Article excerpted from Oakland Business Review - 12/15/05

Inspection software firm blazes new path

BY ERIC MORATH
emorath@mbizreview.com

Seeking to diversify from its manufacturing roots, Troy-based TradeMaster Inc. has implemented MobileEyes fire inspection software at four metro Detroit departments in the past several months.

TradeMaster's primary business is in software that simplifies the maintenance and repair of industrial equipment. The company counts DaimlerChrysler AG, Delphi Corp. and Merillat among its primary customers.

TradeMaster Vice President Tom Gorman said the company looked at fire inspections as an area it could apply knowledge from its core business.

"Considering the state of the manufacturing businesses, we felt it was essential that we find other areas where we can apply our skills," Gorman said. "So far, the market appears receptive."

In Oakland County, the Bloomfield Township, West Bloomfield and Pontiac fire departments have purchased MobileEyes, and the company has established sales contacts in Arizona, Florida and North Carolina. The company is in negotiations with Oakland County's public safety technology network, CLEMIS, to allow MobileEyes to interface with an existing records management system. Such an agreement would allow 30 local fire agencies to use TradeMaster's software for in-the-field input into a records system the departments already use.

Similarities between industrial inspections and fire inspections made moving between the two a natural progression, Gorman said.

On the factory floor, TradeMaster software places what would be a large paper manual onto a Pocket PC. Repair records are maintained more quickly and accurately by entering them on the floor rather than in a back office.

In fire inspections, the lengthy fire code is searchable and readable on a tablet PC. During inspections, officials take handwritten notes, which the tablet converts to type. Often the inspector can cite and print any violations on-site rather than returning to the station to file official paperwork.

"Traditionally, an inspector will write notes on a clipboard and then have to research to match what they saw to specific parts of the code, and then return to the site," Gorman said. "We put the code on-site and in their hands."

Early adopters of the technology have said time savings from using the software have resulted in a 25 percent-50 percent increase in the number of building inspections that can be completed.

The software and needed hardware comes at a price, especially for departments facing a reduction in state tax dollars. Installations range from $5,000 to $20,000.

TradeMaster doesn't bill the software as cost saving, Gorman said, but as life saving.

"It's unlikely that the system will significantly lower a department's cost per inspection, but it will reduce the amount of time spent working on administrative and recordkeeping tasks," he said. "Having more inspectors in the field will save lives."

Public safety's use of in-the-field computers is growing, according to county and fire officials. Police forces have led the charge, with 1,600 mobile computers in the field within the six-county area that the CLEMIS network covers.

Adoption of similar technology by fire marshals, building inspectors and EMS officials is catching on, said Michael O'Brian, a board member of the Michigan Fire Inspectors Society.

"The trend and desire is to do the reporting in the field, electronically, rather than bringing it back to a desk," O'Brian said, who also is a staff lieutenant with the Farmington Hills Fire Department.

Across the country, use of fire inspectors' electronic systems range from keeping the fire code on a pocket PC to allowing inspectors to file reports, wirelessly on site, O'Brian said. He said he's familiar with at least three other software providers in the fire inspection field, but only TradeMaster is located in Michigan.

West Bloomfield Fire Marshal Ted Gauthier was one of the first adopters of the MobileEyes system. He said he looked for an automated system for five years and chose MobileEyes because it is specifically designed for fire inspections, could be customized for his department and worked on tablet computers as opposed to laptops with keyboards.

While the system was costly, Gauthier said it is allowing him to increase inspections without increasing overtime pay.

"It's not real cheap, but departments need to look at what their priorities are," he said. "A lot of attention is focused on suppression, but the Fire Marshal's office focuses on prevention.

"The cart might be in front of the house if inspectors don't have the resources to find potentially serious problems."