electronic backflow test submittal

ELECTRONIC BACKFLOW TEST SUBMITTAL

By

Randy Engle

XC2 Software, LLC

[email protected]

Has the time come?

What do I need to do to make it happen?

What are the challenges?


What exactly is it? (& what it isn’t)

Has the time come?

What do I need to do to get it?

What is it going to cost me?

What are the options available?

I am a backflow tester, what if I don’t want to do it that way?


What is it?The ability to successfully submit specific and accurate backflow

test results data via the Internet to water purveyors, or their

agents, using a desktop computer, laptop, tablet or mobile

device/smartphone.

This includes validation of these results prior to acceptance and

confirmation of receipt of these reports.


What it is not? Sending a “scanned” image of your test report via Email

Sending a printed PDF of your test report via email

Unless: You are entering test results onto a “fillable” form that is

specifically configured to send the “data” to a repository, e.g.

spreadsheet that can then be imported into a larger system.

More on this later….


Has the time come?

15+ years ago, most organizations required

submittal of original test reports with a “wet ink”

signature. They would then store these reports in

physical files for 3-5 years or more.


Has the time come?

After awhile, it became OK to submit the test

report via FAX for many organizations

(But they still stored them in physical files)


Has the time come? Then after a little while longer a lot of purveyors

said it was OK to submit the test reports as a PDF

file or scanned image.

(This, by the way, was the “first” electronic test submittal,

though someone still had to enter the data)


Has the time come?

Now, the world wide web has gone totally viral, and

you can buy, sell, pay, submit, communicate, transfer

or publish almost anything if you have a proper log-in,

password and “agree” to the terms of whatever service

you are using.


Has the time come?

A significant number of water purveyors have

made the leap to the web and have decided to

allow or require testing contractors to enter

their own test results.


Has the time come?

In our business, almost every single existing customer and potential

customer that contacts us wants to have this capability.

Many are not “ready” for it yet, but they all say they want it.

This is a significant change in mindset in the last 1-2 years


Rewards Time between test completion and recording in your system is dramatically reduced.

More accurate and timely determination of who is due or past due for testing.

Reduces paper to handle, manage and store

Reduces time to enter test results, ie. reduced cost or time to do other tasks.

If outsourced, reduced hardware/software to maintain

The “cool” factor: “Oh yeah, we’re bad. We have electronic test submittal”


What do I need to do to get it?

1. Decide that this is what you truly want to do

2. Build your own, buy a package or subscribe to a service.

3. That’s it! Done! Go ye forth and prosper!


Yeah, right….

Well, maybe there might just be 1 or 2

bumps or small challenges that you need to

deal with.


1. Explore the options available

2. Talk with other organizations, find out what they had to go

through to implement electronic submittal

3. Choose 1 or 2 options that you think will work best for you.

Steps to Take


4. Discuss with the “powers that be” what they are willing to

back you on.

These powers might include:

a. Your IT department

b. Upper management

c. City council

Steps to Take


Build your own – Have a web entry system custom developed by you

own in-house programmers or hire a developer

Purchase a pre-built web submittal package (it might be an add on to

your existing software)

Subscribe to a service where they do all the work

Subscribe to a service where they provide the web interface, but you

do the work.

Options


Enlist the testing contractors to use the new system

Find one or two contractors who are ready, willing and able to help you

smooth out the bumps. Have them try it out first.

You may need to provide some training for contractors

Decide if you are going to Require all submittals via the web

Deal with the fallout from some testing contractors who give you grief

because they don’t want to submit via the web.

Challenges/Advantages


Are you going to charge testers for submitting reports, or is the service

that you subscribe to going to charge testers?

Be prepared to meet a little initial resistance if this is the case

What kind of time will you need to deal with questions and problems

coming from testers, or you might be able to have the service that you

subscribe to provide this level of support.

Is the service capable to handling everything that comes up?



Are you going to have to “verify” the incoming results before final

acceptance? Remember that some individuals doing the submittals are

going to be more adept at this than others.

What kind of validations are you going to require for testers: e.g.

A. Does an individual tester need to be certified/licensed to work on a specific

type/use of a backflow preventer, e.g. a Fire System, Irrig. System?

B. Are these validations going to be in place at the time of submittal, or are you

going to review them afterwards?



Do you think you are going to require individual testers to be

the ones to actually submit their own test reports?

If so, remember that this is basically unenforceable.

As stated earlier, with a Log-In and Password, you can do just

about anything.



If you subscribe to a service that also sends out notices for

you, you will need to come up with a way to regularly provide

them with changes in your customer names and addresses.

Challenges/AdvantagesSubscribing to a Service - Items to Consider


You will need to give up a significant amount of control of

your data and the way that you are running your program.

You need to measure this against the hours that you might

save having someone else do it.

Challenges/AdvantagesSubscribing to a Service - Items to Consider


You have complete control of all of your information.

You can make changes in the system without having to go

through a 3rd party.

Challenges/AdvantagesUsing an in-house system, i.e. your

organization “hosts” the web server


Someone with a thorough understanding of your program,

and with a reasonable degree of computer/database savvy

will need to be actively involved in the success of this

implementation




Your IT staff needs to be completely on board for this.

Some will like it, some will not.




It really comes down a basic premise:

Less Work for You vs. Control of your Program

Decisions

In House (Self Hosted)

vs

Subscribing to a service (out-sourced)


Tester Considerations

I am a backflow tester, what if I don’t want to do submit my test results via the web?

You are welcome to kick, scream, swear or throw a temper tantrum, but in the end whatever the purveyor decides is what you will need to do…. Or not.


Tester Considerations

There may actually be some benefit for you (Testers)! e.g.

Ability to review your past test history

You and your customers receive immediate confirmation that a test was submitted.


Implementation & Submittal Considerations

You will need to decide how you want to handle security of the information in your system.

e.g. How will the tester submitting the test be able to lookup the backflow assembly they are submitting the test for?


Implementation & Submittal Considerations

Use a “Web Access Code:

e.g. “QWER-9876” (Unique to the customer’s site.

Or will you allow lookup by other, serial number, address, customer name, etc?

What might web entry look like to the tester?

You need to have a secure log-in for each testing

contractor company.

Maybe Require a “Security Code” for Looking up Test Results to Input

Have something that looks somewhat familiar to enter results

“Smartphone View will need to be more creative, as the available screen real estate is

dramatically reduced.

Send some time of confirmation to the customer and the testing contract or assure them that the test

was submitted successfully (or not)


Summary Decide if this is valuable for you

Explore available options (Get References!)

Get the backing you need, IT Dept., Upper Management, etc

Notify the Testing Contractors that this is what you are going to do. Have a meeting/training with them.

Document what your security considerations are.

Do some testing to see what issues might arise


Lastly

Be cautious of anyone that tells you that

implementation of a web system (or

service) will go without a hitch, be

completely smooth with no problems.


Randy Engle

XC2 Software, LLC

[email protected]

Questions?This Powerpoint is available at:

www.xc2live.com/web2014

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