Inspections are an essential element of many workplaces, and Workhub's Inspection component allows you to build out the diversity of inspections you may have to cover the scope of your organization's needs
To get started using Inspections, click the Inspections component on your Admin dash.
Adding Inspection Sections
To begin with Inspections, the first step is to create at least one Section within your Inspections component to organize the Inspection Types you create. To create a Section, click the Add New button in the top right corner of the page and choose Section.
Sections are umbrella terms to help organize your Inspections, so specificity isn't necessary for the most part. as you build out your Inspections component with more Inspection Types, you may find you need to add more Sections to help with that organization. You can move Inspection Types between Sections easily, so don't stress too much with their naming right off the bat.
Now that we have at least one Section in place, we can add individual Inspection Types. To do so, click that Add New button again and choose Inspection Type.
Adding Inspection Types
After clicking that Add New button, you'll be prompted to choose a Category for your Inspection.
The selection of a Category is very important when creating an Inspection as the Category dictates how the Inspection is assigned.
Inspections of the Vehicle, Tool/Equipment, and Other categories will be assignable by Asset Category.
Inspections of the Site, Tool/Equipment, and Other categories will be assignable by Location.
For a more in-depth discussion of how categories affect assignment, please have a readthrough of our Inspections Assignment article. The choice of category can be changed, so if you find the category you chose doesn't work for how you need your Inspection assigned, you can change it after!
After choosing the category for your Inspection type, enter a name in the Inspection Name field. At this stage you have the choice of using a Template or of starting from scratch. The templates available within Workhub are generic, and we generally recommend using the Start From Scratch option.
When you land on the Inspection Type creation screen, you'll see two options within the main body of the page: Add Section and Add From Template. If you choose Add From Template, you'll be able to import the template options available in the category selection pop-up or you can choose another of your Inspection Types to use as a template!
Creating Sections and Checks
To begin building an Inspection Type from scratch, click Add Section.
The sections within an Inspection Type, like the Sections in the Inspection list, are meant to be organizational umbrella terms. The contents of a Section aren't the criteria your Workers will be checking - they're just titles for portions of your checks. You can enter a title in the Type Section line. You can add multiple sections at the same time if you like, but it's usually simplest to add one Section at a time.
Once you've added your Section, click the Save Inspection button in the top right corner of the page. You'll receive a warning pop-up saying the Inspection has no checks. That's okay! Click the Continue button.
After doing so, the option to add Checks will appear on your page next to the Add Section button:
Click that Add Check button to begin adding the criteria your Workers will assess in the Inspection.
The Check creation screen includes a whole lot of information!
The first options at the top of the page are the Inspection Check Question and the Description fields. The Inspection Check Question is the main question your Workers are answering in the check. The Description field allows you to provide them more information if necessary.
The body of the page is filled with four columns, each representing a Status your Workers can choose when assessing the check. The statuses include Pass, Warning, Issue, and N/A.
Those titles can be changed by you as the admin if you see fit. You can also opt to include or exclude two of the statuses (Warning and N/A) depending on the needs of your particular check.
Each status column will include a Guidance Tip to allow you to include any specifics for choosing that particular status. For example, if there's a range of tire pressure that is considered acceptable and a range that is considered unacceptable, those ranges can be included in the Guidance Tip field.
Beneath the Guidance Tip you will see a drop-down option for Require Admin Approval. This drop-down allows you to select what action needs to be taken by an admin if the Worker selects the corresponding status when conducting the Inspection. The choices include:
Require Comment: an Admin will need to create a comment on the check when reviewing the Inspection submission to Approve the check
Require Action Item: an Admin will need to create an Action Item on the check when reviewing the Inspection submission to Approve the check
Either: an Admin will need to add either a Comment or an Action Item to a check when reviewing the Inspection submission to Approve the check
None: an Admin will not need to take any action when reviewing the Inspection submission to Approve the check
Beneath the Require Admin Approval drop-down list you will see checkboxes that allow you to choose what a Worker needs to include when completing the check. Those choices include:
Require Worker to Add Photo: the worker will need to include a photo of the relevant content to submit the Inspection
Require Worker Comment: the worker will need to include a comment related to the content to submit the Inspection
You can choose one, both, or neither!
The Warning and Issue columns also include option to Send Critical Issue Notification. Checking this box will cause the system to generate an email notification to your selected recipients (a stage later in this process) about the status chosen when the Worker submits the Inspection.
Once you have your settings for the check set as you would like them, click the Save button in the top right corner of the page to finalize the process.
After adding your first Check, the system will ask you if you would like to make the Inspection Active. If you aren't ready for the Inspection to be used yet, you can choose Keep Inactive. If you are ready for the Inspection to be used, you can choose Make Active.
Moving Sections and Checks
You can continue to add your Sections and Checks until you have created your full Inspection. Inspections can be lengthy and it's easy to mistakenly add items in the wrong order or maybe create a check under the wrong section. The good news is that both the Sections and the Checks are moveable!
To move a Section or a Check within your list, simply click the six dots on the left edge of the line and drag the Section or check where you would like it to be.
If you are moving Sections, it is important to note that moving a Section will also move the checks listed with it!
If you move a Section between the checks of another Section, the checks beneath where you insert your moving Section will become part of that Section instead. For example, if the Engine Compartment Section is dragged between other checks
The last two checks in the Steering and Driving Section then become part of the Engine Compartment Section:
It's highly recommended that you save your Inspection frequently as you work on it. Because each check includes so much information and can be edited so specifically, losing your progress can feel overwhelming. You can use the Save Inspection button in the top right corner to save your progress!
Inspection Type Settings
Once you have your Sections and Checks in place, you can make changes to the Settings for your Inspection Type. The Settings are controlled on the right side of the page:
The Settings panel can seem overwhelming, but the information is broken down into bite-sized pieces for you.
The Section option at the top allows you to specify which Section in the Inspection List you want this Inspection to fall within. This dropdown will also allow you to change which Section your Inspection type is found within if you want to change it.
The Critical Issue Email Notification setting allows you to choose Workers within your organization to receive email notifications if a Critical Issue is noted in an Inspection submission. You can use the Add Recipients option to choose Workers who should receive the notifications. Because this setting is unique to each Inspection, you can ensure that the correct people are receiving notifications for concerns within their purview.
Only Workers who have Permissions to administer Inspections will be listed for selection in this screen, so to ensure your Notifications to be sent to the correct folks, your chosen Workers will need to have at least the View permission to Administer Inspections.
If you want those Workers to also have the ability to review, update, and delete Inspections you will also need to include the Insert, Update, and Delete Permissions as well.
The Points Accumulation dropdown option allows you to control how many Reward points a Worker will accrue for submitting an Inspection. If your organization is not using the Rewards component, you can leave this setting at No Points. You can balance how many points your Workers will earn per submission with how many submissions will be expected of them. The minimum value is None and the maximum value is 10.
The Monthly Max Submissions setting ties to the Points Accumulation setting. If you want to restrict how many submissions a Worker can make, especially in a circumstance wherein they are earning points for those submissions, you can do so using this setting. The minimum value is 1 and the maximum value is 20, with an additional choice for No Limit.
The Show Inspection to All Workers setting is an important one! This setting allows you to control the visibility of the Inspection type for Workers. This setting works in tandem with your Assignment choices for your Inspection. Generally speaking:
turning this setting to On means the Inspection will be available to Workers who aren't assigned as Operators on relevant assets or located at the assigned Locations. This can be a good choice if you need the Inspections completed occasionally, as needed, or by multiple locations or Workers.
turning this setting to Off means the Inspection will not be available to Workers are aren't assigned as Operators on relevant assets or located as the assigned Locations. This can be a good choice if you have a specific set of folks completing Inspections and others don't need access.
The next two settings are related and can be discussed together. The Pending Submissions Visible to Workers and the Reviewed Submissions Visible to Workers settings allow you to control the visibility of your submissions. There are three possible options for both settings:
None: no submissions of this Inspection Type will be visible to Workers, even those submitted by the worker themselves
Submitted by them or their direct reports: submissions made by that Worker or anyone listed as their direct reports will be visible for this Inspection type
Submitted by all workers: all submissions for the Inspection Type will be visible to all Workers
If you need your Workers to refer to any values added in the previous Inspection, you may need to keep your submissions visible.
The Allow Answering by Section setting controls if Workers can select a Pass/Warning/Issue status for an entire section of your Inspection. This can be a major time saver for Workers completing Inspections, as it saves the review and status selection for each check and instead allows all the contained checks within a section to be selected in one tap or click! If the Worker chooses a status that requires the addition of a comment or a photo, they will still be prompted to add those comments and/or photos to each necessary check.
Category Settings
The bottom-most panel on the Inspection Type screen is the Category Settings panel.
In this panel, you can choose and edit the Category of your Inspection Type. As discussed above in the Adding Inspection Types portion of the article, the Category choice for an Inspection dictates how an Inspection is assigned. Changing the Category of your Inspection from one to another can change the assignment logic for the Inspection. For instance, if your Inspection was created as a Vehicle Inspection, it would be assigned by your Assets. However, if you change the Category to a Site Inspection, your assignments would then be by Location. The system will notify you if a change like that will occur for your assignments should you choose to switch from one category to another.
The Vehicle category will always only be assignable to Assets, while the Site category will always only be assignable by Location. The Tool/Equipment and Other categories allow you to choose if you'd like to assign to Assets or to Locations!
The other options you can check off are listed beneath the Category dropdown. Depending on the Category you have chosen, you may be able to:
Ask for Odometer Reading
Ask for Hours
Show Last Inspection Status
Once you have all your sections, checks, and settings in place, you're finally ready to save your Inspection. To save your Inspection, click the Save Inspection button in the top right corner of the page.
Assigning your Inspection
Assigning an Inspection is a complex thing! Complex enough, in fact, that we've created a whole article devoted to assignments and making sure you have your Inspection assigned correctly. You can read through the article Inspections Assignment to for a full walkthrough!
We know Inspections can be very complex to set up for your Workers to regularly and reliably conduct. We encourage you to reach out to us in the Workhub Support Centre if you need any assistance.