** My Earlier Question About The Software That Canadian Inspectors Use In Their Reports Was Not Intended To Cause An Arguement Or A Sales Pitch As To Whose Software An Inspector Liked The Best.**
** I Am Sorry If I Asked The Wrong Question , It Is Obvious To Me That There Are A Lot More People In This Organization Than Just Inspectors.**
Fred good question and you deserved to find out as much as possible .
I have soft ware and lap top and the small hand held but just can not get used to it so I still use the old Method that I learned on in the last century. C&D and guess it will be what I finish with .
Roy Cooke . Royshominspection.com
Hello Fred - call it the typical family feud.
What you may want to do is start asking or at least thinking about why you would YOU want to use computer software for your reports. Typically I think you may find the largest portion of inspectors are still filling out a paper based precanned report on site.
Next think about the cost not just related to purchase the software but the other related cost such as the hardware and accommodations ease or lackthereof of another inspection tool being lugged around the inspection site.
Oh and did I mention the possibility of technical glitches. Believe me I am not against inspection software - I actually do use it, and as Roy earlier noted am involved with a reseller in Canada.
I suggest that you explore all of the pros and cons and realize HOW and WHAT suits YOU best.
I certainly hope this helps you see the other side of the issue. Again no commercial advertisement and/or endorsement is intended in my post.
Claude in Windsor-Tecumseh
Fred I must agree with Claude and Roy . Paper reports are still widely excepted and in my oppinion the computer generated ones have problems and I think you’ll find most peopl still want a paper report.Having said that Im about to start to use a computer report as Amerispec whom I work has requested.It’s been two weeks an still can’t get the dam report program to open and corp. office keeps send more code numbers.Will let you know what I think of computer reports once I start useing it .
I use a onsite paper report (Carson Dunlop). I get good feedback from clients.
I have tried onsite computer and it was not for me. Too much setup time, cables, printer, et cetera. I found I was going back and forth to computer entering data, printer jams, spelling mistakes, time to edit. Needless to say I stopped using.
If clients are present they get the CD report. If clients are not able to attend or for pre-sale inspection I do the inspection using CD report forms, then come home and type it up on the computer. For this I charge more.
This system has been working great for me since 1991. All questionaires I get back have rated my report layout and ease of understanding as 4 or 5 (five being the best rating).
My handwriting is very bad so I use a laptop and switched to a tablet pc two months ago. It all depends on your own skill sets and preferrences. I’m into the tech stuff and like what it can do for me and my clients. I have found that digital photos save a lot of time when it come to discribing a complicated deficiency. Photos also lock in the item at the time of inspection. The room for misinterptation is reduced.