ELECTRONIC BACKFLOW TEST SUBMITTAL
By
Randy Engle
XC2 Software, LLC
Has the time come?
What do I need to do to make it happen?
What are the challenges?
ELECTRONIC BACKFLOW TEST SUBMITTAL
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?
ELECTRONIC BACKFLOW TEST SUBMITTAL
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.
ELECTRONIC BACKFLOW TEST SUBMITTAL
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.
ELECTRONIC BACKFLOW TEST SUBMITTAL
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.
ELECTRONIC BACKFLOW TEST SUBMITTAL
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)
ELECTRONIC BACKFLOW TEST SUBMITTAL
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)
ELECTRONIC BACKFLOW TEST SUBMITTAL
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.
ELECTRONIC BACKFLOW TEST SUBMITTAL
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.
ELECTRONIC BACKFLOW TEST SUBMITTAL
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
ELECTRONIC BACKFLOW TEST SUBMITTAL
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”
ELECTRONIC BACKFLOW 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!
ELECTRONIC BACKFLOW TEST SUBMITTAL
Yeah, right….
Well, maybe there might just be 1 or 2
bumps or small challenges that you need to
deal with.
ELECTRONIC BACKFLOW TEST SUBMITTAL
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
ELECTRONIC BACKFLOW TEST SUBMITTAL
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
ELECTRONIC BACKFLOW TEST SUBMITTAL
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
ELECTRONIC BACKFLOW TEST SUBMITTAL
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
ELECTRONIC BACKFLOW TEST SUBMITTAL
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?
Challenges/Advantages
ELECTRONIC BACKFLOW TEST SUBMITTAL
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?
Challenges/Advantages
ELECTRONIC BACKFLOW TEST SUBMITTAL
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.
Challenges/Advantages
ELECTRONIC BACKFLOW TEST SUBMITTAL
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
ELECTRONIC BACKFLOW TEST SUBMITTAL
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
ELECTRONIC BACKFLOW TEST SUBMITTAL
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
ELECTRONIC BACKFLOW TEST SUBMITTAL
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
Challenges/AdvantagesUsing an in-house system, i.e. your
organization “hosts” the web server
ELECTRONIC BACKFLOW TEST SUBMITTAL
Your IT staff needs to be completely on board for this.
Some will like it, some will not.
Challenges/AdvantagesUsing an in-house system, i.e. your
organization “hosts” the web server
ELECTRONIC BACKFLOW TEST SUBMITTAL
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)
ELECTRONIC BACKFLOW TEST SUBMITTAL
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.
ELECTRONIC BACKFLOW TEST SUBMITTAL
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.
ELECTRONIC BACKFLOW TEST SUBMITTAL
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?
ELECTRONIC BACKFLOW TEST SUBMITTAL
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)
ELECTRONIC BACKFLOW TEST SUBMITTAL
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
ELECTRONIC BACKFLOW TEST SUBMITTAL
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.
ELECTRONIC BACKFLOW TEST SUBMITTAL
Randy Engle
XC2 Software, LLC
Questions?This Powerpoint is available at:
www.xc2live.com/web2014