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Full Temporal Tracking of Data from the Field

November 20, 2013

Keep track of changes with full version history

In addition to yesterday’s announced data management improvements with the launch of full-text data searching and filtering of content, we’ve also included another powerful capability for managing field service work: data versioning.

For every record created, updated, or modified anywhere in your Fulcrum account, we maintain a full version history of all changes. Over time as your data is updated in the field by staff members, all past history of the data is kept in the database, and viewable right inside Fulcrum’s web management tool.

History View

Every time someone in your organization makes a change to a record, even something as small as a single picklist item, project setting, or status, we version the entire record, tracking what has changed. On any record in your account, you can now pull up the record view (by either clicking a point on the map, or double-clicking a table row) and pick on the “History” button to display a full audit trail of all changes made to that particular piece of data, temporally. The history view can also be access from the table view by clicking the plus symbol on the left side of a row.

Full versioning of data makes verification and QA much simpler, exposing errors in data surveyed in the field, and allows administrators to find and correct data that’s either missing or incorrectly entered.

‍Check out at the very bottom of this blog to see the video to see the history and version capabilities in action.

Some background of why versioning is important – critical, even – for field inspection applications

In a field inspection application, inspectors may need to update or modify inspection records multiple times, either during the initial inspection or during subsequent follow-up inspections. Without a versioning system in place, it can be difficult to keep track of these changes, which can lead to data inconsistencies, errors, or even loss of important information.

Versioning addresses this issue by providing a system for tracking changes to inspection records over time. Each time an inspector makes a change to a record, a new version of the record is created, which includes the updated information as well as a timestamp and other metadata that helps identify when the change was made and who made it.

By using versioning, field inspection applications can ensure that changes to inspection records are accurately tracked and that the integrity of the data is preserved. This can be particularly important when inspections are used to support legal or regulatory requirements, as it helps ensure that the data collected during the inspection is valid and can be trusted.

Overall, versioning is an important tool for ensuring the accuracy and integrity of data collected during field inspections. By providing a system for tracking changes over time, versioning helps ensure that inspection records are reliable, consistent, and can be trusted for analysis and decision-making purposes.

Versioning and the record history viewer are available today for Small plans and up, as well as trial users. Start your trial today to kick the tires on Fulcrum, and see how these data management tools can help your organization streamline your field collection processes, saving time, money, and effort.