An app developer has added new functionality to its software, allowing workers in the field to access safety data sheets and other documentation without the need for paper reference materials. Those documents are available even when there is no wifi or mobile connectivity.
The app, Fulcrum, is designed for functions such as performing inspections, cataloguing assets, installing equipment, or engaging in other field tasks.
When project managers attach an application-specific reference document, every team member gets the new or updated document. They can supply field users with any file that can be used on their devices, so there’s no need for conversions to more common formats.
In addition, mobile teams will soon be able to attach electronic documents directly to individual activity records. Unlike reference documents, these attachments are part of the record of a specific inspection or field activity.
This eliminates common problems related to the loss, destruction and mutilation of paper records, while avoiding workarounds such as printing and photographing electronic documents.
Fulcrum also eliminates all of the complex bookkeeping associated with tracking, syncing, storing and sharing documents, as well as managing an audit trail of all of those activities.
“Fulcrum’s new reference document capability empowers mobile workforces to digitize even more elements of safety programs, quality inspections, and field operations,” says Jim Grady, CEO of Fulcrum. “Doing so brings a greater number of activities into the realm of intelligent automation.”
In February, the company announced launched artificial intelligence-based capabilities in the app, which automatically detects objects in photos, as well as improves workflows and performance reporting. The technology can also screen for faces and blur them to protect privacy.
