Mobile field inspection management solution increases inspection productivity during outages by reducing the time to document inspections, and streamlining the workflow. Repair work starts faster and allows more repairs to be done during an outage.

Power plant components are regularly inspected during outages, resulting in reports that provide condition assessments as well as findings and recommendations. It is critical that inspections be completed and documented as quickly and accurately as possible so that maintenance personnel can complete the required actions and get the unit back online without delay. Because the boiler is in a confined space that includes a harsh, dusty environment, the traditional method of collecting information was to write abbreviated, and sometimes inaccurate, notes with a paper and pencil. After the inspection was finished, the results were then transcribed into the Aware™ software program for reporting and analysis.

This process – abbreviated note taking and then transcribing– is inefficient, lending itself to transcribing errors and to the potential for human memory lapses.

Solution:

Users of Mobile Aware, our mobile field inspection Total Quality Assurance solution, are able to capture inspection findings electronically while an inspection is taking place, thus saving time and reducing errors. In addition, users are able to access and review information collected from previous inspections while in the field and away from a networked computer.

Features of our Mobile Field Inspection Management Solution Aware:

  • Pre-configured forms are loaded on the handheld device to assist in documenting visual inspection activities. These forms have identical fields and pick list values to the corresponding activities in the Aware web-based application. 
  • Fields are automatically updated if modified on the web.  Add a pick list value to the web application and it appears on the mobile handheld device after the next synchronization. 
  • Users have the ability to review past field inspections to identify how conditions may have changed and determine where to focus attention during the current inspection. 
  • Users can synchronize multiple times during the outage, making data available to all personnel involved in the outage in a timely manner. Any additions to an inspection activity using the web application are synchronized to the mobile handheld device and vice versa. 
  • The forms make heavy use of pick list fields to facilitate data entry. Free form text is entered through hardware alpha/numeric keys or any of the input methods included in the device’s operating system (block recognizer, pop-up keyboard, letter recognizer, and transcriber).