Mobile Data Collection - 7 Sectors That Can Benefit

Telecommunications

 Having a team use a mobile app means that data can be collected more readily while out in the field in the form of questions, text fields or images. As data is received it is uploaded and available immediately online removing a lot of paperwork and delays. Telecommunications companies can benefit hugely by monitoring their equipment like telegraph poles, base stations and more to ensure that they are in good working order. Problems can also be quickly and easily picked up and fixed before they become major issues. Telecommunications companies can pick up data in the form of images and answers to questions and then respond quickly and efficiently to avoid any service delays.

Construction

Construction companies can collect data and images to audit and monitor all their sites to ensure the buildings meet regulatory and compliance requirements. By collecting this data they can also ensure that any problems are detected before it’s too late, which means that delays can be avoided and any mistakes are detected early to avoid additional work, which ultimately costs more in terms of time and money. Through using a mobile data collection app this again removes the need for time wasting paperwork. Companies can manage their sites in real-time. Foremen can upload the data including images and offices can respond to any issues quickly and easily.

Environmental Agencies

Environmental agencies have plenty of workers out in the field collecting data on the state of the environment whether it’s monitoring wetlands, trees, soil, water, pollution or animals.

A manual approach to the collation of this information can take a lot of time and effort. With the use of an app, the surveys can be specifically tailored to the exact data that agencies need to collect and then be delivered in real-time to the agency also reducing their environmental impact by replacing paper with technology. The added benefit of being able to add GPS & images taken at the location substantially enhance the ability to collect rich data.

This information can then be exported in various formats to generate reports so that values can be compared over time. Instead of the paper-based system most agencies are used to, this can seriously save environmental agencies a lot of time and money through the collection of data in this way. 

Civil Engineering

The civil engineering industry is the ideal candidate for mobile data collection apps, due to the immense amount of data that they need to collect from roads, street signs, bridges, canals, dams and even buildings. Collecting data on paper is not only costly but it is also slow where often immediate action can’t be taken as the paper trail needs time to reach the right people. Collecting data through a mobile solution by uploading pictures of damages, or inputting specific data fields that gets delivered directly to a cloud will help facilitate a more timely repair of issues that have been found. This will also ensure that the public’s safety is well taken care of.

Urban development monitoring

In Mexico, a client agency is monitoring favelas - or shacks that need continual auditing.

This occurs not only in Mexico, but in many other countries around the world where agencies are trying to get to grips with the amount of non-approved buildings that are popping up.

Currently this process is mostly done through a paper-based audit trail, which takes up an exceptional amount of time and resources. By introducing mobile data collection, these companies are able to quickly and easily monitor the state of the favelas or shacks and monitor how many new shacks are appearing by simply letting staff members input the data and images through their phones and submitting the customised forms. This would drastically reduce the man hours required to take on this mammoth task and allow these companies to stay on top of the state of human settlements.

Archaeology

There are a number of archaeology companies who are conducting digs across Europe. The collection of this data is painstakingly collected through a number of paper-based systems to convey their findings. For these companies to be fully up to speed on what is happening on site, they would benefit hugely from a more mobile solution, with archaeologists who are able to simply fill out forms and upload images and other findings directly to their head offices to see what is happening across the digs in Europe.

Marketing Research

Often marketeers take to the streets and request the public to take part in surveys. It’s not uncommon to see them holding a clipboard while filling in forms as people answer their questions.

A mobile data collection app reduces the time that it takes for each person to be interviewed and save money on data input. The surveys can be custom designed with all sorts of different fields available and at the touch of a button the survey results are delivered to the cloud.