Getting Rid of Transcription Errors

When we started our surveying business in the 90's, our quality control efforts were focused on catching transcription errors. There was certainly plenty of opportunities to make mistakes. First a surveyor would record measurements from a tape or laser onto note paper (opportunity #1). Then they would enter this information into CAD and draft the floor-plan (opportunity #2). Next, areas calculated in CAD would have to be entered into Excel (opportunity #3) to calculate common area gross-ups . Finally, the final area numbers would be typed back into the drawing (opportunity #4)

We developed a set of control activities to guard against these sources of error, including redundant measurements, check-sums as well as a rigorous review process. All these steps contributed to our ability to achieve ISO 9001 registration in 2005.

Today we have eliminated the risk of transcription error. Surveyors now use Bluetooth equipped lasers to enter measurements directly into mobile computers. (no more opportunity #1) We use special software that allows the drawings to be created on site while keeping an audit trail of all measurements (no more opportunity #2). We have developed special software that extracts area information directly out of CAD and performs all necessary gross-up calculations. (no more opportunity #3) This same software then enters the rentable numbers back into the drawing and outputs a complete Excel building report (no more opportunity #4)

Our current method allows data to be captured electronically from the very beginning. At no point in the process are numbers typed or copied by people.

Customer Satisfaction Survey 2009 Results

We completed our customer satisfaction survey in December and we've put together an analysis report. In the interest of openness, we are once again making it public - and we're including the bad along with the good. Check it out here:

We were very flattered by all the positive responses and we were delighted to see that our scores were very close to what we had achieved in the past.
BUT, to learn from this exercise and to improve, we have to look at the areas in which we have opportunities for improvement.

Quality and Accuracy

We know this is a top concern for clients, and it's been our major priority since the company was founded. Our goal of delivering excellent quality and accuracy was the reason we implemented our ISO 9001 system, and it's the reason we continue to develop software and innovate the building measurement process.
Our clients are understandably hard markers in this section! Our scores are generally good and we've seen some slight gains, but we would like to see further improvement in this area. To this end we've formed a permanent committee to look for ways to further improve efficiency and accuracy in surveys, drafting and area calculation.

Functionality

We received several good suggestions for how we could serve our clients better and we will be implementing many of them. Here are a few upcoming changes:

• Some users found that the navigation of our software was confusing. We have been working on an upgrade to our system for over a year now. A significant part of this effort has been focused on usability and clarity. You will hear more from us on this upgrade this spring.
  
• Some users have suggested that it would be helpful to document project flowcharts so that they could better understand the steps of a project and their role in it. We'll be developing documentation on the building survey process as well as the data update process in the near future.
• Another request that we heard from several users is that they would like to be able to attach files to work order tickets as they are created. We will soon be adding this feature as well.

We are grateful to all our users who participated in the survey. Your feedback is enormously helpful. But don't wait for a survey: is there anything else we need to change? Please let us know!