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The Mobile Inspector® application lets inspectors collect data (such as item postings, weather, remarks, and site photos) directly from the field and draft daily reports within the Appia® service. Mobile Inspector can be used with a mobile device even when it is offline.
Click to expand the following sections and learn more.
Set up Mobile Inspector
Mobile Inspector is designed for use with the following mobile browsers:
Android
→ Latest version of Google Chrome
iOS (Apple)
→ iOS 15 or higher
→ Safari only
Windows
→ Latest version of Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge
Refer to the Mobile Inspector installation guide for your device-specific installation instructions.
Before you can access your Appia contracts in Mobile Inspector, your device must be registered to the appropriate Appia account by a system administrator.
For Inspectors
To register your device, you must share your Device ID with your business administrator.
- In Mobile Inspector, go to Menu > About
- Find your Device ID and click the copy icon to add it to your device's clipboard
- Contact your business's Appia administrator and ask them to register your device using your Device ID
- Once your device is registered, you will be able to sync your Appia contracts by clicking Sync
For System Administrators
To register a user's device, you will need their Device ID. Once you have a Device ID, here's how to register it to the Appia user:
- While in Appia, go to System Mgt > My Business.
- Find the name of the user you want to register and click Devices.
- Click Add.
- Enter a name for the device and its Mobile Inspector Device ID into the respective fields, then click Save.
Good to know!
- Only users in a licensed role can have a registered device.
- A device can only be assigned to one user within an agency (no sharing devices).
- Once a device is registered to a user, they can use the device with any Appia businesses they are a part of.
After your device is registered in Appia and before you can begin using Mobile Inspector, you have to sync your contracts.
To sync Mobile Inspector and Appia:
- Go to Menu > Sync.
- Click Sync Data.
- A confirmation message will let you know when all contracts have been synced.
Use Mobile Inspector
Once your data is synced between Appia and Mobile Inspector, you can access all of your Appia projects from the Mobile Inspector menu (note: projects are called "Contracts" in Mobile Inspector). To view a particular project:
- Click on the Mobile Inspector Menu.
- Find the name of the project and click it to expand project details.
- From there, you can view items, add a report, and view drafted reports.
- From the main menu, find your project name and click to expand it.
- Click Items.
- Mobile Inspector will display a list of all the items associated with that project.
You can search for items using the Search bar, or sort items using the Sort dropdown menu.
Adding a daily report in Mobile Inspector is much the same as creating one directly from Appia, except that it can be done when your registered device is offline. Daily report options in Mobile Inspector include:
-
Report Details | Add weather, temperature, attachments, and remarks
- Note: custom remarks fields are not available in Mobile Inspector
- Item Postings | Add an item and its associated fund package, contractor, quantity placed, materials, location, stationing, and remarks
- Equipment | Add equipment and its associated contractor, description, active and idle number, active and idle hours, and remarks
- Personnel | Add personnel and their associated contractor, description, crew, number of workers, and hours worked
To draft a daily report in Mobile Inspector:
- From the menu, find your project name and click to expand it.
- Click Add Report.
- Enter your report details in the appropriate fields.
- Click the Save icon to save your report in Mobile Inspector. You can continue to edit and update the report within Mobile Inspector as needed.
- Note: your saved draft report will not appear in Appia until you lock it.
To send your daily report from Mobile Inspector to Appia:
- Fill out your daily report in Mobile Inspector.
- Click the Lock icon to lock the report. A pop-up will prompt you to confirm.
- Go to Menu > Sync.
- Click Sync Data.
When you refresh Appia, a draft report will appear on the Daily Activities calendar.
Back in Appia
Mobile Inspector only sends a draft of your daily report into Appia. Once you are back in Appia, you have to submit the report for approval.
Troubleshooting + FAQ
If you or your system administrator registered your device in Appia before docking the application to your device's home screen, you won't be able to see the menu. To fix this issue:
- Have the Appia system administrator see the Manage User Devices section of this article, remove the device registration.
- Dock the app by adding it to your homepage on your device.
- Reregister the device.
The Mobile Inspector app automatically syncs with the Appia service about every fifteen minutes. Tap the Sync button and wait, and then look again. If you still have issues, contact customer support and we will manually push your project.
Lock your report in the Mobile Inspector app. When you have internet access, tap Sync. It may take up to fifteen minutes.
Data does not transfer between different browsers on the same device. Make sure to sync your information to Appia using the original internet browser before switching to a different browser.