Mobile inspection

The iBIM Mobile Connector is designed to perform verifications on site (for construction projects), even offline.

When connected, the app downloads from Relatics to your device the data related to the checks you have to perform. You can then operate the verifications offline on site, fill the forms on your device and automatically upload the results to Relatics when an internet connection is available.

It is also possible to create a registration form for any other element and send this information back to Relatics. So you can create 'findings' for risks, comments, changes, etc. from the app.

Please note, the app is compatible with all Android OS (from 4.0.3)

Installation on an Android device

Download the app "neanex" from GOOGLE Play Store and follow the installation process.

Log in

Once installed, open the app on your device.

The first time the app is opened on a device the log-in screen appears, allowing to configure the tool for a specific project (workspace):

In order to link the app with the appropriate workspace you need to fill the following fields on the log-in screen:

Server url: The Relatics server web address that contains your project workspace.
Server GUID: is provided by your system administrator. It is the ID of the iBIM administrator workspace. See Setup - Configuration.
Username: Your Relatics Username or the account provided by your system administrator.
Password: The password associated to the relatics account previously mentioned.

Workspace selection

Once logged in, select from the different accessible Workspaces the one for which you want to perform checks.

Below the workspace name all users for which you have access will appear. Select the appropriate user.

As soon as the selection is done, data is downloaded from the targeted workspace to your device and the homescreen is displayed

App homepage

The homepage screen consists of:

The main menu displaying 4 buttons:
- “Synchronize”: download data from Relatics to your device and upload the results of your checks from your device to Relatics.
- “MyChecks”: brings you to the list of Objects to verify.
- "My Findings": allows you to upload information not related to the checks by creating iPosts, Risks (Risico's), Work Packages (Werkpaketten) and Changes (Wijzigingen).
- “Contact us”: access the contact form.

The Options menu (accessible by pressing the 3 dots button in the top right corner of the screen):
- “Change workspace”: redirects you to the Workspace selection screen (displaying all workspaces accessible in the same environment/url and with the same credentials).
- "Generate Files": Generate back-up files you can manually upload to the project database.
- “Logout”: disconnect from your current session.

"My Checks" module

This module prompts the user to perform checks on specific objects defined by the system administrator, as part of the scheduled check procedure:

From the homepage, access the "My Checks" module.
Select from the "Work packages" list the one containing the objects for which you want to perform a verification.

Please note, to return to the previous screen tap the native arrow of your Android device or the neanex icon in the top left corner of the screen (encircled in red in the screenshot).

Select the object for which you want to perform a verification.

The following screen displays the list of requirements related to the previously selected object.

In this example we have only one requirement related to the Object "Cafetaria".

Select the requirement to proceed to the next screen.

The method that applies to the object and requirement is displayed on the "Method list" screen.

Select the method and proceed to the check.

Inside a method: Observations list

The first time you enter the Observations list screen, it will be empty.

Create an observation by tapping the “+” button in the top right corner of the screen.

Select one of the available Registration Forms (defined by your system administrator) by ticking the required ones

Note: if your system administrator has not defined registration forms for that observation type then you will enter directly to the acceptance registration form screen.

Fill in the form and save the data by clicking on the floppy disk button (more information on how to fill in the form hereafter)

Back in the observation list, a new instance has been created (it's name consists of the date and time at which the check has been performed and the name of the related registration form).

Once you synchronize your data the observations you have filled in are uploaded in the project database.

Later on, those Observations will be processed (approved, rejected or simply put on hold) in Relatics.

Depending on their status when you get your data back (synchronized), the approved and rejected observations will not be editable in the app anymore and will be displayed in a different color:

Green = Accepted
Red = Rejected
Blue = not yet processed in Relatics (still editable)

How to fill in the form?

The "check form" you fill in on site has been defined and structured in Relatics by your system administrator. Do not hesitate to contact him if the form is not fully optimized for the task you have to perform.

The form consists of several "blocks". Below we list the different blocks you can encounter.

Compliance block

Does the object pass the test? Tap the COMPLY/DOES NOT COMPLY (Voldoet/Voldoet niet) button and add a comment.

If you tick the DO NOT COMPLY (Voldoet niet) button, you can add some non compliance consequences like risks or deviations.

Text block

In this block the user is entitled to answer a specific question. The user can fill in any answer.

Measurement block

Please tap in the “MORE DETAILS” button to enter a measurement. Three values will be available in the pop-up screen: Value, unit and comment.

If you want to add more than one measurement just tap in the plus icon in the top right corner.

Date block

If you click in the “Choose date” button you will be able to select a date from the native Android datepicker.

Image block

If you tap in the “Add” button you will be able to attach an image to your registration form. Select the picture directly from the Android gallery or make a new one on site with your device.

You can add as many images as you want but avoid transferring too many as it may slow down the sync process. Only the first 3 photos will be shown in the main registration form screen if you have more than 3 please tap in the “...” button to enter a gallery in which you will be able to navigate through all the photos you have made.

The app allows you to annotate or draw on the picture

Select Single and Multiple choice block

Single or Multiple choice blocks are defined by your system administrator. A pop up window will be displayed after tapping on the “Edit” button. You can unselect items as long as the observation is still editable in the app (has blue color in the observation list)

Geolocation

A geolocation input can always be recognized by the 'select location' button. If the phone is able to get a GPS location, your current location is displayed. This location can be moved by dragging the pointer towards another location.

"My Findings" module

The module "My Findings" allows the user to create any element and add information to it by filling in a registration form linked to this element. While the module "My Checks" prompts the user to add information to objects defined by the system administrator as part of the scheduled check procedure, the opposite is possible for "My Findings". It allows the user to add information to any object, outside this procedure.

From the homepage, access the "My Findings" module.

Please note, to return to the previous screen tap the native arrow of your Android device or the neanex icon in the top left corner of the screen (encircled in red in the screenshot).

Select in the following screen the appropriate topic to which you want to add an observation.
As this list is customizable, some topics may not be displayed or some others may be added. Any element in Relatics can be created as a Finding in the mobile app.

The rest of the process is similar to the "My Checks" module, once a topic (iPost, Alteration,...) is selected you can add observations, fill in the form then upload the data to Relatics by synchronizing your device.

Data Backup

It is possible to backup the data physically stored on your mobile device and to upload it manually on the project database (for an automatic upload, use the "Synchronize" button).

On the app homepage, tap the options button (three dots icon) and select "Generate Files".

This operation will create the necessary files to upload the data manually to the project database. You can find these files on your mobile device in:

[storage] > Documents > Neanex > Synchronization.

In the "synchronisation" folder you will find:

observations.xml: This file contains a list of all ongoing observations that are currently stored on your device. This is necessary to avoid collisions when synchronizing with the database.
For each observation there is a set of 2 files with the observation GUID in it's name:
1. [GUID].xml or [GUID].zip: This file contains the observation that will be created in the database. Depending on whether the observation contains images or not this is either a zip or xml file.
2. [GUID]_values.xml: This file contains the answer values for the observation.

In case of problems in the sync process please copy the synchronization folder and send it to your system administrator. From that moment on please follow the advice of your system administrator and do not continue with your verification process until the issues are resolved.

Best practices using neanex iBIM mobile connector

Before updating the app to a new version/release please synchronize your data with the server.
When synchronizing please keep the device in the same position, it will improve the stability of the process.
When working with the app on site please remember to save your observations (“floppy disk” icon in the top right corner) before leaving the screen.
Please do not upload more than 10 images per 1 image building block and keep the total amount of images as low as possible. When synchronizing the images are resized and zipped to be sent to Relatics and Relatics needs to unzip and import each of those elements. The more images you add the slower the sync process will be. In summary add only the necessary images to complete your work and not more than that. If the amount of images is too large to be processed by Relatics or locally on the mobile device, this might result in data loss.
It is really important that the verification process on the Relatics side follows the same rhythm than the one the executor/worker on field has with the app. If the Observations are approved/disapproved on a daily basis then the speed of the app in the sync process will improve.
Additionally, do not share the same account between different users. This means that the data of all the different users has to be synchronized and loaded in the memory of your mobile device. The size of the data will grow substantially and might become too big to be processed. This can result in data loss.
Keep a good communication with your system administrator. Changes on the Relatics side (new registration forms or changes in existing ones, new methods, etc.) will be reflected in the app. If you are aware of those changes your workflow will improve considerably. Note that Relatics data has priority in the sync process.
In case of blocking issues when synchronizing your data, send your data backup to your system administrator and follow his instructions from that moment on.