Staying competitive as an electrician means working efficiently. Whether you’re managing multiple jobsites, coordinating with teams, or dealing with paperwork, finding ways to streamline operations can significantly impact your bottom line. Digital tools like GoCanvas are changing the way electricians work, making it easier to manage tasks, conduct electrical inspections, and speed up payment processes—and now is the time to make the switch. Here are five ways digital tools can help boost efficiency for electricians.
1. Keep Jobsites Running Smoothly
Managing several jobsites can feel overwhelming, especially with paper-based systems. Digital tools like GoCanvas centralize all jobsite information within an electrical management system, making it easier to track work orders, inspections, and maintenance schedules. With real-time data access, every jobsite can stay on track, reducing delays and improving customer satisfaction.
Electricians using GoCanvas have reported a 34% boost in productivity thanks to these centralized management capabilities. Other industries have seen similar benefits, with companies reporting a 15% increase in productive hours after adopting mobile digital tools (McKinsey & Company). According to Dave Cramer, project coordinator at Penn Line, “With GoCanvas, we received inspection information instantly, reducing our 14-day turnaround to 72 hours.”
2. Automate Routine Tasks to Save Time
Repetitive tasks like filling out daily reports, timesheets, and RFIs can eat up your time. Digital tools can automate these workflows, letting you focus on critical responsibilities such as electrical testing. GoCanvas’s customizable forms and templates ensure that routine tasks are completed accurately and efficiently, reducing errors and rework.
Digitizing tasks like customer management and billing has cut process costs by 20% for many companies, freeing up time and improving customer satisfaction (McKinsey & Company). As noted by Alberto Bernasconi, ICT group manager at RF Celada, “What used to take 10 minutes now takes one minute and has more information, more statistics, and is more accurate.”
3. Improve Communication and Coordination
Clear communication is key to any successful project, so digital tools like GoCanvas help electricians, office staff, and clients stay connected with real-time updates and instant messaging. Whether you’re scheduling an electrical inspection or updating a work order, everyone stays in the loop.
Service Electric reported a significant improvement in coordination after switching to GoCanvas, cutting a 10-minute task down to just one minute. This level of efficiency is increasingly vital as the industry integrates smarter technologies. For instance, smart grids and buildings are transforming how electrical systems are managed, offering better energy efficiency and resource management that facilitates more effective predictive maintenance and electrical testing (IAEI Magazine).
Delays in billing and payments are a common issue in the electrical industry. With this in mind, digital tools have been created to streamline the invoicing process, making it quicker and easier to send out and track payments. GoCanvas helps electricians reduce the time it takes to get paid, ensuring better cash flow and minimizing delays.
Electricians using GoCanvas have saved 845 hours annually on payroll data entry alone, speeding up payment cycles and reducing delays (WebFX). In addition to lowering costs, automating back-office tasks like billing improves customer satisfaction by simplifying administrative tasks (McKinsey & Company).
5. Ensure Accurate Data and Reporting
Mistakes in data entry can lead to costly issues down the line. That’s why digital tools automate data collection and reporting, providing accurate, real-time information that supports better decision-making. GoCanvas’s reporting tools help ensure that electrical testing and safety inspections are done precisely, preventing issues before they arise.
Smart technologies and the Internet of Things enable real-time monitoring and predictive maintenance, further enhancing the accuracy and efficiency of electrical work. This shift toward automated, data-driven processes is improving overall project outcomes and safety compliance during electrical inspections and testing (IAEI Magazine) (McKinsey & Company).
Conclusion: In today’s market, digital tools are essential for electricians who want to stay competitive. By using tools like GoCanvas to streamline jobsite management, automate routine tasks, improve communication, speed up billing, and ensure data accuracy, electricians can keep their businesses running smoothly and efficiently. Ready to see how GoCanvas can make a difference? Schedule a demo today or explore the Electricians Landing Page for more information.
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.
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Employee safety matters a great deal and the last thing anyone wants is to see a coworker hurt. However, the reality is an injury can happen to anyone at any time and without notice. The most important thing is to have a plan in place before an incident occurs. It should be easy for your team to follow your safety process. This way your organization can spring into action and help those who are hurt. It’s also important to ensure your organization is in compliance with federal safety regulations. We compiled a seven-step action plan to help get you started:
1. Care for the injured employee
The first step when an injury happens in the workplace is to assist the injured employee and prioritize their immediate needs. You will want to ensure the employee receives the proper medical attention and you will need to determine what type of care is appropriate given the severity of the incident.
Minor injuries like a cut or a sprain may not require medical assistance, whereas more severe injuries may require you to call for an ambulance or provide transportation to a licensed medical professional. You can either consult the medical provider designated by your workers’ compensation carrier, or you can bring the employee to an urgent care facility nearby.
2. Notify management and other team members
Once you have attended to the immediate needs of your employee, the next step will be to contact your management team to communicate that the incident has happened and communicate the pertinent details.
You will want to make note of the location, the people that were involved, the injuries sustained, and the medical treatment that has been administered. Communicating this information to your management team allows them to then notify other team members that need to know, and it allows them to take the proper steps for ensuring team safety going forward.
3. Secure the scene
Once an employee is on their way to receive medical treatment for injuries, you should secure the scene of the incident as quickly as possible. Blocking access to the location of the event ensures the safety of your other employees and prevents a repeat incident from occurring.
Securing the scene of an accident is crucial for both safety and reporting purposes. By limiting access to the area of the incident, you will preserve the scene and this will allow you to have more accurate and thorough incident reporting. With less people on location, you have a greater chance that the scene is left untouched, and this can give you a more accurate picture of the events that contributed to the incident.
4. Complete the incident report
Beyond ensuring individual employee and total team safety, completing an incident report is one of the most critical steps to take after someone has sustained an injury at work.
OSHA requires employers to keep records of work-related injuries and illnesses using their formal documentation. You should complete and file the incident report within 24 hours of the accident. Gathering witness testimony within a day of the accident can help improve the accuracy of the testimony because the incident will still be fresh in the minds of your witnesses.
Additionally, prompt incident reporting produces better outcomes for both the employee and the company. It’s vital that you waste no time in completing the incident report so that insurance companies can quickly process the claims and your employees can receive the treatment they need.
Claims placed on hold because of delayed incident reports typically also cost more than claims that are reported promptly with the completed paperwork. Delayed claims can cost businesses thousands in increased premiums or penalties for late reporting.
5. Implement safety protocols
After an accident happens at work, you will want to do everything you can to ensure it never happens again. Employers hold a unique position that allows them to influence their entire organization for the better and they can cultivate a culture of safety in the workplace by implementing safety protocols and safety education for all team members.
Leadership teams can show employees that safety is paramount to the organization by prioritizing safety, providing education and training, and praising good safety practices. You can use the incident as a learning tool by asking yourself what could have been done to prevent the injury and by asking yourself how the response could have been more effective. By locating the gaps in workplace safety, you can implement changes to address those gaps and prevent other lapses in security and safety.
Including your employees in safety protocols will encourage them to take ownership of their safe conduct and you can provide incentives for following safety guidelines and for taking proactive steps to pursue safety at work. The bottom line is that when your employees are safe, they’re healthy, happy, and more productive.
6. Establish a return-to-work program
Many workplace injuries result in time lost on the job. As an employee spends more time in recovery, the return to work can feel physically and emotionally daunting. To set your employee and the rest of the team up for success, establish a return-to-work program or plan.
If an employee has a long-term injury, you can set up a transitional or modified job so they can return to a work routine sooner rather than later. These transitional roles can be temporary and don’t necessarily need to be the same as before the injury occurred.
Providing a program like this enables workers to regain their footing as an employees while allowing them to maintain an income and continue their connection with the company.
7. Follow up with your employee
At the end of the day, your employee is more than just a number. They are a vital part of your team and you want to communicate the value they hold on a personal level.
A good employer should do more than take care of the logistics after an injury. They should also follow up with employees to ensure they are emotionally and physically healing. Using clear and compassionate communication with your employee can show them that you care and that you can work together to create a realistic plan of return.
This type of care demonstrates to the rest of your team that you value them, and it can help to improve your employee retention rate and worker satisfaction in the long run.
Creating a company culture of safety
No employer wants to see one of their workers injured. But if it happens, you now have an action plan to follow for handling these incidents professionally and with care.
Quick responses, thorough reporting, and compassionate care will build your employer brand and create a company culture of safety that will benefit your entire team. Sign up for our free trial to get started today!
Sign up for a free trial today and see how GoCanvas can impact your business.
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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Creating a Seamless Safety Process through Automation
An unsafe workplace is not an option worth considering. However, creating a safe environment can be difficult and requires a lot of focus and attention to every detail as a simple oversight can lead to disastrous consequences. Although this may seem like a daunting task, you are not alone! Safety Professionals are finding ways to reduce time-consuming tasks, like data duplication with the help of automation and technology across the globe. This allows them to focus their time and energy on more important matters like proper safety gear and clear fire exits with the peace of mind that compliance and prevention records are all submitted, stored, and analyzed exactly how they want them to be.
As the safety industry continues to become more automated, it is important to understand how this might impact your business and how to stay ahead of industry trends. The movement toward paperless companies and automated systems is becoming more and more important. Recently, OSHA passed an electronic submission requirement for forms, like their OSHA 300 and OSHA 301 report. Automation is the future of the safety industry and is already drastically improving the way safety reporting is currently handled on the field now.
Here are three ways automating your safety reporting processes can improve your business:
1. Consistent Reporting & Improved Accuracy
Simple errors such as misplaced forms, messy handwriting, or incomplete submissions can result in significant penalties. By automating the way reports are completed, you’re able to streamline the way the forms are filled as each field tech is submitting the form through the same channel and including the same information. Automating this process ensures you’re receiving every submission and it is stored securely in the cloud where you can quickly search and access it as a pdf or CSV. you can automate your processes even further and have your data populate a backend system such as QuickBooks, Viewpoint, or Sage.
There are plenty of things that could affect the accuracy of the information reported. By eliminating manual data transfer and the potential for illegible handwriting, you decrease the possibilities for human error drastically. It doesn’t matter how many asterisks or underlines are used, forms still come back incomplete, and often, by the time the office gets it back, it is too late to fix. Automating these forms removes the headache of tracking down incomplete information and ensures top-quality information every time. Accurate reporting relies on having the best data possible. By improving the quality of the data you’re collecting, you can make the best decisions for your business.
2. Data Visibility
Time and time again we talk to safety managers who are having difficulty tracing their progress quarter to quarter or even year over year. In the safety industry, being able to track where improvement is needed and what is working efficiently is important to the safety of every employee. Whether your company is interested in getting better visibility into employee behavioral reports or motor vehicle inspection data, it is important to be able to easily pull those reports. Manual reporting can be time-consuming and restricts the ability to pull or find this information easily and accurately.
Automating the way data is collected and where the information is sent allows businesses to make critical data-based decisions within minutes. Whether you’re interested in automating your paperwork to have an easily accessible electronic filing cabinet or if you’re looking to create custom safety dashboards data opens the doors to endless possibilities and is the driving force in creating strategic decisions.
3. Minimized Risk of Safety Incidents and Fines
Safety and compliance are important in every industry and business. You may see it as a chore or a necessary evil but we all know how crucial it is to protecting lives and keeping projects on track. Whether you are in construction or the food industry there are a variety of quality measures that need to be met to keep both front-line staff and customers safe on a day-to-day basis. Not meeting these requirements can result in massive fines resulting in the loss of exorbitant funds, or worse, injury to another person. Therefore, it is critical to maintain accurate and up-to-date records of all reports.
Staying compliant doesn’t have to be difficult or time intensive. By automating the way forms like the OSHA 300, JSA/JHAs, equipment inspections, incident reports, and vehicle inspections are filed, you ensure all submissions can be found through a simple search and that all actionable can be dispatched in real-time. Don’t let simple filing errors or lost forms slow your business.
Compliance will always be a crucial part of any safety professional’s career. As the rules and regulations get more and more complicated, make it easier for your company to stay compliant and improve the data you’re collecting. Take your safety standards to the next level by creating real-time results and solutions with GoCanvas.
Now you can easily modernize the way you are capturing information on or off-site. Whether you are looking to improve your data visibility or simply improve the safety culture on-site, we hope you’ll consider using GoCanvas as your data collection tool. Sign up for GoCanvas free and give our platform a try today!
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.
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Whether you run a property management business or you’re just starting out as a self-employed handyman, nailing down your handyman prices based on the job is vital to your success. Here’s why.
Suppose you price yourself too high, you’ll force potential clients to shop around for estimates from your competitors. On the other hand, if you price yourself too low, either you’ll raise questions about your experience or potential clients will conclude that there’s some sort of catch.
That said, how do you find that sweet spot when pricing your handyman services? Well, continue reading this guide to find out all you should know about the handyman business, including how to price your jobs right.
What Does a Handyman Do?
“Handyman” is an umbrella term for a wide range of jobs and people. A handyman need not necessarily be a man, women can also do the same tasks. We’ll use the term “handyman” in this guide to refer to the entire profession of people with different identities.
So, what kind of services do handymen do? Some standard services include:
Installation of kitchen cabinets
Fixing kitchen sinks
Finding and fixing leaky pipes
Stair repair and maintenance
Carpet removal and installation
Bathroom repairs, improvements, and maintenance
Basic carpentry tasks
Attic insulation
Outdoor repairs and installations such as siding repair, gutter maintenance, and fencing.
Whereas this list is by no means exhaustive, it sets an excellent benchmark for what services a handyman should offer.
What Is a Handyman Estimate Template?
A handyman estimate template is a blank copy of your estimate form, which you can fill out to create a comprehensive estimate after a consultation. These templates can be filled in Microsoft Word, PDFs, Google Docs, Google Sheet Spreadsheets, Excel, handyman estimate software, or even free quoting tools.
You can try out the GoCanvas mobile app for an easy-to-use solution for creating and sending handyman estimates.
When Do You Need to Send an Estimate to Customers?
It’s important that you present the prospective client with the estimate in good time. Ideally, you should furnish the prospective client with the estimate within 24-48 hours after meeting or consulting them. This demonstrates that you’re a professional and enthusiastic about the job. Additionally, some clients want things to move fast, so the first submission of the estimate could win the job.
Why Accurate Estimates Are Important for Handyman Businesses and Impact Your Business’s Bottom Line
High-quality workmanship comes at a price. Property renovation and maintenance projects require a substantial amount of time and effort. It is for this reason that every project should begin with an accurate estimate.
An accurate estimate allows you to properly budget for the job at hand, and avoid any rude surprises when it comes to the materials needed to complete the job and the completion timeline. If you don’t present the customer with an accurate estimate of the entire cost of the renovation or project, you may find yourself in a scenario where you’re significantly under-budgeted. This may mean that you may have to absorb the additional costs or find out where you can reduce costs as the project is progressing. When this happens, besides you jeopardizing the quality of the project, this may also impact your revenue negatively.
Conversely, if your estimate is on the higher side, potential customers may opt to work with other handymen who offer the same quality of service at competitive prices. This will mean you’ll have fewer clients, and fewer clients mean lower revenue generation.
How Do I Write a Handyman Estimate? What Should I Include?
There are three ways of creating a written handyman estimate, namely:
Using a mobile app or software: This is the fastest and easiest method. Creating an estimate using this method takes a few seconds, and you can usually send the estimate right from the app.
Using Excel: This is the oldest way of writing a handyman estimate. In case you only need to send one or two estimates, this is a simple and free way of sending an estimate.
Word processor: Google Docs or Microsoft Word can also be used to write estimates. Any word processor can work.
What to Include in an Estimate?
The details you include in your estimate are far more important than the method you use to write or deliver them. Whether you create fancy written estimates or hand-deliver them, the vital components are always the same. They include:
Description of your work: Ensure that you are ultra-clear about what the estimate covers. In some instances, all you’ll need is a one-line text to describe the work, like “installation of kitchen cabinets.” In other instances, you may need to explain the project extensively.
Price estimation: You can either itemize everything or quote it in one lump sum.
Important disclaimers: There are projects that start out small and end up being much bigger. For instance, if you’re going to replace a damaged siding, you may never know what you will find behind the siding. Your estimate is your chance to manage your client’s expectations so that they aren’t met with additional price charges they didn’t see coming.
Benefits of hiring you: Suppose a potential client is receiving multiple estimates, it’s prudent to find a way of differentiating yourself from your competition. Otherwise, all the customers will use when choosing a handyman is the price quoted.
Components of a Written Estimate
The details of your company (name, address, email, phone number)
Customer details (name and address)
The date the estimate was created
Project description
Estimated cost
Important exclusions and disclaimers
The expiration date of the estimate
Terms of payment
Acceptable payment methods
How Do You Calculate the Price in a Handyman Estimate?
Handyman services usually charge by the hour. However, you can choose to charge by the hour if you feel that it’s a task that you can estimate accurately. That said, it is advisable to set a minimum service charge. This can be something like installing a doorbell or changing a light switch. It’s completely up to you if you want to create a fixed price for small tasks such as these or if you want to set an hourly rate.
Needless to say, the more complex and larger the job, the more you’ll charge per hour. On average, the hourly rate for handyman jobs usually ranges between $60-$65, but jobs that get complex or are part of a larger company can be priced up to $125 an hour.
Another thing you should consider when you’re calculating the price in a handyman estimate is your supplies and materials. Most jobs will require that you come with specific supplies, all of which should be billed to your client. You should also factor in taxes in your pricing estimate.
Given that most handyman jobs aren’t recurrent, it’s likely that you’ll be billing your client once. Keep track of all your expenses and add a markup to ensure that you’re attaining your profit margin.
What’s the Difference Between a Handyman Estimate Versus an Invoice?
An estimate is a rough calculation of the cost of work needed to be done upon initial inspection. Upon a handyman getting into a project, it’s not uncommon that the scope of the work will get expanded. Whether it is due to hidden damages that weren’t assessed or complications during the project, your invoice at the completion may be different from your estimate. An invoice is a bill for the services once a customer hires you for a project. They typically contain itemized costs and terms of payment.
Why Go Digital With Estimates Rather Than Paper Forms
There are many options for creating paper form estimates, including Excel, Word, and Google spreadsheets. Whereas these options are free to use, there are many hidden costs and risks involved when using them. These include:
Human error: When using paper forms, you can mistype formulas or make other errors and not notice that the final calculation is wrong.
Version control issues: It can be challenging to keep track of the latest version of a document, especially if you have multiple versions of the same document.
Lost work: This usually happens accidentally when a computer crashes and the document isn’t saved, or similar cases.
More and more companies are turning to digital forms to create estimates. Digitizing handyman estimates can bring a number of benefits to handyman businesses. Including:
Secure cloud platform for estimates
Automatic calculations
Digital signatures
Image capturing ability
Availability of reference data
How Does Estimating Software Work for a Handyman?
Regardless of whether you’re repairing a drywall or installing a new ceiling, a handyman’s job is never finished. With the hectic schedule and the sheer range of services you may offer, a handyman estimating software can help you manage your inventory and eliminate the sleepless nights of handling endless amounts of paperwork.
GoCanvas estimate software for handyman businesses can help convert your paper estimates into efficient digital forms. It simplifies the contract bidding process with its mobile estimating tools that are both easy-to-use and comprehensive.
With our estimating software, you’ll be able to:
Auto-populate data like prices and parts to minimize manual input and eliminate errors.
Automatically calculate the cost of labor and materials.
Store estimates in the cloud so that you can review and update them anytime, anywhere.
Try out our handyman business estimate form mobile app for free.
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.
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Inspections on commercial buildings are something that happens every day. In fact, there are many cases when a commercial inspection is required by law. It is essential to understand what an inspection is and why it is so important. This is particularly true for those in the construction industry, property management, and building owners. To make it all as straightforward as possible, it is good to start with the most basic elements and move forward from there. Continue reading this article for an overview on property inspections and how you can generate digital reports using GoCanvas forms.
What Is A Property Inspection For A Commercial Building?
Society has been conditioned to think of a property inspection as a certain thing from popular television shows on the cable channel HGTV. These shows make it abundantly clear that property inspections are performed all the time on residential properties before they are sold. However, those inspections are not exclusive just to residential properties. In reality, these inspections have to take place on commercial buildings as well.
A few examples of commercial buildings include:
Restaurants
Shopping centers
Cafes
Office buildings
Hotels
These buildings and many others all require inspections to be done on them regularly for the safety and protection of the people who come inside them. The government requires that these buildings be inspected during the construction process, but also after a certain number of years have passed since construction.
Who Performs Inspections On Commercial Buildings?
There are many options for choosing who to go with when it comes to performing inspections on commercial buildings. Property managers/owners have to decide between these options based on what they can afford and what they feel makes the most sense for their particular needs at that time. Once again, there is not a “right” or “wrong” answer, there is simply the answers that work or don’t work for that particular individual.
Architect
The most professional, and potentially most expensive, choice for getting a building inspection is someone who works as an architect or engineer. This individual has specialized knowledge of how a building should be inspected and what to look for. They have extensive training and schooling in the art of building construction, but this also means that they are a major asset to the property owner. Thus, it is not surprising that they are able to charge more for their services than some of the other options that we will discuss. You really get what you pay for when you opt for hiring an architect. They are bringing a wealth of experience and knowledge to the table.
Commercial Building Inspector
Those who still need to get a building inspected but don’t necessarily want to spend the kind of money necessary to hire an architect may consider opting for a commercial building inspector instead. These individuals may have experience inspecting both residential and commercial buildings, but you should take caution when hiring someone for this role.
You need to research how extensive their experience is as it specifically relates to commercial buildings. You want to get someone who clearly knows what they are doing and can put their experience into action for you. If the extent of their experience largely lies in residential buildings, then it may be necessary to continue the search until you find someone who more specifically works in commercial properties.
Commercial Property Inspection Reports: Why Do They Matter?
We have talked a lot about commercial property inspection reports, but we haven’t dove into the question about why these reports are so important. We should establish a baseline for why these reports matter.
Totallendersolutions.com provides an excellent example and set of reasons why these inspection reports matter. Here is what they say:
For some businesses, like restaurants, practically everything rides on their physical space. It’s therefore critical that borrowers have a clear, detailed picture of the property they’re looking to purchase. Commercial property inspections are the crucial first step in ensuring that the business acquires a property that is a good fit for the business, will hold its value, and above all else will be a safe place for employees and customers alike.
They make it clear that a business is looking for supreme value when it goes through the processes that it needs to in order to get an inspection report. The worst thing that could happen to a company that purchases a commercial building without an inspection is that it ends up with something that does not meet its needs and is challenging to offload. Imagine getting stuck with a building that no one else wants to purchase but that doesn’t suit your needs either. The suffering that you would have to go through as a result of this is almost too much for most people to bear.
While working on getting your inspection report, you should think about the people who are compiling that report for you in the first place. Does it make sense to hire someone that has a vested interest in the property or in your business? Probably not. They may be too biased to give you the honest assessment of the property that you really need to make your decision. Thus, it is advisable to go with a third-party provider who has no connection to your business or to the property at all. When you find an inspector like that, you are all set. They won’t push you in one direction or another. Instead, they will offer their brutally honest assessment based on the facts presented to them.
What Types Of Property Inspections Are There?
There are different property inspections that you should know about. Here are some of the common types of property inspections that exist for different purposes.
Construction Inspections
A myriad of construction inspections are necessary during the build phase of a new property. If something is first being constructed, the government will make people perform a number of inspections before it can be built. These include:
Fire inspection
Plumbing inspection
Foundation inspection
These are just a few of the things that one will have to do as they work on a new building. If you have ever wondered why it can take a great deal of time for a brand-new building to go up, it often has something to do with the number of inspections that it must go through before it can be finalized.
Real Estate Transaction Inspections
When property is switching hands from one party to another, it becomes increasingly important to ensure that the property is properly inspected as it is supposed to be before it switches hands. We live to think that everyone will be honest in their transactions, but we know that this is not necessarily the case.
An inspection conducted during a real estate transaction is done to make sure that everything about the property is on the level when it moves from one person to another. This often means that the inspector will focus on specific line items that are often missed. Perhaps the property has not undergone an inspection since it was first constructed, and it may be overdue for a number of needed inspections. If that is the case, then your third-party property inspector can let you know what needs to be done, and they can often do the inspections themselves if you are willing to pay for that service.
Property Manager Inspections
Property managers need to perform inspections on the properties that they have leased out to tenants when those tenants are ready to leave. The reason for this is because they need to ensure that their tenants have not done any damage to the property that could take away from its value. There is a reason why most property managers require new tenants to make a deposit when they first move into their property. They hold on to any portion of that deposit that is necessary to repair the elements of the apartment that are left in disrepair when the tenant leaves.
A thorough inspection of the living space by the property manager can turn up any issues that the tenant left behind when they left the property. Any damages and their estimated cost of repair must then be reported to the tenant.
Insurance Inspections
Those who wish to purchase insurance on their personal home are likely able to do so without much paperwork or frustration. However, those who need to purchase insurance for a commercial property may have to put a little more effort into getting the help that they require. The reason for this is because they will need to get an insurance company out to them as soon as possible to inspect their property and let them know if there is anything special they need to do to fix the property before it becomes insurable.
When you are the property owner in this situation, you are hoping that no issues crop up, but you cannot guarantee this until you take the time to get an insurance inspection done.
Conclusion
There are many types of inspections that are necessary to take care of the general flow of business and life. Now that you know a little more about these inspections and how they work, you can better prepare yourself for the reality of what you will need to go through when you need to have one of these inspections performed.
GoCanvas provides all of the digital tools your business needs to perform inspections. By going digital with inspection forms, your business can streamline the inspection process and instantly share digital reports with key stakeholders. Sign up for a free trial to see our inspection forms in action or contact our team to learn more.
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
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…
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 how VIP Lighting optimized efficiency with GoCanvas
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Construction daily reports serve to keep all project stakeholders updated on the progress of construction work. In the digital era, construction sites have embraced more mobile and digital technologies to capture important information from the field. Construction project management apps are now available for project and site managers to record updates using a mobile device or tablet. By instantly bringing information to the cloud, project stakeholders can easily access updates in real-time.
The best construction daily report apps will enable your job site to easily collect data, share reports, and improve data accuracy and quality. Construction daily report apps should also be connected with other forms and reports produced on a job site, like inspections, timecards, and safety. Having a comprehensive solution for managing data on a construction site can help to increase productivity and streamline your operations. Continue reading this article to learn more about GoCanvas for construction daily reports and related construction job site management apps.
Construction Daily Report Software – What You Should Know
What makes a best-in-class platform for construction management software? Here are some key considerations when selecting technology for daily reports.
Ease-of-use
Construction daily reports should be easy for employees in the field to complete. Likewise, it should be easy to assign work and manage workflows from the office. Having an easy-to-use platform for construction job site management will help to improve productivity and eliminate manual processes. In the field, employees will want the ability to easily complete forms on a mobile tablet and have the ability to access relevant information, all in one spot. In the office, construction management software will help managers to assign and view the status of work, with reporting and analytics on key trends from job sites. Prioritize solutions that are easy to use for your staff and this will help to increase their adoption of the new technologies.
Customization
Every company has different ways of working and software should be easily customized to fit your unique job site needs. When thinking about digital forms, the platform should allow you to customize how data is collected from the field. Best-in-class software for construction daily reports will allow you to build custom forms to ensure your data is consistent, accurate, and completed on time. All of this can be done without needing to invest heavily in additional IT resources or time. Construction daily report software should be easy to customize by any end user of the software, giving you the ability to make changes quickly and see a fast time to value.
Comprehensive Solution for the Field
Most software tools today that help with construction daily reports are offered as part of a larger ecosystem of apps and solutions for the field. While you may want to start out with a pilot project to get started, consider how the construction management software can help you expand into other use cases. For example, you may start with construction daily reports, but later decide to roll out other construction apps for safety, inspections, and other operational tasks. Additionally, you may need to integrate data collected from the field with other data and systems that your business uses today. A comprehensive solution for the field is essential, so you can integrate your data systems and create a suite of tailored field solutions based on your business needs.
How GoCanvas Works
GoCanvas is a mobile platform that makes it simple for businesses to automate how work is done, replacing outdated processes and expensive paperwork. The GoCanvas App works on smartphones and tablets, helping companies easily collect information across their organization, share it instantly with others, and gain real-time insight on their business operations. Construction firms rely on GoCanvas to digitize their work orders, inspections, construction daily reports, safety programs, and more. Get started for free with our construction daily report template or contact our team to learn more.
Construction Daily Report Example and Template
The Construction Daily Field Report app provides a customizable daily report template that is accessible from anywhere in the field. This daily report template allows the project engineer and subcontractors to track all activities at the work site, including the job site report from the foremen, change orders and work orders, site accidents or delays, equipment status, time cards for team members and more. This construction daily report template can be modified to meet the needs of your team members and for different types of construction work.
With the construction daily report app, users can check daily time cards, track project status and more, all from the daily log app. Accessible from any mobile device, you can use the app from any job site and make changes to the template to meet your reporting needs. Once the daily log form is completed, team members can sign off on the information and save it for their records.
As a contractor, use this daily field report template to track progress and work performed on site location. Document and record essential activity data and hours worked through this log form in real time, reducing paperwork and cost.
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
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…
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 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…
Need to leverage contract templates when working with customers? This article covers how contractors can use digital contract templates to simplify the process with easy-to-use software for contract management.
Why Contractors Should Leverage Contract Templates
It’s always a best practice to have an agreement in place when rendering services for a client. For companies with field service teams, a typical workflow is to have a contractor and their team working on site to perform maintenance, repairs, and other types of work for the client.
Unfortunately, disputes are common and people can misunderstand the scope of work or timeline for projects. Disputes can lead to lost time, materials, and productivity, as well as potential legal risks. Having a contract or agreement in place before work begins will allow you to be in the best position should a dispute arise. Your bases are covered with a contract that clearly defines the work to be performed, clearly documenting the specifics of what’s included with the services.
This helps avoid misunderstandings and can provide a better experience for the customer. With clearly defined contracts, the customer has a digital copy of the terms of working together and gets greater transparency into what’s included. Both parties sign off on the contract, setting a clear agreement to reference in case of a dispute.
Benefits of GoCanvas vs. Paper Forms and Documents
You may be asking yourself why you can’t use a Word document, Google Document, or even a simple paper form to manage contract templates. While paperwork and word documents are common solutions, they also create a great amount of risk to your business and they create manual processes that kill productivity.
Digital forms and apps, like GoCanvas, are a better alternative to paper forms or Google documents for managing contracts. GoCanvas provides solutions built for the field, helping thousands of contracting professionals to better manage their workflows and documentation. When it comes to contract templates, there are many reasons why it makes sense to use a mobile form solution. Here is a quick comparison of GoCanvas versus paper forms and word documents:
Lost Paperwork
Losing documents is not something you can afford to do when it comes to managing your contracts. If disputes happen, you need to have the file on hand and lost paperwork would mean you are at a loss in that scenario. Unfortunately, paper forms and even word documents can become easily lost. Files can become misplaced, overwritten, or accidentally deleted from a computer. Paper forms can get lost in the shuffle between the field and office, or they can be misplaced or misfiled, making them difficult to find.
Apps for contract management like GoCanvas provide a simple solution to this problem. With documents managed in the cloud, contracts are always available in a central platform. Having files backed up and stored securely in the cloud ensures best practices for record keeping and provides an easy way to manage all signed documents.
Clear Documentation
Another benefit of using digital tools like GoCanvas is the ability to clearly date and sign contracts with electronic signatures. Digital processes allow you to require fields like a signature before a work order can be initiated, helping to ensure that agreements are signed before work kicks off. Having a signed PDF contract provides a strong record of an agreement. If changes to the scope of work are required, digital solutions like GoCanvas can help to manage this process and document updates along the way.
Improved communication.
Paperwork and word documents are simple solutions, but don’t provide the best experience for the customer. The customer may lose track of their copy of an agreement on paper, but digital solutions provide a better way to communicate with the customer. Everything is managed using digital forms and signatures, with reports available to be sent out via email to confirm the agreement and share a copy of the final PDF report. A fully digital experience is expected and appreciated by customers, who prefer to use digital channels for communication.
Easy-to-use field solution.
Paper work creates manual processes in the field when documents need to come back to the office. Plus, data entry is required once forms are back in an office, creating even more work for operations teams. Word documents were not designed to be managed in the field either, limiting the ability for field teams to use them on a mobile device.
Solutions like GoCanvas provide an easy-to-use field solution for contractors. All of the digital forms can be completed from a mobile device or tablet, and they don’t even need an internet connection to access the apps on their phone. If contractors or agreements are collected on site by contractors, all of this can be completed from a tablet. Collect signatures, generate PDF reports, and capture all of the information needed right from a mobile device.
How to Get Started with Contract Templates
It’s easy to get started with GoCanvas for contract templates and other forms needed for your contracting business. Here is a brief overview on how it works:
Choose a template based on use case. Select a contract template from the GoCanvas app store, with thousands of pre-built templates for contractors.
Customize the template based on need. GoCanvas templates are easy to customize for your business needs, allowing you to change the documents based on your specific use case or customer needs.
Assign work in the field. GoCanvas provides construction process management tools like dispatch and workflow, so you can assign, manage, and streamline work in the field.
Collect signatures on agreement. GoCanvas supports digital signatures to allow for contracts, agreements, and any other forms your contracting business uses for documentation like time cards, work orders, and more.
Receive email with copy of signed agreement. An email copy of the branded PDF report can be generated to instantly share a copy of the document or form with customers or project stakeholders.
Access documents in central cloud location. Easily access all of your documents in the cloud with GoCanvas, or integrate data with other cloud-based tools your business already uses like Dropbox, Google, and more.
To see how it works, get started by selecting a GoCanvas contract template based on your contracting business needs. You can also contact our team any time and we can walk you through the product and answer any questions you may have about leveraging digital technology for your business.
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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Incident reports are used to document when an accident or near-miss happens at work. Instead of using paper forms, many organizations choose to file incident reports digitally as PDF files that can be sent via email. Templates are commonly used to give employees a standard form to file when an incident occurs. Proper reporting is required by OSHA and it helps companies address safety issues by bringing to light any problems or potential areas for concern.
What is an employee incident report?
OSHA requires employers to file timely incident reports. The employee incident report from OSHA is designed to encourage employees to fill out the document and share it with their supervisor when injuries, illnesses, or near-miss events occur. No matter how minor the event may seem, it’s important to file employee incident reports to have an accurate understanding of events in the workplace. The employee incident report gives the employee’s account of the incident, and then the supervisor also gives a separate account when investigating an accident. All of these forms are designed to capture the details of the incident and document what happened for reporting purposes.
Why do you need an employee incident report?
It’s important to encourage employees to self-report incidents. You don’t want a culture where safety issues go unnoticed, as this can lead to further issues and impact employee satisfaction. Employees should feel empowered to voice concerns and share when incidents or near-miss events happen. Providing a digital incident form for employees gives them the ability to submit information on their mobile devices instantly.
What should you include on the form?
Incident report forms follow a standard template that is used to capture all of the pertinent details of the event. Here are some examples of what to include on the form:
Type of incident. Injury, incident, near-miss.
Personal details. Name of employee, name of workplace, job title, supervisor, and the date.
Details of incident. A detailed account of where it happened, what happened, and names of witnesses.
About the incident. Note if this has happened before, could have been prevented, or required medical care.
Why Go Digital with Incident Reports?
Going digital can simplify and standardize your company’s safety management programs. Here are the top three reasons to go digital:
Central, cloud-based platform for safety management
Providing a central location for employees to access and manage safety information can simplify workflows for your employees. If an incident happens, they know to open the safety app and find the appropriate form. If they need to access inspection forms, toolbox talks, and any other safety program documentation — everything is stored in a central location. This helps to increase compliance by making it easier for employees to follow safety program best practices.
Greater visibility into safety program results
Incident reports are one part of a safety program that you would want to analyze the data to understand patterns and trends. Are certain job sites or teams having higher than average incidents? Which teams are participating in required toolbox talks? With a digital safety management solution, you can easily view summarized data in real-time. Leveraging dashboards and analytics, your organization can use data to inform safety programs and minimize risk.
Avoid lost paperwork and manual workflows
Paper forms can be easily lost or misplaced over time. This ultimately creates more challenges if important documents can’t be found. Likewise, paper forms create manual work for employees to fill out paperwork, drive to an office, enter the data into a computer, or rely on mailed documents. All of these workflow challenges create extra work when performing a safety inspection, submitting an incident report, or filling out any number of other safety forms your teams use. Going digital can help automate how work gets done and streamline work for employees. Simply fill out forms using a mobile device or tablet and instantly sync information to the cloud.
Try the Employee Incident Report Template
GoCanvas offers a free trial where you can try out the employee incident report template. Our no-code form builder allows you to digitize paperwork, so employees can submit information from the field on a mobile device. Employees fill out the digital forms and a PDF report is automatically generated and shared with the office. GoCanvas customers have found that by digitizing their safety programs, they’re able to lower risk and liability by 18%.
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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A construction daily report or daily log is a document that includes all of the details and events of a single day working on a construction project. Site managers or contractors fill out and file these reports to keep an up-to-date record of the relevant project information. The reports typically include things like a list of crew members, material and equipment usage, incidents, job progress, and more.
What’s the purpose of a construction daily report?
The purpose of construction daily reports and logs is to provide a detailed description of an ongoing construction project. The daily report includes anything that the stakeholders, investors, project owners, and contractors need to know about that project.
These reports are useful for keeping everyone on the same page. They help to make sure that everyone is aware of any potential delays and that they are getting updates on the progress that is being made toward project completion.
Given how essential these documents are to the project’s success, it’s important that your construction daily reports and logs are accurate and thorough. That’s why we’ve created a complete guide to writing construction daily reports. Continue reading this article for everything you need to know about creating and filing your documents.
How to write a construction daily report
Here are four basic steps to follow when writing your construction daily reports:
Step 1: Create a cover page
The very first step in creating a construction daily report is drafting the cover page. A cover page provides basic information about the project, including the project name, the date, the location of the job site, and your name. The report’s cover page lets you and your client know at first glance what’s inside.
Step 2: Record details of crew and job site
The majority of a construction daily log will include essential information and even minute details about the project. Recording these details of your project will be the most involved step in creating your daily report.
Make sure to complete the report in a timely manner and don’t wait until the end of the workday to try and complete the entire daily report. You should add information to your report every hour or so throughout the day, or any time a significant event occurs.
Timely recording can also reduce the chance that you’ll forget important details about the project that day. Consider leveraging technology like construction project management software that can streamline the process and simplify your workflow for creating reports.
Step 3: Sign and date
Don’t forget to sign and date your construction daily reports, as this makes them official. Once work at the job site is finished, you should set aside some dedicated time to review your completed report to look for any mistakes and review the progress your team made.
When you’re satisfied with your report, sign, and date it. Making this part of your routine helps you ensure that the daily report is accurate and completed at the end of every day.
Step 4: File the report
Once you’ve reviewed and signed your construction daily report, be sure to promptly send it to your client. Construction software apps for daily reports can streamline the process for sending these documents to your clients. Apps can enable you to create your reports digitally and send them instantly to your client or other team members in real-time.
10 things you need to document on your construction daily reports
Construction daily reports provide the most accurate picture of what goes on at the job site. That’s why it’s important to include as many details as possible when creating your report. Here are ten must-have sections to include in your construction daily reports and logs:
1. Job details
The first section should include specific details about the job or project, including things like the job name, the job type, and the job number.
You should also include a brief description of the phase the job is in. For example, you should note if the workday included demolition, groundbreaking, framing, and so on.
2. Crew list
It’s best to record all crew members present at the job site. This information helps you cover your bases in case questions arise concerning attendance or payroll.
A crew list also helps promote safety in your work environment. Knowing who is on the site will help you ensure you’ve got enough workers to complete daily tasks and that no one is being stretched beyond their limits to work safely.
3. Weather conditions
Your documentation should include the weather report for that day, including things like temperature, wind speeds, and any precipitation.
Bad weather can bring your workday (and sometimes your work week) to a grinding halt, so it’s important to note the conditions of each day so you can record delays that are caused by the weather.
4. Work accomplished
In this section, detail project completions and progress that occurred. Make sure to record individual tasks and what took place to move them forward, as well as include the job’s progress as a whole.
Some days, you might have to note that no progress was made or that you’re experiencing delays because of material or staff issues. Even if the project doesn’t see forward progress, document what’s been done and the overall status of the job.
5. Site visitors
Sometimes you might have visitors to the construction site. These visitors could include investors, reporters, company leadership, and even family.
Any time someone other than your crew enters the work site, you should record it in your daily report. This helps you stay compliant and provide accurate paperwork should an accident occur on-site.
6. Equipment on site
All heavy machinery on a worksite must be accounted for. You’ll need to include the equipment present and how many hours each machine was used.
Even if a piece of machinery wasn’t used that day, note that it was parked at the site. This documentation provides information that can be used to maintain the equipment and ensure that every piece is where it should be.
7. Material quantities
A daily construction report also helps you keep track of the amount of materials available each day, as well as the quantity of those materials used.
This data gives you a clear picture of how much progress a crew makes each day. It also helps you to plan new orders by knowing what you begin and end each day with for materials.
8. Material deliveries
Material deliveries go hand-in-hand with material quantities. Knowing how many and which building materials arrived on-site ensures that your company receives the shipments they’re paying for.
You should make a note if a shipment doesn’t arrive as scheduled. If your crew is delayed in completing tasks due to a lack of materials, you will then have a record of the missed delivery and show that you’re not at fault.
9. Potential delaying events
A late material delivery can cause severe delays at your work site. But that’s not the only reason for slowed or even halted progress.
Your daily construction report needs to include any event that caused a delay or could potentially cause a delay. These events could be things like a significant crew absence, weather, or malfunctioning equipment, for example.
10. Incidents and accidents
Safety is the number one goal for all contractors. But when incidents occur, you are required to report them.
Your daily reports should note both significant incidents, as well as any near misses that occur. In addition to your daily report, you are also required to formally file a separate incident report.
Consider using incident report apps that can help with the process and provide templates to use when incidents happen for creating the reports and sharing them with all the appropriate parties.
How to use reports to improve your services
Construction daily reports offer more than just a record of what occurred on a work site. When utilized correctly, they can also serve as tools to help you improve your services. Here are three ways your daily logs can improve your team’s productivity and quality:
1. Increase efficiency
Construction daily reports are more than just progress notes for the client. You can also gauge the efficiency of your entire operation by reviewing and analyzing the data on your reports.
Mobile apps can help to create your reports and then the data is available so you can see the full picture of your team’s progress and if they are completing tasks to your standards.
2. Save money
Every company wants to save money, without cutting any corners. Your daily reports provide valuable data about money spent on materials, employees, and more.
Data from your reports can help you to discover patterns and trends. It can help to understand when and why a job is being delayed. By analyzing this information, you can discover patterns in spending, and where budgets can be restructured to save both time and money.
Digitizing your daily reports through mobile apps can help to ensure that you’re collecting the right information and the data is easily accessible in the form of analytics that provides useful insights for your operations team.
3. Streamline workflows
Daily logs detail everything that happens on a job site and they can help you see what you’re doing well and what can be improved.
Digitizing this information and making it more accessible will enable your team to find better, faster, and even safer ways to complete your projects.
When you complete your reports on an app, the reports can instantly be sent to the office, clients, and other team members who need access in real-time. This helps to streamline workflows, save time for your employees, and improve the processes that are in place for sharing and communicating documentation for your business.
Optimize your daily reports with digital processes
Construction daily reports contain essential information for documenting the progress and status of your projects. Consider implementing simple mobile apps for contractors that can help you to easily capture the details of a day on your site with digital documentation.
Your peers in the construction industry have found that these tools give them a competitive advantage, increase productivity, and eliminate much of the time spent on paperwork and other manual tasks.
All of this can lead to greater profitability for your business, projects completed on schedule, and increased satisfaction and retention of your workers with modern processes in place to help them succeed.
Why you should use construction daily log apps
Many contractors and construction firms are moving their daily logs to the digital format using mobile apps to record daily logs and create PDF reports. This technology works well for the construction industry because it provides mobility and ease of use for many people to enter the required information into mobile forms.
Once the information is collected, it’s instantly shared as a formatted report and the data can be used for reporting and analytics purposes. The end result is a more efficient way to collect information in the field and greater visibility into operations.
This saves valuable time by reducing manual paperwork and outdated processes and it gives the business insights needed to make decisions that help the business operate in smarter ways.
Free Examples and Templates
General Construction Daily Log
The construction daily log makes it simple to keep track of a daily report of work performed and noteworthy updates that occur daily on a job site. The mobile app can be completed using a tablet or a phone to ensure that all of the important data from the field is captured and shared back with the office.
The mobile app can also be used as a time-tracking tool, helping to eliminate paperwork for managers on-site. The daily log is designed for documenting all employee’s activities so that management can monitor productivity in real-time to avoid potential delays.
How it works:
Capture images of work completed
Add details about potential safety hazards and other daily work details
A digital report is automatically generated and sent to the construction manager, general contractor, and safety managers.
Customize the app to add specific inspections or other required documentation that is required for your job site.
Subcontractor Daily Logs
Looking for a specific template to use based on the type of subcontractor work? Follow the links below to find additional examples and templates by use case.
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
The Ultimate Guide to Quality Control Inspections
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It’s impossible to stress how important workplace safety is for a successful business. Proper safety protocols and procedures not only protect your valuable team and assets but prevent costly disruptions to efficiency and production. Even the safest workplaces have incidents and accidents, though. Routine reporting of any accidents to analyze risk and safety procedures is an essential step in tackling issues and refining policies to provide a safer workplace.
Though “near miss” incidents –incidents where no one harm was done but potentially could’ve been– reveal the same vulnerabilities in safety procedure, they are often neglected in reporting. Below, we’ll discuss the advantages of diligently reporting near misses, and the advantages an organization can gain by taking all incidents seriously while developing its safety ecosystem.
What is a near miss report?
OSHA defines a near miss incident as a close call in which a worker might have been hurt if the circumstances had been slightly different. Beyond the scope of the OSHA definition, many organizations also include potential harm to valuable equipment or infrastructure as near miss incidents. Near miss reports should be filed with the same diligence as every other incident, as they still shed light on vulnerabilities in safety protocols.
Near miss incidents are often reported through the same means for normalincident reports. An organization should account for these reports and be able to accept both while still being able to differentiate between the two. If your company is using a comprehensivesafety management solution, users are able to quickly and anonymously submit reports of either near miss, or typical incidents from a mobile app.
Near miss reports should be taken seriously, and they should be treated with the same importance as harmful incident reports. Near miss incidents not only can shake up workers’ morale when they see vulnerabilities in safety protocols first-hand, but they can shed valuable light on problems allowing them to be rectified before serious harm occurs. Organizations that have a healthy reporting system for near miss reports will not only suffer less costly incidents but increase morale by proving to workers that safety is important if proper attention is applied to reports.
The advantages of near miss reporting
Organizations can’t afford to neglect near miss reporting. Near misses can easily be early warning signs of problems to come and represent vulnerabilities in safety that can’t be overlooked. Incorporating reporting for near miss incidents into safety and operations planning can have many advantages that can be leveraged by organizations to increase safety and efficiency overall.
Identify and control risks before incidents happen
Near miss reporting can be important warnings of more serious issues. Paying the same attention to investigating near miss incidents as you would a serious injury can yield valuable insights into safety issues without the monetary cost of serious injury or incident.
OSHA outlines the importance of root cause analysis during incident investigation in a 2016 fact sheet, saying “By conducting a root cause analysis and addressing root causes, an employer may be able to substantially or completely prevent the same or similar incident from recurring. Conducting the same root cause analysis on near miss incidents informs your safety policy, potentially preventing harmful incidents before they occur.
Near miss reporting is often described as a free lesson because it enables companies to proactively resolve hazards before a tragic or costly incident occurs. When a worker discovers a potentially dangerous situation, completing a near miss report means the risk can be resolved before it causes harm to their teammates.
Create a culture of safety
When your crew knows that their safety is a priority within your business, morale inevitably goes up. Providing your workers with the resources and training to identify and report near misses helps them know that their well-being is an important aspect of daily operations. This encourages them to be more safety-minded in all their duties and can increase compliance and reporting across your entire organization. Safety culture develops from example. As your employees see that safety is an organizationally fundamental value for your company, it will become a culturally important value to them.
It is vitally important to train your crew on what defines a near miss, why it is important to report such hazards, and to lay out a clear reporting process. Many organizations streamline the reporting process withsafety management software that includes established checklists and forms for near miss reports. Using a digital solution gives workers the opportunity for anonymous reporting and improves efficiency and mistakes by limiting paperwork.
If cultivating a culture of safety within your organization starts with training and example, it ends with trust. The goal of near miss reports is to keep your workers safe and get them looking out for possible risks. Positive safety culture comes when your team trusts that you are looking out for their best interest, but if your investigations are focused on blame rather than root cause analysis and risk mitigation, your safety culture can quickly begin to feel like a witch hunt to your employees. This discourages their participation in safety reporting and procedures and disengages them as a whole from safety culture.
As near miss incidents have no damage or accident, they are an excellent opportunity to show your team that reporting is about focusing on their safety in the future, not about assigning blame and punishing mistakes. This promotes a culture where employees feel comfortable reporting incidents and safety shortcomings, which promotes a safer and more efficient business.
Inform protocols and training
Safety managers can use data from near miss reporting to improve training programs, develop safer work processes, educate personnel atdaily safety meetings, and fix any faulty equipment that could lead to an accident. Prevention is the core of safety, and proactive safety programs can be developed from compiling near miss data, giving employers the opportunity to resolve systemic risks and provide their crew with the latest safety measures on a daily basis.
Workplace safety is impossible without sufficient training to inform workers of possible risks and how to safely manage tasks. Near miss reporting gives important data about possible incidents and accidents, allowing the development of more comprehensive training to prevent issues in the future.
Without adequate near miss reporting, systemic safety issues don’t become obvious until costly accidents already occur. Near miss reports give an organization the opportunity to address close calls as warning signs to refine their procedures going forward.
Communication, transparency, and compliance
Maintaining, investigating, and acting on reports for near miss incidents can ensure compliance with various human resources and safety regulations. While regulatory requirements will vary greatly depending on location, more transparency and a documented history of an effort to improve safety will always be of benefit to compliance.
More data potentially could shield you from liabilities in the future. History of acting to rectify safety issues revealed by near miss incidents can be a strong refutation of future negligence suits or fines. Transparency is important in communication with investors as well and proving that you have a track record of promoting safety as an organization is promising for them to see.
Safe workers for a successful business
Safe workers are much more likely to be happy workers in the long run. If no action was taken on a near miss incident, workers will be more worried and timid, and may actually find temporary solutions to the problem that are even less safe. If near miss incidents aren’t taken seriously or even accepted at all, it can make workers feel like their employer does not care about their safety. This can destroy morale and make productivity and profitability suffer. Worst, it puts the people who make your organization run at risk. Employers have a responsibility to protect their employees. Employees are happier, more engaged, and more productive when they see this duty being met.
A comprehensive safety management program
A safety management program that neglects near miss reports is missing one of its biggest assets to develop sustainable solutions. Such a system will never reach its potential in preventative safety. Near miss incident reporting is absolutely required to see problems before they arise to better craft safety procedures that avoid those issues in the future.
Near miss incident reports can also serve to engage employees in safety programs. This personnel is your first line of defense against risks, and they should know it. Communicating to your team that they can help manage risk with reporting of near miss incidents along with showing them that the organization will act to improve safety based on those reports will help build a culture of safety that can vastly improve the effectiveness of a safety management program.
Streamlining a safety management program to accommodate near miss reporting can be easily accomplished withsafety management software. These solutions offer standardization of documentation and convenient reporting for all types of incidents. The increased accessibility of remote access and mobile compatibility not only make personnel more likely to document incidents but also make it more efficient to process and compile data from reports.
GoCanvas offers comprehensive security management software solutions that can give you the tools you need to increase safety and efficiency. Incident reports can be entered remotely and fielded immediately, cutting out any time-consuming red tape, so you can react to risks more quickly, more efficiently, and more effectively. Clickhere to see how safety management software can help you today.
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.
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