In construction engineering, every small detail matters. Engineering inspections are designed to ensure quality assurance (QA), and, when done properly, can also help identify safety issues before they become major problems.
Unfortunately, there are ample examples of how poor construction quality assurance can lead to severe consequences, including death and injury. Some notable examples include:
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The Hindenburg Disaster in 1937, when a German passenger airship spontaneously combusted mid-air due to an electrostatic discharge that ignited the flammable hydrogen gas used to lift the airship, killing 35 people.
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The nuclear plant disaster at Chernobyl, Russia, when a reactor core ruptured and exploded. The resulting fire then led to the release of radioactive contaminants.
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We also cannot forget the collapse of Terminal 2E at the Charles De Gaulle Airport in 2004, which killed four people and injured three. The investigation found several design flaws that were not caught during construction.
It's clear that inspections are an integral part of construction engineering. However, traditional paper- or Excel-based engineering inspection methods are inefficient and prone to errors.
By moving to a digitalized construction engineering inspection platform, you gain greater accuracy, improved visibility, and streamlined workflows, and, most importantly, you can avert a civil engineering disaster like those mentioned above.
Why Should You Digitize Instead of Using Paper/Excel?
You should consider moving to digitalized inspections if:
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Measurement and test data are critical components of your inspection process
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You need to infuse speed, accuracy and analytics into your inspection process
Goals of Moving to Digitalized Inspections
Digitizing engineering inspections can help your firm achieve several goals, key among them being:
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Better compliance with safety regulations
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Reduced costs associated with manual data entry
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Accurate and comprehensive reports
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Improved tracking of project progress and enhanced communication between personnel
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Database storage of global inspection data for real-time visibility and analytics
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Eliminate non-productive administrative tasks regarding data transcription, emails, deficiency reporting, tracking, and documenting corrections
Benefits of Moving to Digitalized Inspections
Moving to digitalized engineering inspections is a significant advantage in the construction engineering industry. By shifting to a single digital QA platform, you can extend your quality program into specialty trade compliance and technical work or delve deeper into project startup and commissioning. This helps increase safety standards while streamlining inspection processes – making them faster, more accurate, and more transparent.
Digital engineering inspections also enable action-based metrics to measure the performance of inspectors in real time, ultimately boosting quality assurance for your engineering projects.
Tips for Engineering Inspections on FTQ360
FTQ360 quality management software is the ideal tool for construction engineering inspections. It offers a unified platform that helps engineering teams to create, manage and store engineering inspection data.
Here are seven tips to make the most out of engineering inspections on FTQ360.
Add still and video images of measurement data or readings
Images are a great way to add context and additional information to your engineering inspections. By adding images of measurement data or readings, any team member can easily view the engineering work and be able to evaluate it properly.
Add calculations for pass/fail evaluation criteria and alerts
Calculations can help engineering teams determine if engineering work is within acceptable levels, and alerting personnel when measurements are outside the accepted range allows teams to identify areas for improvement quicker and more accurately.
Add if-then logic to dynamically insert follow-on checks based on data entered or features of the inspected work
If-then logic is a great way to automate engineering inspection processes. By adding conditions, teams can create checklists tailored to specific engineering work and automatically move on to the next process step without additional manual steps.
Activate automatic notification of project personnel of deficiencies
By activating notifications for engineering team members, inspections become much more efficient. Notifications alert personnel when an issue or deficiency needs to be addressed, allowing teams to take action quickly and effectively.
Add approval checkpoints to automate the report review and approval process
Adding approval checkpoints to inspection processes helps ensure reports are accurate and compliant before release. This can help engineering teams ensure they take all necessary steps to promptly and accurately complete inspections.
Use templates to build checklists
Using templates can help engineering teams save time when completing inspections. By creating a template of commonly used engineering checks, teams can quickly create new inspection checklists and run them more efficiently. The FTQ360 Building Block Checklists feature offers a streamlined way to build checklists.
Upload Excel spreadsheets to FTQ360
If you have inspection data in a spreadsheet, FTQ360 allows you to import them directly. The tool then replicates all the rows and columns in the spreadsheet, making it easier to manage inspection data.
Final Thoughts
Digital engineering inspections are the future of engineering projects. Using software platforms such as FTQ360, engineering teams can streamline inspection processes and increase safety standards while maintaining high-quality work. If you’re interested in learning more about how digital engineering inspections can benefit your project, sign up for a free demo of FTQ360 today.
