The Fulcrum Focus

It’s not an exaggeration to say that it’s been a long hot summer: at 40.3°C (104.5°F) the UK logged its hottest day ever, a week-long heatwave in Spain and Portugal saw temps of over 114°F and caused the deaths of over 1,000 people, while in China one of a series of heatwaves brought temperatures in excess of 104°F buckled roads and melted tar roofs. Back in North America, places that were always hot are hotter for longer, while other more temperate locales are regularly seeing record-breaking temps.  Our summer summary? It’s hot, often miserably so, in a lot of the world for months at a time. While many people spend their days in air-conditioned homes and offices, what of those who make their living outdoors?

Does your company use an open-loop or closed-loop field inspection management program? Not sure? In a nutshell, open-loop inspection management means you’re doing inspections, fixing things you note on the spot, but then that’s it.

By regulating, inspecting, and licensing food providers, local and state health departments ensure the hygiene and safety of the food we eat at all the various points in the supply chain, from distribution centers to grocery stores and restaurants.

As recently reported in a Wall Street Journal article, the construction industry has struggled with labor shortages for some time. The retirement of many older workers is one factor. Young people’s reluctance to enter construction is another. These factors coincide with a construction boom stemming from the $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill, further exacerbating labor shortfalls.

According to the latest OSHA statistics on workplace safety, the construction industry remains one of the most dangerous occupational sectors, accounting for over 170,000 nonfatal injuries and representing around 25% of all worker fatalities in the US in 2020 — roughly 3 deaths per day, and the third highest fatality rate of any industry.

A new hope
The Infrastructure Bill provides states with additional resources to make long overdue infrastructure improvements. Under a program specifically targeting bridges, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DoT) will distribute more than $27.5 billion to states for bridge repairs over the next five years, in addition to a newly-created DoT discretionary bridge program which will provide an additional $12.5 billion for projects through 2026.

The day that President Biden arrived in Pittsburgh to give a speech on the Infrastructure Bill – a recently-approved $1 trillion investment in the country’s failing infrastructure – a bridge collapsed just outside the city center. Nobody was killed, but many were injured, and the irony of the timing is striking. The need for making bridges safer is arguably the most visible, serious, and long-standing infrastructure issue targeted by the Infrastructure Bill. Even beyond the tragic loss of life or property damage, a bridge disaster has a chilling effect because of their ubiquity of use, where 178 million trips are taken across structurally deficient bridges every day.

From mussels to birds, hornets to fish, invasive species of every kind are wreaking havoc on people, property, and other species in the ecosystems they invade. This growing problem emphasizes the critical importance of controlling invasive species to mitigate their destructive impact.

After an elevator went into freefall in Atlanta in August 2021, killing one man, it was found that the elevator in question was long overdue for an inspection because, across the state, many had not been inspected in 2020 due to COVID-related inspection backlogs.

So, we’ve launched Intelligent Team Automation. You might have seen the video, the webinar,  the press release, or our launch blog – or maybe all the above. Today we’re going to do a little more in-depth analysis into one of the core capabilities of Intelligent Team Automation:  unifying inspection teams while optimizing each role.

The 2021 collapse of the Champlain Towers South condominium in Surfside, Florida, tragically resulted in nearly a hundred deaths. This disaster raised serious concerns about condo safety.

The bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act introduces new standards for construction and engineering firms. Companies seeking federal funding must now comply with various oversight and evaluation criteria. These criteria span state, local, and federal levels. Compliance is essential for firms to qualify for infrastructure projects under this act.

Doing field inspections is nothing new. Even back in the Stone Age, when Fred Flintstone was done with his workday at the Slate Rock and Gravel Company, Mr. Slate probably came around with a stone tablet and a small dinosaur with a sharp beak to chisel in the results of a field inspection of Fred’s work.

Drinking water comes to you from the 1+ million miles of water pipes that make up America’s water infrastructure system, many of which were put in place in the early-to-mid 1900s. But with a lifespan of 75 to 100 years, this system is starting to show its age.

In late 2021, Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) encountered a severe problem. A former contract worker was accused of falsifying up to 3,000 electric system inspections over two years. The deception was revealed when a power pole, allegedly inspected and declared free of rot, collapsed into a residential backyard. It sent a live electrical wire into a swimming pool, fortunately without causing any injuries.

It’s been a wild ride for the construction industry.  First we have the pluses: a surge in construction spending due to pent up demand post-lockdown, $550 billion in federal funding which will spur large infrastructure projects, and a (temporarily) red-hot housing market leading to new residential housing starts increase of 15.6% in 2021. In this dynamic environment, digital field inspection management platforms have become increasingly important.

So, you’ve made the decision to stop using paper forms and modernize your firm’s field safety inspection management processes, and you need to pick out a software platform. But how do you know which one is best for your company’s needs? ‍

onstruction work is hard. Between long, irregular hours, job insecurity, challenging work environments with extremes in temperature and exposure to the elements, wear and tear on the body, and the threat of injuries, it’s no wonder that construction workers are more at risk of burnout than any other field.

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In its 2021 Global Construction Survey, global auditing firm KPMG reports that nearly 60% of construction and engineering companies interviewed agree that visibility into (and integration of) risks associated with enterprises, portfolios and projects is important for capital project success. Let’s unpack that.

So, we’ve discussed the problem of construction rework, and the devastating effect it can have on your deadlines and your profits. We’ve also shared how digital quality inspections can help open lines of communication, empower employees to follow the latest processes for quality assurance, and deliver location-based insights to keep supervisors in the know about conditions on-site. But even if you’ve followed all the advice and done everything you can to avoid rework, sometimes it can’t be avoided. Then what?

Although the use of lead in public water systems was banned in 1986 by the EPA, an estimated 15 to 22 million Americans’ drinking water supply still comes from lead service lines. Now, after 35 years of waffling, grandfathering, and stopgap measures, it looks as though a comprehensive lead pipe abatement initiative is imminent. The recently announced Biden-Harris Lead Pipe and Paint Action Plan seeks to finally replace lead pipes throughout the country by utilizing funds from the bipartisan infrastructure package as well as the EPA’s Drinking Water State Revolving Fund.

OSHA makes your company do safety inspections. So do your insurers, your investors, your unions, your contractors, your state and local agencies. At times it may seem like a line of people is at your front door with pen and clipboard in one hand and a flashlight in the other, looking to nitpick and find fault. We invite you to move away from the mindset of the inspection as an annoyance, a deterrent, and a punishment. Instead look at it as a valuable tool with benefits far beyond those of keeping all the clipboard-wielders appeased.

Like most governmental agencies, OSHA is not immune to political will, and the numbers of inspectors can vary wildly from administration to administration.  In 1980, for example, there were 3,063 workplaces for each OSHA inspector; in 2020, there were 9,286.  Further demonstrating OSHA’s diminishment: in 2010, there were the same number of OSHA inspectors (1,106) as there was 30 years earlier, but by January 2019, there were only 875 inspectors, despite the incredible growth in the American workforce.

Few words make a construction contractor’s heart sink faster than “rework” – redoing or correcting work that was not done correctly the first time. Construction work is all about margins – margins for time, employees, and profit – and these margins are notoriously thin. When something must be redone, or worse, dismantled and then redone, all of these margins quickly evaporate resulting in missed deadlines, cost overruns, and projects failing.

Physical work can be hard, dirty, and dangerous – and sometimes even deadly. With about 5,000 worker deaths per year, it’s not hard to see why workplaces are so highly regulated, and why safety is such a priority. And the tool that’s at the forefront of keeping workers safe, and companies from running afoul with OSHA, is the safety inspection.

Having problems finding skilled construction workers? You’re not alone. The labor shortage has hit the construction industry particularly hard: home builder contractors estimate that nearly three-quarters of a million construction workers will be needed each year to keep up with demand and account for attrition, while 92% of commercial construction contractors report moderate to high levels of difficulty finding skilled workers.

Project safety and bottom line growth

Construction contractors are developing a new way of thinking when it comes to their safety programs. Construction safety inspections and field inspection management are no longer “a necessary evil” but are an integral part of doing good business. They have an effect on the bottom line that extends beyond simply improving insurance premiums.

You can achieve a robust safety program – and the benefits that come with it – by promoting an overall safety-driven culture through your people.  In a biannual survey of contractors, the SmartMarket Report Safety Management in the Construction Industry 2021 from the Dodge Construction Network, in partnership with CPWR and Newmetrix, make this very clear when it states that “[c]ontractors of all sizes consistently regard safety efforts as people-driven rather than program-driven.”

The recent Dodge Report on Safety Management in the Construction Industry emphasizes training’s role in safety management. This emphasis is supported by evidence showing contractors’ dedication to worker safety training. Yet, the report identifies a concerning trend: the frequency of training significantly varies between companies and jobs.

Can you get good inspection data from old inspection collection methods? Probably not. The problems with using a paper-based system instead of digitized inspections to collect safety data are many and far-reaching. Companies that rely on paper checklists to demonstrate OSHA compliance risk running into regulatory trouble.

Regardless of industry, OSHA compliance is an ongoing challenge for any company. While agreeing that regulations are necessary to ensure worker safety, people can still note that complying with them can be an incredible burden as companies’ responsibilities include:

Better safety programs through digital inspection data

The recent release of the widely-circulated annual SmartMarket Report Safety Management in the Construction Industry 2021 from the Dodge Construction Network, in partnership with CPWR and Newmetrix, re-confirms one of their long-standing findings: contractors consistently report that safety programs have a wide range of positive impacts on their business as a whole.

OSHA needs proof that companies are doing the right things for employees in terms of health and safety. But how is your company supposed to determine what is right? Being OSHA compliant can be a challenge. Companies not only have to provide policies, training and checklists that comply with OSHA requirements, but also bear the burden of determining what it means to be compliant. While OSHA provides extensive guidelines, following them is not always straightforward.

The timely and hazardous nature of utility fieldwork demands consistent workflows that promote security and rigor. Look no further than tower inspections, where standardized SOPs ensure that different field teams carry out their tasks in the same way each time to get the job done effectively, efficiently, and safely.

File attachments in Fulcrum

Great news! Today we’re announcing a new file attachment feature that will save inspectors, data collectors, and administrators a ton of work when they need to manage document-based information. Documents are now just another data type: You can add them to any section of your Fulcrum app.

AI-powered aerial data platform Sitemark now uses Fulcrum to make it easier and more effective than ever for companies to collect field data, clearly visualize solar installation site anomalies, and take action to fix them – all on a mobile device.

Any company can pay lip service to safety, but the ones that actually prioritize it are rewarded with stellar safety records, great reputations and low experience modification rates (EMR). So how do you make the jump from lip service to a robust safety program that can reduce workplace injuries?

Every year, thousands of workers are injured or killed by electrical hazards, a situation made more tragic because many of these incidents are preventable.

UPDATE: Since this announcement was originally posted, Fulcrum remains SOC 2 compliant.

Spreadsheets excel in tasks like accounting and data analysis, offering versatility and ease of use in organizing and processing information. However, when it comes to collecting field data, particularly for integration with GIS platforms, their limitations become apparent. Fieldwork demands real-time data collection, often in diverse environments with varying connectivity and conditions. Spreadsheets lack the necessary functionalities for efficiently capturing and managing this data on the go. Furthermore, the manual input required for spreadsheet-based data entry increases the risk of errors, compromising data reliability.

Each day, teams on the ground play a crucial role in performing essential operations like inspections, installations, and ensuring compliance. These operations, while seemingly straightforward, create an abundance of location data that often doesn’t receive the attention it deserves.

esThe work your field technicians do at the front lines is core to your organization, and leveraging the information they collect in the process can help your company make better decisions at every level. That makes your field teams the perfect catalyst to drive your utility’s digital transformation.

h President Biden’s infrastructure bill, also known as the American Jobs Plan (AJP), aims to create millions of jobs and modernize the country’s crumbling infrastructure. The federal government touts this bill as the biggest public investment since the 1960s. It aims to kickstart the economy post-pandemic, akin to the era of interstate highways and the Space Race. Utility and telecom companies show keen interest in the $400 billion allocated for infrastructure in the $2 trillion plan.

OSHA’s latest findings for 2020 underscore fall protection as the top cited violation, marking a decade-long trend. This highlights the pressing need for enhanced measures to prevent falls in the construction sector. The consistent recurrence of fall protection violations signals a systemic challenge that requires urgent attention and proactive solutions.

In 2019, a staggering 2.8 million people suffered a workplace injury, and 5,333 workers died on the job, an average of 15 deaths every day. Outside the very real human cost of suffering, companies pay out millions each year in fines, legal fees and increased insurance premiums.
“Boots on the ground” safety professionals are often all too familiar with these tragedies. Responsible for reporting safety data, complying with regulations, and reducing risks and incidents, you know first-hand the complex challenges of managing safety in potentially dangerous situations.
While danger can never be fully eliminated from certain industries, rigorous safety reporting helps you minimize risk and protect your employees. And a safety professional who prioritizes data-driven, streamlined reporting will be able to identify problems before tragedy strikes again.
The value of thorough safety reporting
Even as safety measures and inspection procedures vary from project to project, reporting accurate and thorough safety data remains a consistent, and critical, part of the job.

Fulcrum enables organizations to eliminate many cumbersome, inefficient paper processes from their workflows to increase the productivity, safety, and quality of their field operations. But some mobile users — especially those with particularly complex and dangerous jobs — have still needed to carry paper safety booklets and bulky SOPs for reference on project sites. Until today’s launch of Fulcrum’s attached document feature.

With the integration announced earlier this year, customers of Fulcrum and Esri™ can now get more value out of their investments in both platforms. By sending high-quality, real-time Fulcrum data into Esri, organizations can get a clearer picture of what’s happening on the ground, analyze their situation more effectively, and make better, more data-driven decisions.

In a recent study conducted by Boston Consulting Group (BCG), 95% of executives across several industries in the United States, UK, Singapore and India said that mapping and GIS location intelligence are important to achieving desired business results.

Two great features that aid image processing have recently been added to the Fulcrum no-code application platform: Adding multiple photos from the gallery and renaming photos on download.

With the mobile revolution, more and more users in field roles are discovering the power of location-based data. Whether it is used to trigger a workflow or process, or simply help visualize information on a map, users — particularly those who work in the field — are increasingly demanding location-aware apps to make their jobs easier and more efficient.