The first step after any crash is filing an incident report.  This becomes increasingly important for organizations with fleets as they work to protect their employees, reduce their financial risks, and get their fleet back on the road.  Incident reports should be easy to document and process. This aspect of an accident may be the most difficult and time consuming process to deal with. Even fill-in-the-blank forms require a long-form description of the incident.

Outlined below are three negative aspects of filing incident reports by paper. For larger organizations, incident reports are generally the first step a driver must take. Then they can get their vehicle repairs approved and their vehicle into the repair shop.  Incident reports are often required to be sent to the Risk Management Department or a third party vendor for review prior to repairs commencing. You can only imagine how a manual process involving paper reports can slow down the repair process. A recent study at SHzoom unveiled, paper incident reports added a whopping 28 days on average to repair cycle time!

Then, we will examine the benefits of automating your incident report process.  In particular, how automation not only helps you protect your drivers and reduce your financial risks; but how it is the number one cause of delayed fleet repairs following a crash.  By the end of the article,  you will see why smart fleets are choosing digital over paper and you’ll have an opportunity to join them!

Why Paper Reports are Bad:

The process of filing an incident report by paper is not seamless. Paper reports leave more room for human error, taking weeks to process. Also, the printed version will likely be ignored or mishandled by others when passing the paperwork on, along with the downside of being hard to track down if misplaced. The outcome could be very serious: wasted time, incorrectly submitted reports, and straight up misplaced papers. Paper reports require physical copies to be passed around, this manual process adds time to an already complex process that requests multiple exchanges between departments. Finally, each and every incident report should be carefully documented and should not be overlooked due to poor usability or aging documentation practices.

Why Automated Incident Reports are Better:

Automated/Digital Incident Reports are easier to navigate, even allowing reports to be taken at the crash scene in an automatic process. This allows operators to capture important evidence, reducing future financial risks, and downtime. Using digital methods shaves 28 days on average off of cycle time. On the flip side, it often takes up to 30 days before a paper incident report is ready. Automated/Digital Incident Reports also don’t require physical places to keep it organized and of course, filing an incident report is far easier. Digital copies of documents offer you the chance to streamline a good deal of your work. Imagine how much space the absence of cumbersome filing cabinets and towering mountains of paperwork will allot you. You will acquire a more streamlined operation and gain more time to work on the issues that matter.

Why Smart Fleets are Choosing Uptime by SHzoom:

With unexpected downtime costing millions, we at SHzoom are delighted to make a complicated process simple for you. By moving everything online, Uptime by SHzoom allows easy access to collecting the data, finding information, and eliminating the issue of lost paperwork. Ditch the hassle of using paper reports as we look to make sure that your operation is supported in the best way possible. Stop wasting time with unexpected crashes and gain access to automated incident reports now. Visit SHzoom.com, click, and fill out the form to get started today! Or call us at 800-921-4393 to learn more.