From pen and paper to Onix Inspect: Annoyingly efficient and elegant
While some still miss filling out the paper reports over a cup of coffee, the employees at Bilfinger E&M Nordics have to admit that Onix Inspect is more efficient and has quite a few nifty features.
About Bilfinger E&M Nordics
A part of the global industrial services provider Bilfinger SE, Bilfinger Engineering and Maintenance Nordics specializes in equipment inspections. The company employs about 40 inspectors at five locations in Norway, covering the whole country.
Industry: Industrial services
Size: About 35,000 employees globally
Location: Norway
Products: Onix Inspect
Having a self-produced database in Lotus Notes, Bilfinger Engineering and Maintenance (E&M) Nordics realized they needed something more professional to keep track of their data.
The company was also using paper checklists and inspection reports, meaning they were dragging a massive pile of paper to inspections. The reports would then be completed and sent when the inspector returned to the office – and if they had to travel far to the inspection location, that could mean more than a week’s wait before the customer had the finished documentation in hand.
QR code enthusiasm
Bilfinger E&M Nordics decided to start using Onix Inspect. The software works on both desktops, tablets, and smartphones and also allows the user to work offline. Using the app when performing inspections means having digital checklists that can be filled in as you go. You can scan equipment with QR codes, take photos directly in the app, and automatically generate the finished documentation immediately after the inspection.
“Being able to take photos with the tablet while doing the inspection to illustrate issues, and the pictures going straight into the report is a very elegant solution. Documenting details with pictures is a huge advantage both for the customer and the person coming to fix the issue,”
Eivind Mørch, Section Manager for cranes and safety at Bilfinger E&M Nordics.
He also reports enthusiasm for the QR codes both among customers and inspectors. Printing unique QR codes and attaching them to each piece of equipment lets you easily scan and identify the equipment with a tablet or smartphone. Bilfinger M&E Nordics then offers the customer to attach all related documentation to the QR code; the equipment’s user manual, certifications, inspections reports, maintenance checklists – anything you need available by just a simple scan with the camera.
“The fact that Onix lets you create and tailor your own checklists and reports instead of forcing one template on you is another big advantage. Being able to add procedures and details in the checklists is also a practical feature,”
Mørch adds.
No suppliers without Onix
As a self-proclaimed representative of the company’s older crowd, it’s with a slight apprehension Mørch praises Onix.
“It’s definitely faster and more efficient than the old way. But learning a new system is always a bit painful when you get older, and it gets worse before it gets better. The younger inspectors love it, but some of us need more time than others.”
He does, however, praise the support Onix provides and the fact that they have one specific contact person that always helps out gives training to those who need it and solves any problems that should appear.
Despite the nostalgia, he can’t hide his enthusiasm when talking about some of his favorite things about Onix.
“The absolute best part is when suppliers also use Onix. It saves us an extreme amount of work when we get all the documentation straight into the software whenever we buy equipment. That is such an advantage that if the supplier doesn’t use Onix, we take our business elsewhere.”
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