For years, some of our customers have been using our components to facilitate inspections that take place in the field, be it after some sort of installation or to make insurance claims for a customer's damaged property. As we examined those use cases, we hoped that we could bring a new level of communication and ease to collecting information in the field, be it in written or photo form.
We’re happy to announce that we will now have a SharinPix app package completely dedicated to field inspections. The Field Inspection App by SharinPix is the ultimate connector between back office staff and people in the field.
What are the key components of the Inspection App by SharinPix?
The components of the SharinPix Inspection App are best understood by breaking them down into four main functions: engagement, guidance, and completion actions. We're going to dive into each of those here, but if you'd prefer to see the app in action, check out this video:
Not every contractor you work with is going to have access to your Salesforce. For those cases, it adds effort and wastes time for your dispatchers who have to go outside Salesforce to contact these contractors through external channels like email or SMS.
This is troublesome for starting a new job with an external contractor, but that’s just the beginning of the pain points. Typically, any and all communication with external contractors has to be done outside Salesforce and any feedback they send from the field like documents and photos has to be manually uploaded.
With the Inspection App from SharinPix, you get to engage your contractors directly from Salesforce via SMS, WhatsApp, or directly through their agenda. Simply assign the contractor the new job as a contact.
The contractor will receive a message on their mobile device, showing information about the job such as the appointment time and location. From there, they simply have to reply “yes” to accept the job.
Have Contractors Follow Your Instructions
After the contractor accepts the job, they will need some instructions on what needs to be done at the job site. Once the job date has arrived, the contractor will receive their instructions via SMS.
The contractor will navigate through the message by replying to the prompts, eventually receiving links that they can follow to conduct the job site actions. For example, if the job is the installation of an air conditioning unit, they might be asked to take “before” pictures of the area where the indoor unit will be installed, where the ducts will be hung, and where the outdoor unit will be placed.
In this step, the contractor might also take advantage of other SharinPix features integrated into the Inspection App. For example, they could make remarks on a floor plan, add sketches to a photo, or even capture aerial views.
Another prompt the contractor might see in their text instructions is to gather end-of-job information via an interactive PDF form. When pulled up on a smartphone or tablet via the link in the SMS, the contractor can collect text information such as short summaries of the progress, checkboxes, additional “after” photos directly from the form, and even a customer signature.
Dynamic forms with expanded possibilities are available as an upgrade to the basic package of the SharinPix Inspection App.
Get AI-Powered Documentation and Follow-ups
Once the job is complete in the hands of the contractor, we can go back to our dispatcher in the back office. Using our Inspection generative AI, they will receive an automated report of the job notes, including all photos and information collected from the field.
These AI capabilities can also be used to detect potential errors and even to assign follow-up actions like a second visit to the job location to verify functionalities a few weeks or months after installation.
But wait, there’s more…
Much like our well-established Images App, the potential use cases for the Inspection App go far beyond people with the job title “inspector.” Globally, this inspection package is a way to facilitate communication between the back office and people who work in the field. This can apply to personnel working in sales, government, agriculture, and much more.
While the features mentioned above most obviously point to construction and contracting, and can greatly improve efficiencies in those industries, the communication and features like aerial views can appeal to other industries like solar panel installation, roofing, landscaping, excavation, or community development.
The ultimate SharinPix feature that appeals to the widest range of industries and job types is also a part of the Inspection App: unlimited photo and PDF storage.
Where can I Learn More?
