Mobile Inspections on Handheld PDAs and the Web

Inspections are of little value if the data is not shared, analyzed and provides relevant information necessary for making solid business decisions. We have worked with several customers who have reported that historic data from field inspections simply got placed in paper file folders and stored. The data was not accessed or viewed by any decision makers!!!

Most if not all of the field inspection software applications that MobileDataforce have worked on synchronize data from mobile handheld PDAs to a database back at the office. Often we are asked to create web interfaces to this data so project participants and management can quickly login and review the collected inspection data from anywhere in the world via a web browser. We customize a series of reports that display the data in relevant and helpful formats for quick and efficient viewing and understanding.

Mobile Inspection Software on Handheld PDAs

Mobile inspection software solutions are the topic of the week. Why? Many of MobileDataforce's largest global customers are in the inspection services business. In addition, rarely are inspections done in an office cubicle. They are most often completed somewhere away from the office and often out-of-doors. My engineering team has been developing and enhancing the PointSync Mobility Platform for many years specifically for companies that have a need to use a wide variety of different inspection applications and other mobile applications in the field.



The image in the upper right corner of this blog - is a screen shot of the PointSync Developer. This is the application companies use to develop each customized inspection. Once the mobile application is designed, developed and deployed the work can begin.

Because the inspection services industry covers such a wide variety of inspections, MobileDataforce created a mobile inspection platform to support the requirements for quickly changing them. Here is a list of a few of the common inspection applications:

• Building Inspections
• Power Pole Inspections
• Substation Inspections
• Stray Voltage Inspections
• Power Generation Plant Inspections
• Pipeline Inspections
• Health & Safety Inspections
• Scaffold Inspections
• Mold Inspections
• Fire Safety Inspections
• Conditional Assessment Inspections
• Auto Inspections
• End of lease vehicle inspections
• Quality Assurance Inspections
• etc...

The list is endless. No one would buy a separate mobile application for each of the thousands of different possible inspections. Companies want an mobile inspection platform that can support all of these possible scenarios. That solution is the PointSync Mobility Platform for Inspections.

Off the Shelf Mobile Applications vs Customized for Handheld PDAs

Often my sales team gets asked the following question, "Should I buy an "Off-the-Shelf" mobile software application, or customize a mobile software application to fit my specific business?" The answer depends on if your business is set-up as an "off-the-shelf" business. Do you conduct your business in the exact same manner as many others in your market? Do you use the same business processes and the same accounting package as the others? Is your product or service business managed in the same manner as others in your market. If the answers are yes, then buying an off-the shelf mobile application is a reasonable option. However, if you conduct your business in a unique manner that offers you a competitive advantage over others in your market, then you may want to customize your mobile software applications and automate the business processes that provide you with these advantages. Let me give some examples:

In this recent blog article I write about companies that want to add asset and inventory tracking functionality to the common service request process. Others may want to add time tracking, mileage, GPS, bar code, digital images and other features to their mobile software application. Some companies like to have a mobile job estimation application on their handheld computer. Once the estimate is accepted, it can be dispatched to the service technicians to begin work.

Our customers tend to have a wide variety of business software applications in their offices. These software applications and accounting packages use a wide variety of databases. Our customers like to select their own mobile handheld computers and software applications. Our customers are often implementing changes to their business processes to provide higher levels of customer service that provide greater competitive advantages. These kinds of dynamic business environments demand and require the ability to rapidly edit and customize mobile business applications to support the growing and changing business.

What company wants to restrict their ability to grow their business, implement "best practices" and business process improvements because of the limitation of an off-the-shelf business application? Not MobileDataforce customers!

MobileDataforce provides a rapid application development environment for mobile software solutions. Our mobile software solutions for handheld PDAs enable you to cost effectively customize your mobile applications to support your ever-changing business needs.

Mobile Inspection Software for Handheld PDAs

MobileDataforce works with many inspection services companies. Our PointSync Mobility Platform enables companies that provide a wide variety of inspection services the ability to rapidly develop new and cost effective mobile inspection applications for use on handheld PDAs and rugged handhelds. The "rapid" part is very important since many inspections are project based, and you can't spend 6 months developing a mobile solution for a handheld.

Some of our customers use the same mobile inspection application routinely, while others do contract work for electrical companies and other large organizations that require customized inspection services based upon the needs of the project. The PointSync Mobility Platform works well for both kinds of project environments.

Mobile Software Solutions for Handheld PDAs and Integration

Mobile software solutions for handheld PDAs have limited value, unless they are synchronized and integrated with business applications back at the office. To that end, MobileDataforce's mobile software applications are integrated with many of the world's most popular database applications including:

• Sybase & iAnywhere


• Quickbooks


• Microsoft SQL


• Microsoft Navision


• Microsoft's Great Plains


• Microsoft Dynamic


• Microsoft Access


• Oracle


• AS 400/DB2


• MRO Maximo


• Many more...

The integration with these database applications enable bi-directional database synchronization between the mobile handheld PDAs and the office business software applications. This empowers the mobile handheld user to have the same kinds of visibility to enterprise data as someone sitting in a cubicle in the office. In addition, the office can receive near real-time data from work being done in the field. The efficiencies that are available through mobilization can be enormous.

Hawaii & Mobile Software for PDAs, Smartphones and Handhelds

Greetings Folks,

I am back from a wonderful and relaxing family vacation/holiday on the Island of Maui, Hawaii. I tried to forget about mobile software, PDAs, handhelds and smartphones for a few days, but alas, there are people carrying mobile handheld computers everywhere I go!

Let me give you an update on some of the mobile software solutions my team has been working on over the last few weeks:

• Paintless Dent Removal - mobile auto/vehicle inspections, services and repair business solutions
• Bridge inspections
• Mobile work order management applications for ATM service technicians
• Electric Utility - mobile inspection & work order applications
• Building inspection applications for a county government
• Clinical trials - mobile applications for healthcare service providers
• Asset management/conditional assessments and preventative work orders
• Much more...

The key value propositions for many of these solutions are the following:

1. Accountability of work and workers in the field
2. Accountability of company assets and inventory in the field
3. Efficient use and dispatch of field service technicians
4. Documentation of work completed in the field
5. Efficient and timely synchronization of field data to the enterprise database
6. Fast processing and invoicing of work completed
7. Inspections and documentation of inspections - for just about everything
8. Faster and better customer service leading to happier customers and greater profits

Toilets and Mobile Handheld PDAs

This is a first - MobileDataforce is developing an inspection software solution for inspecting toilets using handheld PDAs. Our team in Newcastle, England is working on a project called WaterSmart. This application is for Water Utility companies to use to help homeowners conserve water and save money.

This is how it works:

1. Inspectors swarm into a homeowner's bathrooms and start flushing their toilets, using their showers and filling their bath tubs.
2. They measure outputs, water pressure, and the overall water use of a house.
3. They use handheld PDA applications to collect all of this data and synchronize it back to headquarters
4. The data collected results in recommendations for the installation of water conservation equipment in the home, which kicks-off a work order process
5. The work order is dispatched to a service technician that travels out to the home and installs things like; balloons in the toilet to reduce the water in the tank, shower heads that reduce water volume to a dribble and many other clever things...

These mobile software applications are used for mobile inspections, data collection, work order dispatch and synchronization. These are very interesting projects and they allow us to play with cool new handheld PDAs and other mobile gadgets.

Auto Appraisals Using Handheld PDAs and Mobile Software

Reporting from the UK - Our team in Newcastle has developed a number of very interesting and compelling mobile handheld PDA solutions for the automotive industry. An application I previewed today enables service companies to complete many mobile services and use their mobile handheld computers to register and invoice the work. The solution was designed to mobilize the following three business processes:

1. Mobile dent repair and minor autobody work
2. Mobile Auto Detailing/Valet
3. End-of-Lease Inspections

All of these business processes are completed on the mobile handheld PDA and synchronized with a web enabled database.

Reporting from the UK - Mobile Automotive Solutions for PDAs, Handhelds and Smartphones

I am in Newcastle, UK this week on assignment. Our team here in Newcastle are experts in the automotive industry. They have many years experience working with mobile PDAs, handhelds and Smartphone solutions for vehicle auctions, automobile dealerships, automobile lease return applications and more. Today they demonstrated their mobile PDA solutions to a large automobile dealership with locations across Ireland.

The mobile solution they were demonstrating included a valuation component. A person could scan a VIN code and the description of the car would pop-up and auto fill the the electronic inspection form on the handheld PDA. The dealership would then inspect the car for damage and the final value of the car would be computed from the valuation database and the inspection.

This solution is used for automotive auctions, auto dealers, insurance and automotive lease return companies.

First the Dell Axim PDA Dies & Now the iPAQ Pocket PC???

Rumor on the street, at least in the mobile handheld industry world, is that HP may be discontinuing their line of stand alone PDAs. The rumor originated from a recent refusal by HP corporate to sell 1,000 current and supported iPAQs to a customer. No company rejects an order for 1,000 devices if they mean to continue them. This same customer was not able to source this iPAQ in any significant quantities from distributors either.

Keep in mind this is a blogged rumor...that means it is many times less reliable than the one from the cubicle next to you.

Even if true, HP may just be consolidating their iPAQs around iPAQ Phones.