Meeting and maintaining standards all the way

The South African Bureau of Standards (SABS) is a leading global provider of standards, management systems, business improvement and regulatory approval information. A solution for auditing and quality assessment of solar installations was required to better inspect each installation and location of solar geysers.

AfriGIS developed a flexible, detailed, secure and paperless data capturing and information management system using both mobile and web based solutions. The solution addresses the lengthy process and enables the SABS to:

• Manage the surveying of solar geyser installations in specified areas on a mobile platform
  
• Upload captured data wirelessly to the database while the inspectors are out in the field
  
• Monitor the management and distribution of tasks to task managers and inspectors
  
• View inspections and plan routes to receive exact directions to the desired locations/installations
  
• Verify data
  
• Perform audits on the quality of installations in terms of the approved quality standards

The solution has two functions: firstly, the field inspection process and secondly, the data management and reporting to ensure that standards are met and installations are correct.

Thousands of addresses were geocoded to determine the location of the installed solar water heating systems. These addresses were then visited, inspected and recorded for reporting purposes.

In the past such an auditing process was an extensive manual process of capturing details and then returning the data for further manipulation to produce reports for evaluation.

The technology allows the SABS to conduct their surveys electronically; eliminating the use of paper forms and in turn reducing inspection turnaround times. They now have access to information captured in the field and are able to create daily progress reports for Eskom on project, as well as "flagged" issues, reported on the Solar water geyser installations.

The bespoke solution for the SABS was created with a combination of AfriGIS products and services including the AfriGIS Forms framework, AfriGIS Navigator and AfriGIS Mapserver Technology.

"The project was not without challenges and innovative solutions were found for areas with poor cellular coverage and remote management of devices. The SABS has been able to successfully conduct the audit and reporting of the solar geyser installations and the locations thereof", Magnus Rademeyer, Managing Director of AfriGIS, concluded.

AfriGIS is a leader in the Geographic information and Communication solutions industries. AfriGIS's rich geographical data offering supports an innovative suite of mobile and we applications, location based services and customised products and solutions. The AfriGIS product range and solutions are utilised over 200 government, parastatals and corporate clients. For more innovative solutions visit www.afrigis.co.za.

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