Posts Tagged ‘safety inspection’

« Older Entries

Food Safety Data is Online – Louisiana is Ahead of the Curve

Wednesday, August 10th, 2011

Restaurant InspectionIt seems that online, publicly available safety inspection data is a hot topic on our blog lately.  I originally wrote on the topic related to amusement park safety data, and then Somen had a great post yesterday on infrastructure and bridge inspections in Montreal.  This is such a hot topic, we have even coined a term for this: “safety transparency”.  Well, I don’t like to be one to beat a topic to death but I could not resist writing about Louisiana’s forward thinking with regards to food safety and restaurant inspections.

The website that is managed by the Department of Health and Hospital launched this week (www.eatsafe.la.gov) and it provides inspection information on everything from hospitals to grocery stores and restaurants.  Basically, if they serve food in Louisiana, there will be information on this website.  I tried out the site very quickly and found it to be intuitive and extremely simple to use.  You basically type in the name of the restaurant and are instantly able to view inspection results.  Field ID team members have a long standing tradition of eating crawfish and BBQ when we visit Louisiana.  Since I don’t know any restaurants by name, I simply typed in “BBQ” and sure enough I received some results.  Amazing.

Food InspectionsThe website boasts some impressive stats:

“There are nearly 34,000 food establishments that have permits in the state of Louisiana. Of the food establishments that have permits in Louisiana, there are:
- 16,747 Restaurants
- 7,140 Markets
- 4,854 Lounges/bars
- 1,077 Meat markets
- 518 Seafood Markets
- 2,351 Daycare and Residential Food Preparation
- 690 Bakeries
- 400 Mobile Food Vendors
- 220 Seasonal/Temporary Permits”

I can guarantee that with restaurants knowing this information is available online their food safety practices will improve.  I will certainly be using this site the next time I am headed out for a crawfish boil or plate of brisket in one of my favorite places to eat, Louisiana.

Tags: , , , , , , ,
Posted in Inspection Management, Inspection Software, Quality Control, Safety Compliance, Safety Management | No Comments »

Public Safety Inspection Records for Amusement Parks – Should they be Mandatory?

Friday, July 22nd, 2011

Roller Coaster SafetyOn July 10th there was a tragic accident at a Darien Lake Theme Park where an Iraq war veteran was fatally thrown from a steel roller coaster.  As a result of this accident many are calling for publicly available safety inspection records of amusement parks.  Since that accident, a local news agency has attempted to obtain safety inspection records for the ride.

Making safety inspections available online to the public would most certainly ensure that these inspections are never missed.  It may seem like some extra work, but if this process is automated every inspection can be recorded much quicker than with pen and paper.

There are other examples of publicly available safety records and I think it offers massive benefits to consumer confidence and public safety.  The City of Toronto has an excellent example of how public safety inspection records can work with their beach water quality reports.  The city tests our beaches every single day (in the summer months) and posts the results on their website.  I am confident in getting into the water on Toronto beaches because of these records.  These safety inspections directly improve Toronto tourism and can have a direct impact on the revenue for the city.

Tags: , , , , , ,
Posted in Inspection Software, Safety Compliance | 1 Comment »

Intrinsically Safe Devices and how they Increase Safety

Wednesday, July 13th, 2011

Intrinsically Safe Logo

In field service a rugged mobile device is a key investment. But what if your environment is hazardous? What then? To meet this need there are devices that meet standards to prevent combustion.  These devices are termed as Intrinsically Safe. What this means is that these devices are especially designed and tested to ensure they do not initiate an explosion due to arcing contacts or high surface temperature of equipment.

The most common classification that intrinsically devices in North America fall into are Class 1 Div 1 and Class 2 Div 2. Devices in these classes are protected against causing ignition in an environment where ignitable gases, vapors or liquids are present.

As you might have guessed, intrinsically safe devices are going to cost you more, but you can’t put a price on safety. We have a lot of Field ID users using intrinsically safe devices to conduct audits and safety inspections in sensitive locations such as nuclear facilities and offshore oil rigs.  There are some devices that are built specifically for this purpose like the i.roc.  There are some manufacturers that will take an existing device (like the Motorola MC75A) and make it intrinsically safe.

No matter what your operating environment is there is a device available for you to use for your mobile inspections.

Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

Happy Canada Day and Independence Day!

Monday, July 4th, 2011

Well the summer is upon us and long weekends are here. On Friday, July 1st Canada had its Canada Day holiday. A little history on Canada Day:

Frequently referred to as “Canada’s birthday”, particularly in the popular press, the occasion marks the joining of the British North American colonies of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and the Province of Canada into a federation of four provinces (the Province of Canada being divided, in the process, into Ontario and Quebec) on July 1, 1867. Canada became a kingdom in its own right on that date, but the British Parliament kept limited rights of political control over the new country that were shed by stages over the years until the last vestiges were surrendered in 1982 when the Constitution Act patriated the Canadian constitution.

Today, is Independence Day in the United States. A little history on Independence Day:

Independence Day, commonly known as the Fourth of July, is a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, declaring independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain. Independence Day is commonly associated with fireworks, parades, barbecues, carnivals, fairs, picnics, concerts, baseball games, family reunions, political speeches and ceremonies, in addition to various other public and private events celebrating the history, government, and traditions of the United States. Independence Day is the national day of the United States.

As always Field ID is open for business. Our support team is ready to take your calls and we are hard at work testing our next Field ID release coming out in 2 weeks. We hope everyone has a safe and enjoyable long weekend whatever you happen to be doing.

Source: http://www.wikipedia.org/

Tags: , ,
Posted in Events, Inspection Software, Safety Compliance | No Comments »

Field ID Knowledge Base

Wednesday, May 11th, 2011

Many of you probably don’t know but we have a knowledge base with common answers to your questions about Field ID. Granted, up until now we haven’t had a ton of articles in there. However, with the recent addition of Tariq and Corey to the customer success team has meant that we now have time to get a ton of articles in there.

To view the knowledge base , click here.

Field ID Knowledge Base

Field ID Knowledge Base

Shortly the knowledge base will boast a series or articles addressing everything from how long until my handheld is delivered to what are Asset Type Groups. The nice thing about the knowledge base is that if you submit a ticket through our support system it will suggest articles that match your inquiry – as you type!  Our hope is that one of them will help you out.

Over the next week we are working hard to get more articles in there by reviewing old support tickets and entering any common questions or problems users have had.

Looking for something that isn’t in the knowledge base? Let’s us know!

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in Inspection Software | No Comments »

« Older Entries