Are your escalator inspections up to speed?

Escalators should be inspected daily during startup and shutoff to reduce hazards. The Canadian Standards Association’s CSA B44 sets out safety standards for elevators and escalators. Things you should look for during your inspections: Ensure obstructions are not lodged in the gaps between the step and side panel (“skirt”) If your escalator infrastructure is aging, consider adding brushes to the side panel to stop objects and shoes from getting caught Apply friction-reducing product to the side panel monthly if your escalator is an older model Ensure areas where passengers mount and dismount (landing/comb plates) are clear of obstructions Ensure landing/comb plates and step edges are painted yellow for accessibility Ensure adequate lighting on landings/comb plates and steps Ensure there are not broken “teeth” on the steps Ensure proper signage is installed and visible i.e. strollers and carts are prohibited signage Check for unusual noises and vibrations  Ensure the esca

Digital Inspections ROI

Digitizing inspections come with many benefits such as eliminating paper work and storage, ensuring compliance, and reducing labour costs. So how much do you really save? To answer this question, we broke workplace inspections and documentation processes into 3 main components: Paperwork and storage Ensuring compliance Labour costs Paperwork and Storage A popular method for inspecting locations/equipment is with pen and paper. Workers sign a paper tag at the location/equipment, then fill out a log sheet which is later submitted to the manager for review/action and eventually ends up in storage. When diving into the numbers, we found that the paperwork costs associated with inspections can really add up. We used data from our existing clients, who include hospitals, storage facilities, factories and commercial properties to determine the costs of paperwork associated with manual inspections. We used 500 locations/equipment with inspections on a monthly basis as a cons

Sprinkler Valve Inspections

Sprinkler valves are an important part of a fire protection system that controls the pressure and flow rate of the water supply. You want to make sure that your sprinkler valves are in good working order because you never know when a fire will occur and water will be needed to ensure that the fire does not spread any further. Regular inspections can help maintain your sprinkler valve systems, identify any deficiencies and ensure they are functional. Here are some things you should look for during your sprinkler valve inspections: Water pressure - document in PSI or kPA. You want to make sure that the sprinkler valves have sufficient pressure to reach and extinguish a fire if required.  Position of the valves – are they positioned in normal open/closed state?  Accessibility - are the valves easily accessible? Are there any obstructions near the valves?  Condition - are the valves in good condition? Is there any physical damage present?  Leaks - are there any external or internal

Summer Tips

Make the most out of your summer by staying safe with these simple safety tips. 

How Toronto-based Tap Report is transforming workplace inspections

Eric Emin Wood   @ericewood Published: April 6th, 2018 Tap Report co-founder and CEO Paul Amendola had been managing fire and life safety inspections in Toronto’s financial district for six years when he started looking for digital solutions that would help him navigate the multiple inspection reports, maintenance orders, and asset approvals that kept coming across his desk – and found little. The closest he remembers finding was a few barcode-based systems that were “very difficult to use – and very expensive.” Tap Report co-founder and CEO Paul Amendola knew firsthand the frustration felt by workplace inspection teams – and wanted to help them. “It was very difficult to stay on top of everything,” he says. “Staff would sign off on what they thought was the kitchen in the north east corner, but unfortunately it would turn out to be the south east corner, which we wouldn’t find out until the tenant started complaining – and that happened a lot. People were making

Is Your Fire Watch Program Up To Code?

What is a Fire Watch? The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) requires that buildings equipped with fire alarm systems and sprinkler systems be fully operational at all times. In the event that any of these systems are off-line for any reason whatsoever, a Fire Watch inspection program through the use of Fire Watch personnel is to be implemented immediately. A Fire Watch inspection program is the regular physical inspection of the area the Hot Work is being performed to ensure a fire does not start. Did you know? [i] Hot work is defined as any process involving flame, spark or heat production. This includes work such as cutting, welding, soldering, grinding etc. The Fire Watch work area must be inspected at least once each hour  The Fire Watch personnel must be equipped with a fire extinguisher and PPE The Fire Watch must be conducted from the start of the hot work until at least 3 hours after the work has been completed Who completes the Fire Watch? A

Custodian Management Case Study

Provide a description of yourself and your company.  Jamie Swartz, Custodian Lead at  Gordon Food Service. Gordon Food Service is a foodservice distributor with large facilities across Canada and the United States.  What do you use Tap Report for?  We use Tap Report for fire extinguisher inspections, sanitation inspections, refrigeration inspections, and heath and safety inspections at our facilities.  How has Tap Report helped you maintain your facilities?  Tap Report has helped us by making sure the required inspections are completed, reducing our risks and ensuring compliance.   As a manager, what do you find most valuable about Tap Report?  Making sure the inspections are completed on time is the most valuable aspect of Tap Report in my opinion. It ensures compliance, mitigating our risks.   What do you think has improved the most with using Tap Report?  Accountability for inspections being completed has improved greatly through the use of Tap Report at our facilitie

Are Drones the Future of Building Inspections?

Drones are unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV’s) that can fly in the air. They’ve been an extremely popular tech gadget for consumer use but slowly, industry uses are being applied. It may seem like drones are a new phenomenon but the technology actually dates back to WWI military use.  A Business Insider article outlines how drones have changed over time through seven progressive generations that range in capabilities. First generation is characterized by basic remote control capabilities. Second generation includes manual piloting and audio-visual capabilities such as camera and video recording. Generations 3-5 progressively have better audio-visual capabilities like 360 degree visuals and safety features including autopilot. Generations 6-7 have enhanced safety features which allow drones to be more suitable for commercial use. These safety features include various piloting modes, accurate sensors, airspace and autonomy awareness and auto-action allowing for self-takeoff, landing

Operations Management Case Study

We sat down with  Linda Ahara the Regional Director of Operations for Crothall Services (Compass Group)  to understand how Tap Report has improved inspections in a hospital setting. Provide a description of yourself and your company.   We are using Tap Report at a 300 bed Acute care hospital on Vancouver Island.  What do you use Tap Report for?   We use Tap Report for daily monitoring of isolation and regular patient/washroom cleaning.  How has Tap Report helped you maintain your facilities? Tap Report has helped us to shift to a paperless system to supply reports and monitor workload.  As a manager, what do you find most valuable about Tap Report?  I find the alerts for cleaning and reporting to client scheduling compliance the most valuable resource.  What do your staff like most about using Tap Report?   I like that Tap Report is easy to use and requires minimal training.  What do you think has improved the most with using Tap Report?  Our staff compliance an

What is PropTech?

PropTech is a newer term used to describe technology solutions geared towards disrupting the real estate sector. Other terms used to describe this type of technology solutions include CRE Tech, RealTech and ConTech.  PropTech is very broad as it includes real estate, leasing, appraisals, residential property management, commercial property management, the sharing economy, smart cities/buildings, construction, RegTech and even FinTech.  Within PropTech, companies are using innovative technology to change/enhance the existing ways of doing things and to address problems or gaps within the industry. These technology solutions are leveraging things like:  Big data & analytics Artificial Intelligence (AI) Robotic automation Digital capabilities Internet of Things (IoT) Virtual Reality (VR) Payment/transaction/lending technology Blockchain technology  Some of the main areas that PropTech focuses on are:  Building/asset performance, optimization and cost reduction Te

Top 8 Benefits of Digital Inspections

Future of Inspections

Inspections have changed over time and they continue to change with advances in technology. There are a lot of trends and buzzwords being used right now that have the potential to impact how inspections are performed in the future. We’ve all heard of these buzzwords but understanding what they mean at a basic level may be a bit challenging, so we’re going to walk you through the latest trends, discuss their strengths and make you aware of their pitfalls and things to consider.  Trends include: Internet of Things (IoT) Analytics and Big Data Drones Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) Internet of Things (IoT) IoT is a giant network of things/devices that are connected to the internet. [1]  These devices collect and exchange data using sensors, making them into “live objects” where the data can provide an understanding of what’s going on with the device. The data collected can be shown on a dashboard to deepen this understanding and can be used for a v