Conducting Inspections
Run an inspection in the field - work through template steps, capture structured answers, photos, video, and audio evidence, and complete inspections with offline support.
Starting an inspection
Start or schedule an inspection from a site, the upcoming inspections list, or a CRM deal. Work through template steps and findings, enter structured answers, notes, grades, and quantities, then capture photos, video, audio, and other evidence. On mobile, field capture supports offline work and an outbox for pending uploads. You can review capture progress and media-processing state, retry or manage media, and finish and complete the inspection when the evidence is ready.
| Starting point | What to do |
|---|---|
| Site | Open the site and start an inspection from its inspection actions. |
| Upcoming list | Select an upcoming inspection to open its details and begin field work. |
| CRM deal | Start or schedule an inspection from the deal connected to the work. |
Scheduling creates an upcoming inspection without starting field capture immediately. Open the scheduled inspection when you are ready to work through its template.
Working through template steps
The inspection template divides the work into steps and findings. Use the capture wizard to move through each step, review the current finding, enter its answers, and save your progress before continuing.
Depending on the template, a finding can include:
- Grades: Select a grade from the scale configured for the finding.
- Quantities: Enter a quantity when the finding includes a quantity field.
- Numbers: Enter a numeric value, including its configured unit and allowed range.
- Select values: Choose one option from the configured list.
- Notes: Add written observations or other details requested by the template.
The wizard shows the fields configured for the current finding, including any guidance and required evidence. Complete required fields before moving on. Saved answers remain associated with the finding so you can review or update them during the inspection.
Capturing evidence
Capture evidence while you inspect the site so each finding has the supporting media and information it needs.
Capture media during an inspection
Open the evidence fields for the current finding and choose the capture type configured by the template.
- Take photos of conditions, components, or checkpoints.
- Record video when a moving condition or sequence needs to be shown.
- Record audio for spoken observations or other audio evidence.
- Enter numeric values, select values, or notes when the template uses structured evidence fields.
- Review the captured evidence before continuing to the next finding.
Required evidence must be captured before you finish the inspection. The template may also specify a minimum number of photos or videos.
Evidence remains linked to the finding where you captured it. Use the evidence view to review media and identify items that still need attention.
Mobile field capture
Use mobile field capture when you need to inspect without a continuous connection. The field capture screen includes a capture bar for recording information and an offline banner that indicates when the device is disconnected.
Media captured while you are offline is stored in the mobile outbox and syncs when connectivity is restored.
Keep the app open long enough for pending captures to sync after reconnecting. Check the inspection progress and media state before finishing if the outbox still contains unsynced evidence.
Vadio sets no limit on the number or total size of captures waiting in the outbox. Pending captures are stored on the phone, so the free storage on the device is the only limit. Each file must still fit the upload limit for its type:
| Media type | Largest file |
|---|---|
| Photo | 25 MB |
| Audio | 100 MB |
| Video | 500 MB |
A file over its limit is rejected when it uploads.
Media processing
After a file uploads, Vadio prepares it for the report. The work depends on the media type:
| Media type | What processing does |
|---|---|
| Photo | Creates a thumbnail and an optimized copy of the image. |
| Audio | Transcribes the recording. |
| Video | Transcribes the spoken audio and extracts still frames. |
Photos have the least work to do, and video has the most. Each processing attempt can run for up to five minutes. Vadio tries a file up to three times, then marks it as failed or timed out so you can retry or exclude it.
Working with other inspectors
An inspection is not locked to one inspector. Any user who is allowed to perform inspections, in the company doing the inspection, can open the same inspection and add answers and evidence while it is still being captured, including at the same time as a colleague. In a chain, when a member company performs an inspection for the head office, only the member company's users can capture. Edits are not merged. If two people change the same finding, only one of the edits is kept, so agree who covers which findings.
Reviewing capture progress
Open the progress view to see how much of the inspection is complete and whether captured evidence is ready. The progress pipeline shows the state of the inspection and its media, including evidence that is still processing.
Review the progress view before finishing to confirm that:
- Required steps and findings have answers.
- Required photos, videos, audio, and other evidence are present.
- Media uploads have completed or are ready for action.
- Evidence processing is complete enough for report generation.
If media is still processing or has failed, manage it before completing the inspection.
Managing media
Use the media actions in the evidence or progress view to resolve upload and evidence issues.
| Action | When to use it |
|---|---|
| Retry | Try an upload again after a temporary connection or processing failure. |
| Exclude | Keep media attached to the inspection but exclude it from the report. |
| Discard | Remove media that you do not want to keep. |
| Restore | Return previously discarded media when you need it again. |
Review excluded and discarded media carefully. Excluding media changes what is available for the report, while discarding removes it from the active evidence set until you restore it.
Finishing an inspection
Finish field capture after you have reviewed the template steps and evidence. Completing the inspection locks in the field work and starts report generation.
Review every step, required answer, and evidence item before finishing. Resolve failed uploads and decide whether to retry, exclude, discard, or restore media first.
When you finish and complete the inspection, the inspection moves out of field work and the report generation process begins. Use the progress view to monitor evidence readiness while the report is prepared.