As a regulator, your focus is on getting the maximum number of inspections completed quickly and thoroughly. However, finding inspectors and ensuring everyone has the right workload can be a harrowing process. Coordinating schedules and inspection project details over emails and calls is a time-consuming process which often leads to unnecessary delays.
But inspections are necessary. They are often a result of internal standard operating procedures or external groups/organizations that an organization is a part of. When done correctly, inspections can help understand problems, identify trends, and control costs.
In this blog, we’ll cover how a resource management software can be your best friend when it comes to scheduling, managing, and tracking regulatory inspections. The tool can also help you foresee problems and find apt solutions to them.
Why Regulatory Inspections are Challenging
Whether you are in charge of safety at a manufacturing facility or overseeing work at a construction site, inspections are necessary. However, they are also challenging.
Inspection schedules require the coordination of multiple factors and criteria. Each regulatory inspection can have a different procedure as well. For example, inspecting a machine at a semi-conductor manufacturing facility requires a distinct skill set, time commitment, and process than an inspection at a healthcare facility.
Varying data sets need to be captured and one has to have the right person for each job. Also, the health codes, safety/regulatory standards, and instruments used for checks keep changing constantly and without much notice. The person assigned to the job needs to be competent and aware of the rapidly changing protocols. Otherwise, there is a high possibility of the inspection going awry and high-stakes issues arising.
All these moving pieces and external factors make conducting regulatory inspections challenging and difficult to manage.
How can a Resource Management Software Help Regulatory Inspections?
Resource management tools help regulators ensure optimal resource utilization, transparency, and control. It can also help managers and team leaders foresee problems and find proper solutions for them.
With a resource management software, regulators can reach a higher efficiency level because they will be utilizing existing resources better. A good resource management tool enables team leaders in regulatory agencies/companies to keep track of who’s doing what and how long it’s taking them to complete an inspection. Based on this data, they can make better resource allocation decisions.
The resource allocation software will allow leaders to assign the correct job to the appropriate inspector — whether it’s in person, virtual, or a self-inspection. Let’s not forget that the software will ensure that the right resources are deployed at the correct time. The app can also help prioritize high-risk cases over low-risk cases.
A resource management software which combines with other platforms like project management or case management apps will also lead to increased productivity and efficiency. Inspectors will no longer waste time jumping between technology tools.
| Benefits of Using Resource Management Software |
| Reduces scheduling conflicts Automates inspection processes Assigns the right inspector for each case Reduces costs Aids in prioritization of high-risk vs. low-risk cases Provides real-time data on utilization and time variance Identifies obstacles or resource issues Improves pipeline inspection planning |
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How to Find the Right Resource Scheduling Software for Inspections?
Here’s a checklist of features to check for in a resource management software that will work well for regulatory inspections:
- Online, centralized calendar
Managing a physical or Excel-based calendar and filling it with inspectors’ assignments is unnecessarily complicated, error-prone, and time-consuming. Luckily, the digital era has made this simpler. Resource management tools like eRS have a centralized, cloud-based calendar that can easily be accessed, updated, and altered. It eliminates the need for paper-based scheduling. All schedules, shifts, and leave/resource requests can be completed online and everyone gets real-time updates on any changes. Inspectors can also block out personal time when they will be on leave so managers are aware of their availability.
- Real-time Reports
Finding a software that provides real-time reports on resource utilization, costs, and billing rates will help keep the inspections under control. For example, the resource utilization rate will highlight if all the inspectors are being assigned adequate work. If the utilization rate is too high, the scheduler knows that the workload needs to be reassigned or new inspectors need to be hired.
Reports on the billing rate of inspectors and the actual time taken to complete the inspection will help keep the costs under control. Let’s look at another example: Inspector A is highly skilled and an expert in the chemical industry. Inspector A charges an “X” hourly rate. If the assigned inspection is estimated to take three hours, then the scheduler can accurately predict and budget for the cost of hiring Inspector A to complete the job.
The collection of real-time data with metrics like “time taken per task vs. time allotted per task” gives management an accurate picture of ground-level reality. They can easily identify if something has gone wrong and step in to rectify it.
- High Customization and Integration Ability
Why is this important? Let us explain. As mentioned earlier, each inspection can have varying nuanced requirements. It’s better to have a software where workflows and project templates can easily be customized to suit each specific need. This automation will speed up the inspection scheduling process as the inspection agents will know what exactly needs to be done for each case.
The ease of integration is another key feature to watch out for because that will allow inspectors to transfer the data to other key apps and databases. This will eliminate the time spent in completing the manual transfer of information and also reduce the need to jump from one platform to another.
- Cloud-based, Easy Mobile Access
Cloud or web-based apps that can be easily accessed via a phone, tablet, or desktop increase efficiency and productivity. Need to update your schedule? Just log in from any device and make the necessary change.
Cloud-based systems are also a more reliable form of data storage. The data is not physically on a computer that can be damaged or infiltrated by a virus or be lost due to device failure.
Cloud-based resource management apps also provide the following benefits. They are
- Easily scalable,
- Simpler to implement, and
- Provide extra cost savings.
(CTA: Need a resource management system that’s cloud-based and easy to customize? Contact the eRS team.)
Simplify and Speed Up Your Regulatory Inspections
Whether your team conducts 50 regulatory inspections a year or over 1000, what remains crucial are the resources — the inspectors. Their availability, billing rates, and skill set have to be known. Furthermore, they need to be given optimal levels of workload that will match their strengths and keep them engaged. This is quite a task.
Using the right resource scheduling software will take the burden off your shoulders. It will also speed up the ease at which you can plan, schedule, and track inspections. Let’s not overlook the cost savings it will bring.
eRS can do all of the above for you; just give it a start today.
