How do you enter data on site?

[rmaday]

Originally Posted by belliott

You still need to transfer notes by entering them in the program and i like a good general shot of each room just in case I forgot something that can be zoomed on later.
With just notes you would have poor luck zooming on a word to see something more.
(pictures tell a thousand words)

What you think on site you may change your mind about later.
UH can I return and take another look at the place........

Still need to input data, even with photos.

I take plenty of pics - I usually start with a shot of each room as I enter - to later remember which photos are from what room.

My data entry process (text then photos) has sped things up for me.

[Bob Elliott]

Originally Posted by rmaday

Still need to input data, even with photos.

I take plenty of pics - I usually start with a shot of each room as I enter - to later remember which photos are from what room.

My data entry process (text then photos) has sped things up for me.

Hey if it works for you , that is all that matters.

For me that is double work as you must take notes then re-enter the same thing.

Now if you were entering them with perfect grammar and never edit in happy perfection, you could enter those notes into your new T91 and never look back.

Ok so maybe you need to buy the T91.

[rmaday]

Originally Posted by belliott

For me that is double work as you must take notes then re-enter the same thing.

Now if you were entering them with perfect grammar and never edit in happy perfection, you could enter those notes into your new T91 and never look back.

Ok so maybe you need to buy the T91.

Either way, you're "taking notes"

Some notes are pictures, some are written.

Writing in one's own kind of shorthand also helps.

[Bob Elliott]

Originally Posted by rmaday

Either way, you're "taking notes"

Some notes are pictures, some are written.

Writing in one's own kind of shorthand also helps.

Ok I should have said triple.

Notes (shorthand or not),picture,redo by typing to program.

[rmaday]

Originally Posted by belliott

Ok I should have said triple.

Notes (shorthand or not),picture,redo by typing to program.

Guess I wasn't clear.

If you write notes you still have to input data into the program.

If you take pictures, you still have to input data into the program.

That is, until Dominic comes up with the mind reading feature for HIP.

[Jeffrey R. Knight]

Originally Posted by kweiss

Now if someone would just figure out a way to get the photos in the report without a download step.....

Kevin,
Just FYI....our software does this. While you are doing your inspection on the PDA and you take a picture you just tap a button on the PDA that records a picture tag of the picture you took on your camera...then at the end of the inspection you insert the media from your camera into the pda and print and the pictures are automatically inserted in their appropriate areas. No drag and drop...no captions to add...just put it in and it prints them.

I understand that it is quicker to collect the data with a voice recorder in the field then a pda...but I am sure this time savings is then lost because of you having to enter this data later from your voice notes...so I am not sure you are gaining anything time-wise. The other nice things with a PDA in the field is that it can have reference information for you as you are doing your inspection that a voice recorder would not help you with. With ITA we even had all the Code-Check data available to an inspector. Anyways...everyone has their own method that works for them.

[Jeffrey R. Knight]

Originally Posted by belliott

Yeah lets face it.
if we could take shots and have the shots go straight to the right section and include comments all in one swoop that would be everyone's report heaven.

hmmmmm.....I guess it would be

[kweiss]

Originally Posted by jknight

Kevin,
Just FYI....our software does this. While you are doing your inspection on the PDA and you take a picture you just tap a button on the PDA that records a picture tag of the picture you took on your camera...then at the end of the inspection you insert the media from your camera into the pda and print and the pictures are automatically inserted in their appropriate areas. No drag and drop...no captions to add...just put it in and it prints them.

I understand that it is quicker to collect the data with a voice recorder in the field then a pda...but I am sure this time savings is then lost because of you having to enter this data later from your voice notes...so I am not sure you are gaining anything time-wise. The other nice things with a PDA in the field is that it can have reference information for you as you are doing your inspection that a voice recorder would not help you with. With ITA we even had all the Code-Check data available to an inspector. Anyways...everyone has their own method that works for them.

This would be similar to the HG way of working the photos with a timestamp? As I said, I never got that to work reliably. Even if it did, you still need to annotate the pictures most of the time. While the "jump" feature would save a bit of time, it was ruined when it jumped wrong. Honestly scrolling through the pictures is not the tedious part, it is the annotating and labeling.

As I said, I was a huge PDA fan. I used two different PDA programs and was pretty happy with both. I was set in my ways and not looking to change. When my PDA died on me unexpectedly during a busy week. Since ordering a battery was an online thing with at least a day of lag, I was forced to try something different. I was surprised and thrilled to find that the something different saved me time over the PDA - and I was pretty quick at entering stuff on the PDA after 3 years, I had canned comment locations memorized and could input custom stuff quickly. But I found that talking is faster than any typing, no longer than snapping a picture most of the time. Then entering things on the laptop interface is faster than entering it on the PDA. I don't consider carrying a laptop pr even a tablet around as a real alternative, I am already carrying too many things.

After all the time I used the PDA I had a very good idea of average inspection times. The DVR has cut 30 minutes off my average time onsite at least. I can generally enter things on the computer faster than that. So In the end I am now finishing reports and emailing them in the same time or less than I used to spend onsite. At this point I really don't feel the need for crib notes onsite. IF there is something I need to research, I make a note and take pictures and research it later.

At the end of the day, I would leave this discussion with the thought that no one here is absolutely right for everyone else. If you have a method that works well for you great. Just as there are several different software options that work very well. My main point would be not to completely close out other methods, you might just be surprised how well they work when you are forced to change, as I was for a day.

[kweiss]

While we quibble of these details of data collection, we are ignoring the true bottleneck points - getting ALL of the data on the computer.

A true break through would be a camera that would wirelessly transmit the photos to the computer in real time to the file you assign or that is in use with the report software. That would actually make if feasible to be truly finishing comments as you go or as you finish each section of the house - however you break up your procedure.

There was a software a couple of years ago, designed by a guy near me in Allen that tried to use the voice transcription idea by wirelessly connecting to your laptop. But you would still have the bottleneck at the pictures. Since I never heard much about that software after the initial stuff, I am assuming it faded. Not sure though.

But if I could get pictures from my camera to my computer realtime - I would be a happier camper. I would still have the bottleneck of my IR stuff, but I can live with that, it tends to be a limited amount and that is why I charge more.

[Bob Elliott]

Looking at my example.
Just happens I use Home Inspector Pro as most of you know.

One can see that I have 10 main sections or systems tabs.
Comments fall into one of these main groups.

In the example I have the kitchen section which drops down as another sub-section of Interior.

Rather than argue the point I use a hybrid in that Kitchen and Bathroom are done as room to room.(only those)

Under the systems sections I have individual component sections and if you count the tabs which are in the green rectangle you will see 21 sections in which I make comments

So do the math and multiply 10 main sections by 21.

That is a lot of clicking and lets just make it easy by rounding down to 200.
That is 200 clicks
The average Inspector takes 100-200 pictures each job.
True! look at the poll floating around.
Lets go low once again for argument sake and add 100 plus 200 = 300 clicks.

Personally I often take around 200 pictures and spend an average of 15 @ picture and we are talking close to around an hour just on pictures.

I am sure many of you add comments,hunt files foe illustration,add documents,get stuck on an issue to research or ask questions on this forum,write an introductory letter,Add client info such as email address,name ,building location add a cover shot of the subject.

OK guys DO THE MATH and go from there.
Tell us your best short cuts.

[Dale Duffy]

Bob...Like you, my best shortcut is not taking any notes, my pictures are my notes and I usually take about 100 for a screwed up slab on grade, stucco, tile roof.

I don't have a hard time thinking it would take 200 pictures if the homes here had basements.

It takes me the most time typing what the picture is meant for in the report, well it does take time, which I do not regret, my business is strictly referral, so I guess the extra time pays for itself in the long run, no need for advertising just my website which I really don't get many calls from, no realtor meetings, many realtors do not like my reports, but many do, there are a few honest ones I have known for a long time, great people, but I tell it like it is, clients love it, one referral after another, and could and usually do work 7 days a week with a couple nice two week vacations in between.

So I'm not really looking for any more shortcuts, with the pictures and annotations in the pictures nobody calls asking what does this mean, so the extra time I spend on the report saves me time in the future not answering any questions about a report....thus, I call it a shortcut--:-

[Dominic J. Maricic]

It's your personality that they love Dale

Am I going to see you Sunday? There's a few guys I know of driving out from Phoenix & Scottsdale.

[Dale Duffy]

Originally Posted by dmaricic

It's your personality that they love Dale

Am I going to see you Sunday? There's a few guys I know of driving out from Phoenix & Scottsdale.

I hate to say it but NO---i sold a rental home and this is my last weekend to get the repairs done the home inspector found--lol

Have Brian helping me and a few other friends..I used the house as an office for the last three years..I have crap piled to the ceilings in some locations, will take me all weekend to get it ready to close escrow...Sorry Dom...!!

[Dominic J. Maricic]

Doh! I was looking forward to seeing you and Dylan! I hope you're paying Brian and Dylan a lot to help you clean that place! To the ceiling!!

[Jeffrey R. Knight]

Originally Posted by kweiss

This would be similar to the HG way of working the photos with a timestamp? As I said, I never got that to work reliably. Even if it did, you still need to annotate the pictures most of the time. While the "jump" feature would save a bit of time, it was ruined when it jumped wrong. Honestly scrolling through the pictures is not the tedious part, it is the annotating and labeling.

Kevin,
It is somewhat similar but we do not rely on any time-stamp like HG does. We just rely on you tapping a button IF you want the picture you just took on your camera in the report. So at the end of the inspection process the tags in the body of the report could be #1, #4, #7,#8 etc. and those are the pictures that are grabbed and embedded in the report in the appropriate area...and if you selected a comment (as you should have) on the handheld then there is no reason for any annotating or labeling of the picture since it is embedded right next to the comment.

You don't need to beam the picture from the camera to the PDA when you take it...you just need to somehow tag the correct sequence# of the picture and everything takes care of itself when you take your CF card out of your camera and put it into your PDA to print the report.

I agree that no inspector should ever completely close out other methods, you might just be surprised how well they work.