out regardless of the circumstances. All you need to do is turn on the app on your phone or tablet and select the appropriate fields (when filling out the form by touch) or start speaking to the app (when filling out the form by voice).
Voice input will be especially useful during adverse weather conditions (when it’s raining, windy, cold), when it’s difficult to fill out regular paper forms, or when the courier or technician’s hands are busy.
Smart forms use speech recognition in a more advanced way than by simply converting speech to text. With the right configuration, the form automatically recognizes which field to complete based on the spoken information.
Equipped with advanced image recognition algorithms, smart forms also enable automatic extraction of information from images, more precisely from photos taken with the camera of your mobile device. This makes collecting data about objects in the field (for example, serial numbers, models, technical parameters of electrical or telecommunications equipment) much more efficient and less prone to errors.
Digital forms come with one more advantage – there’s virtually no risk of losing the collected data due to damage or misplacement of the form—a scenario that’s easy to imagine when using paper forms.
Even the lack of internet access, which is a common issue during fieldwork, is not an obstacle to collecting data with smart forms. The offline mode of the application stores collected information until connectivity is restored. Then, the data is transferred to the central system, synchronizing automatically.
Smart Forms: Minimizing Errors in Collected Data
Filling out a paper form by hand, especially in challenging conditions, can lead to numerous errors (typos, inconsistencies, illegible handwriting). However, even digital forms can introduce mistakes, especially when filled out using small, usually touchscreen keyboards.
Smart forms with preconfigured fields help enforce data consistency. The form suggests and accepts only information in a specific format. For example, a field might allow only an email address, a phone number in a defined format, or a meter reading with a specific number of decimal places.
Smart Digital Forms: What Else Can They Do?
Smart forms can also extract information using OCR (optical character recognition), scan barcodes, and capture the exact geolocation of an object in the field. All this reduce the risk of errors that can occur when entering data manually into forms.
Smart Forms: More Efficient Digital Data Repository Creation and Report Generation
Information collected using an application with a smart form is immediately transmitted in a consistent format to a database. This enables the quick creation of a centralized repository of all gathered data, which can be easily updated in real-time.
Moreover, generating reports about the collected data or completed fieldwork is simple and seamless.
Accelerated Workflow and Increased Work Efficiency
Using smart forms to collect data and support the execution of fieldwork can speed up processes in which one stage depends on the completion of a previous one.
For example, activating a telecommunications service depends on the network being connected at the customer’s location. If a technician uses an app with a digital form and can immediately send confirmation of the completed connection task to the database, the service can be activated almost instantly for the customer. There’s no need to wait for the technician to return from the field to report the completed work in person.
In Which Industries Can Smart Forms Be Used?
Smart forms are applicable anywhere repetitive sets of data are collected as part of a task:
Telecommunications infrastructure companies: inspecting masts and other infrastructure
Rail and tram transport: inspecting tracks, signals, and rolling stock
Power grid operators: reviewing power lines, transformers, meters
Water and sewage companies: inspecting pipes, hydrants, pumps
Gas network operators: checking gas installations, meters, pipelines
Road infrastructure managers: inspecting bridges, road surfaces, traffic lights
Courier and logistics companies: auditing parcel lockers
Construction and development companies: inspecting buildings and technical conditions
Industrial plants and factories: inspecting machines and production lines
Research institutions: environmental monitoring: measuring air pollution, soil testing, water quality checks, protected area inspections, etc.
Agricultural holdings: monitoring farmland: inspecting crop condition, irrigation, subsidy data collection
Smart Forms in Action – Example of Use in the HVAC Industry
As an example, let’s look at how smart forms can support the operations of companies in the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) sector.
In the HVAC industry, smart forms streamline and facilitate tasks such as equipment inspections—from the moment a client requests a service visit, to the completion of the job.
With the help of a smart form configured for service companies, a technician can go through all stages of the maintenance process, such as:
- Checking ventilation performance (airflow measurement)
- Inspecting cleanliness of ventilation ducts
- Verifying the operation of fans, dampers, grilles, and diffusers
- Cleaning and replacing filters
- Ensuring the correct functioning of controllers and automation systems
- Testing the system’s operation after the inspection is complete
Using a form via an app on a phone or tablet, the technician can collect all necessary information at each stage and report the completion of the entire task.
Employing a properly customized form not only speeds up data collection but also ensures that the technician doesn’t forget any part of the job. The forms help structure not only the gathered data but also the workflow itself.
Why Are Smart Forms Worth It?
As you can see, smart forms have a very wide range of applications, and these are just a few examples. Whether a digital form proves effective for a specific job depends primarily on a company’s ability to map out its processes. The forms can be customized almost entirely, regardless of the industry.
If this article has sparked your interest and you want to learn more about using smart forms in fieldwork, feel free to get in touch!
- Elimination of paper
- Faster information flow
- Fewer errors
- Offline functionality
- Better planning and reporting
iMDC: Efficient Collection of Field Data and Reporting via Voice and Image, with Precise Location
- Voice-based data collection
- Barcode scanning
- Automatic object recognition from images
- Distance measurements and auto-generated sketches
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