Construction projects are notoriously complex and risky, with many stakeholders, a potentially hazardous environment and many strict regulations to comply with. Such projects are often subjected to numerous internal & external audits and inspections. They each focus on a specific topic to meet a specific requirement – but how to make sure they effectively minimise risks?
1. Get an inspection app – go digital to save time & money
That’s the single biggest win that you can easily implement. Whether its construction inspection daily reports, self-assessment checklists, near-misses log or incident report, health & safety inspections, quality control, building regulation compliance audit or due diligence… in 2020 you have much better options than using paper forms, then manually typing up and distributing reports. There are professional mobile apps to capture all information on a phone or tablet, then automatically generate detailed reports. This will enable you to conduct audits more effectively, quicker and at a fraction of the cost.
2. More effective and frequent audits
How to make sure the compliance is daily, not only when the auditor is around? When field staff can complete self-assessments or or log issues on a mobile device, the number of inspections can be increased to ensure compliance every single day. With the data digitally compiled in one place and analysed with smart tools, you have better visibility and can take action quicker.
3. Set up corrective action plans
Once an auditor spots an issue, someone needs to do something about it – and quickly. But when everyone is under pressure, responsibilities can be unclear. Staff may pass the tasks around, escalate or maybe even let them drop off the radar. With a digital auditing tool, you can easily set up a workflow and assign specific actions/ timelines to specific people, on the spot. With accountability and a digital audit trail, everyone will have clear next steps. Which will save you time & money in the longer term.
4. Keep track of improvements
How to know if your teams have learned from past mistakes? What good is an audit, if you can’t be sure the teams implemented recommendations effectively? When external inspectors catch the lack of compliance with relevant regulations, it will be too late. You will risk endangering staff, delaying the project or having to pay penalties. With a digital auditing solution, you will get a dashboard to monitor issues & resolution speed in real time, alerts, summaries and other tools to stay on top of it all – and resolve issues before they start costing you.
5. Spot & fix systematic issues
With audit data processed and presented in a smart way, it becomes easy to analyse and spot trends. For example, you may spot a lack of staff training on fire evacuation procedures. You need to know if that’s specific to one team, one site or the whole business. In the latter case you may need to update your training approach or conduct a business-wide awareness campaign. Dealing with a systematic issue globally will bring you savings down the road: avoiding re-occurrence, ad-hoc actions and of course business-wide risks.
Learn more how the GoAudits inspections app can help you increase compliance, reduce risks and save money. Discover a limited-time offer: free onboarding and trial!
