Thread: Inspection Software

Just curious if anyone on here has tried the "Identify & Report" software on an IPad? It looks promising since you don't have to have an internet connection to use it, and it makes a pdf easily to send off the report. I haven't ordered it yet, but wanted to get any feedback from inspectors that may have used it. Please reply asap. Thanks, Bart the Inspector, in Covington, LA 985-893-3320

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Originally Posted by Bart Mormino

Just curious if anyone on here has tried the "Identify & Report" software on an IPad? It looks promising since you don't have to have an internet connection to use it, and it makes a pdf easily to send off the report. I haven't ordered it yet, but wanted to get any feedback from inspectors that may have used it. Please reply asap. Thanks, Bart the Inspector, in Covington, LA 985-893-3320

Look at all of the other options on the market.

Do you really want to produce a report on a phone with a 3-4 inch screen when you could be doing it on a computer with a screen as big as you want?

PDA's, smart phones and the like are good for collecting the data but I just can't see the benefit in producing a report from them.. I can just see too many issues trying to make a smart phone be the catchall piece of equipment to produce a good home inspection report.

Originally Posted by Scott Patterson

Do you really want to produce a report on a phone with a 3-4 inch screen when you could be doing it on a computer with a screen as big as you want?

iPad, not iPhone. Decent sized screen.

Many software companies provide an android or ipad app that works in conjunction with the software. I agree with Scott. Doesn't matter how good the app is, nearly every report needs some keyboard input and it's a pain to type on a screen.

Originally Posted by Gunnar Alquist

iPad, not iPhone. Decent sized screen.

Many software companies provide an android or ipad app that works in conjunction with the software. I agree with Scott. Doesn't matter how good the app is, nearly every report needs some keyboard input and it's a pain to type on a screen.

Missed that part about the iPad... I love my iPad..

If this is the firm:

Identify & Report Professional V.12 - Identify & Report

then the links to buy or try are broken. I can't even find out how much the product costs.

I use my iphone but i email it to myself and when i get home its on my computer and then i do my editing and then send ti to my client. I use Tapinspect apps.

Originally Posted by Gunnar Alquist

iPad, not iPhone. Decent sized screen.

Many software companies provide an android or ipad app that works in conjunction with the software. I agree with Scott. Doesn't matter how good the app is, nearly every report needs some keyboard input and it's a pain to type on a screen.

Gunnar, I agree with you. I bought a window tablet with an 11.5 screen and it's still a pain to produce a well written and comprehensive report in the field. Too many distractions and half of the time one is trying to remember in what room or crawl space did you leave your tablet last.

I'd really like to see if anyone chimes in and says they use this software. I deal with thousands of inspectors, and I haven't heard of it. There's some security in numbers so to speak, which they may not have yet, but if it's a good product I'd like to know so I can learn more about them.

Originally Posted by fidel gonzales

Gunnar, I agree with you. I bought a window tablet with an 11.5 screen and it's still a pain to produce a well written and comprehensive report in the field. Too many distractions and half of the time one is trying to remember in what room or crawl space did you leave your tablet last.

Great comment..this is why I haven't moved to mobile for the same reasons as Gunner, Fidel and Scott. I have an inspector who is coming out of his skin wanting to try a mobile device on site, he'll learn. I've been doing this a long time and still cant see it happening.

It's not uncommon for me to see something in a photo that I missed while doing the inspection. Once you put the photo with the flash up on a big computer screen you may have some additional insight into a defect or condition.

It's also not uncommon for me to do a substantial amount of online research while writing a report. There's always a new component or permutation out there. I'm afraid that an onsite report process will result in a document that is geared more for the convenience of the inspector than for the needs of the client.

The most use I can see for a smartphone or tablet on-site is to embed photos and put in the basic report documentation and easy calls. Then refine the report on the home computer.

Originally Posted by Bart Mormino

Just curious if anyone on here has tried the "Identify & Report" software on an IPad? It looks promising since you don't have to have an internet connection to use it, and it makes a pdf easily to send off the report. I haven't ordered it yet, but wanted to get any feedback from inspectors that may have used it. Please reply asap. Thanks, Bart the Inspector, in Covington, LA 985-893-3320

I am less than a fan of the whole Apple iOS scene in the first place. Their whole ecosystem is too "walled garden" and restrictive for me. I think their equipment is pretty nice But do not like their business model.

That being said, I do like tablet/touchscreen type computers. I currently own a couple of older Motion, non-touchscreen tablets that I occasionally use for inspections. I am also looking pretty strongly at the new android tablets. I started using Windows-based tablets to do home inspections very early on, like in 2003 2004. I was the only inspector at a multi-inspector firm using a tablet and I could knock out an inspection in much less time than the guys that were using laptops sitting on the kitchen counter and having to walk back and forth to inspect and then come back and enter data. I did manage to make converts out of a few and to my knowledge, they are still using tablets today.

These days, now that I am on my own and not under pressure to crank out 2 to 3 inspections a day and print on-site like I was back then, I find my inspection style has vastly changed. In many cases, I do not even bring the computer into the house anymore. I do my inspections with a clipboard and my camera. I take a few rudimentary "reminder notes" on the clipboard and a crap load of pictures, typically 80 to 100 on a normal inspection.

I no longer print on site (although I still can if needed) and just give a verbal debrief to the client at the end of the on-site portion of the inspection. Once I returned to the office, I dump all the photos into a folder and go through them, one by one, selecting those that are relevant to the inspection and setting them aside in an "edits" folder. These then get optimized, annotated and edited as needed for use in the report. Only then do I actually fire up the inspection software (HIP) and start the report. The photos, in combination with my minimal notes, provide all the information I need to generate the report.

I can still crank out an inspection in about four hours. From the feedback I get, both the clients and the Realtors love the fact that I only spend an hour to an hour and a half of their valuable time actually on the inspection site and the bulk of my work is done at my leisure at home. Once done, the inspection is either e-mailed directly or uploaded to Google docs or Dropbox for retrieval, depending on the size. The system has been working fine for me for several years now. It also seriously reduces the amount of crapola I need to carry to an inspection. Makes for a fast and efficient process.

To steal a concept from Bill Gates, "Whenever I have a difficult project, I always give it to a lazy person because he will find the easiest way to get it done!"