When evaluating CIP Reporting the conversation and questions inevitably turn to details around what’s not inherently in the application, but rather what the application can be configured for to improve on processes and data collection in other aspects of their respective business. Because let’s face it, in today’s digital world, at least where data is concerned, you’re truly only limited by your imagination. Somehow, someway, there’s a software developer out there who can pull together a multitude of platforms to work in synchronicity, much to the delight of the customer. At least until that customer wants to connect yet another software platform to the melee.
CIP Reporting Blog
Blog for Risk Management and Incident Reporting Software
Author Archive
All You Need is a Map
June 16th, 2014 by
“Your goals are the road maps that guide you and show you what is possible in your life.” –Les Brown
No truer statement has ever been written. In fact for any challenge in the World, be it in business or in life, all you need is a map to navigate your way around it. A plan. An understanding as to how to get from point (A) to point (B) in the most effective way possible. When considering enterprise grade software the philosophy should be the same! Why create more work for yourself if all you really need is to construct a plan and execute against it? And surprisingly I speak with individuals every day who are entering into an evaluation of an Enterprise grade software void of any plan at all… My goal in this piece is to provide a would-be evaluator with a series of guidelines to define a clear path and hopefully prevent you from spinning your wheels… (more…)
Configured, Not Customized
May 30th, 2014 by
There’s a huge difference between customization and configuration. Very often we speak with prospects who are looking for something simple, so long as it meets all their needs! Something “out of the box” that will miraculously meet every requirement – as though the software vendor took into consideration every part of whatever information and reports they’re capturing and then built a product assuming every other company’s processes would be exactly the same. When in fact, companies are like snowflakes! No two are ever the same. And that’s where CIP Reporting steps in…
Drowning in Data
May 21st, 2014 by
It’s Monday morning, you’re just arriving to work, bleary eyed and not yet fully engaged coming off a weekend that was undoubtedly too short… Getting through your first cup of coffee and scanning through emails when you see a note from your boss –
Jenkins, (let’s just pretend your name is ‘Jenkins’…)
The board is requesting a report to show all recorded employee incidents resulting in injury for the last six months. It seems our insurance premiums are being increased and the board would like the Executive team to present data on behalf of the organization to either keep the premiums as they are or begin shopping for new insurance providers. I need your report on my desk by COB tomorrow.
Thanks,
The Boss
If Not Now, When?
May 1st, 2014 by
How do you identify when it’s time to solve a problem? Let’s say you’re at home and you’re cleaning the dishes after dinner. You notice a small spot of water on the floor that seems to be coming from the cabinet beneath the sink. Are you one to open the cabinet, identify the problem as best you can, and take measures to correct it? Whether you’re a “do-it-yourself” kind of person and you’re intent on getting the leak fixed right then and there, or you’re a proactive planner and you at least pick up the phone and call a plumber, you’re addressing the issue. Or are you a “throw-an-old-plastic-cup under the leak and hope for the best” kind of person? If that’s the case this blog article may not appeal to you.
Through this blog article I’m going to call out four things to consider in identifying you have a slow leak so you can begin to consider how to fix the problem long before it becomes a flooded basement…
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Fear is a Mind Killer
April 9th, 2014 by
Whenever it comes to ‘change’, I always think back to a quote from a movie; “Wayne’s World”. Granted, the movie was released better than 20 years ago now so I’m somewhat dating myself, though still, if you like comedies “Wayne’s World” is a classic. At a certain point in the movie, the nefarious TV Executive, Banjamin Kane (Rob Lowe), is talking to Garth Algar (Dana Carvey) about the proposed changes to the “Wayne’s World” television program. Garth pauses, stares off into the distance for a moment and simply states, “We fear change.” before repeatedly taking a hammer to a malfunctioning robotic hand, pounding it into oblivion. I always thought the scene to be funny, but not because of its acting or even its context, rather because of the exaggerated reality of Garth’s reaction. The fact is, most people fear change.
Make the Data Work for You!
March 31st, 2014 by
Over and over again we site how easy it is to collect data. Whether it’s with CIP Reporting or any other format or application, it’s easy enough to ask questions and get responses (i.e. data). The trouble then becomes a hesitancy to do anything of any consequence with that data. Generally speaking this is because of how untenable it is. That’s to say, the data you’re collecting ends up in some database that more or less behaves as a repository and subsequently becomes a black hole. Valuable information that’s lost forever to a dumping ground of what should otherwise be good, usable data.
Ready? Set! Deploy!!
March 24th, 2014 by
One of the most frequent questions we’re asked is in relation to the deployment of CIP Reporting. That’s to say, “what all goes into deploying this fully configurable software solution, and what’s required of us vis-à-vis resources?” And to be sure it’s a great question to ask! In fact, a common reason many of our customers select CIP Reporting is because of the deployment details. The idea they can purchase a tailored solution on a configurable and scalable software platform and have it delivered in a turn key manner. Meaning, the day the customer goes live, the solution is not only working, but easy to use and with very little training required.
The K.I.S.S. Principal Applies Here, Too
March 7th, 2014 by
In the World of Incident Reporting and Business Process Workflow, the K.I.S.S. principal is applicable to the fundamental work you do. If you’re not familiar with the K.I.S.S principal, it’s an age old acronym for Keep It Simple S……. (enter your own defamatory ‘S’ word, here). Though truly it’s a reminder as to how we should approach certain tasks and job functions that may seem otherwise daunting, particularly in the collection of data. Whether you’re collecting data to measure performance metrics, mitigating a risk portfolio, or providing requisite data in order to follow Federal, State, and / or Corporate guidelines and mandates, collecting the data is the easy part. What is not simple however, is the consideration for how to utilize that data. At least not without the proper tools. And surely you’ve heard the colloquialism, “The Right Tool for the Right Job”; a slogan from True Temper Tools that began in 1907, and a slogan still in use today. In Incident Reporting, CIP Reporting is indeed the right tool for the right job. Though more than that, we keep the three basic concepts of collecting information, enforcing process, and utilizing data, simple…
Make a Customer, Not a Sale
February 28th, 2014 by
Coming off of a trade show conference in Las Vegas, I find myself recounting every conversation and considering all of what’s discussed between shopper and vendor. And though I’ve heard it before, this year seemed to carry with it more of a theme; that theme being around customer service and support, or rather, lack there of… Of the interested parties I found myself speaking with, it seems every one of them had something to say about how they feel frustrated, neglected, and even abandoned in their dealings with their existing software vendors; feeling as though they were sold a piece of software, not a solution. And who can blame them? They were… (more…)