Launch HN: OSIMple (YC W18) – Automating data entry for inspectors

[mikemiller117]

Hi HN,

We’re Amanda Chan and Mike Miller, the cofounders of OSIMple (https://www.osimple.co/). We automate data entry for inspectors by replacing stacks of paper with tablets and by generating completed inspection forms, saving them almost half of their inspection time.

Through conversations with friends and professors in the civil engineering department at our university, we discovered that data entry and report writing can be quite a time sink for bridge inspectors. Bridges need to be inspected regularly but a great deal of inspectors are using pen, paper, and camera on site and manually entering data back at the office. Those who do use software use old, clunky applications that often require persistent internet connection in the field.

We figured we could build something better so we created OSIMple. There are two parts to the software. First is a mobile application that inspectors use to complete their inspections. It essentially digitizes the inspection form and keeps all the photos and notes organized. The second part is a website. Once an inspector finishes an inspection, they upload their data from the mobile app to the website where they may review and edit the inspection data and finally generate a completed inspection form as a PDF.

We started started selling to bridge inspectors and now our software is being used on over 400 bridges. It’s become clear that other types of inspection could benefit from our software as well. So now we’re expanding to include home inspectors. Like bridge inspectors, home inspectors often have nothing or inelegant software to help them complete their job. We aim to change that, for home inspectors and beyond.

Thanks for reading! We’d love to hear feedback from the HN community and any ideas or experiences you've had in this space.

[privacypoller]

Congrats on your launch! There is huge opportunity in the relatively boring fields of digitizing paper-based tasks for established industries. I worked in this field ( mobile data collection & integration for environmental management systems in forestry, oil & gas) for a significant period and the hard part was not the data collection but the unique workflows of each organization. Nobody wants to change "how" they fit the data collection piece into the rest of their processes so you either don't offer it (and create a easily replaceable niche service) or you end up with numerous bespoke customized solutions - what's your plan?

I'd challenge your statement that there's nothing available for some of your biggest potential markets, unless you're talking a more complete lifecycle solution specifically targeting verticals than just the data collection. Also, what's the "automation" component? To me that implies some form of automatic data collection or predictive workflow creation - both which are huge selling points, but hard to pull off.

Finally a key feature that you could consider are the document management aspects around data collection. Even big organizations do this poorly. The ability to accurately group and find related documents (like inspections over time or by project) tends to be missing in data collection. As a user I likely have one or more sets of related documents that fit together based on some component of my workflow that I share with a team, clients regulators and the public in different capacities. The most common solution I see is the network share and an email alias.

Good luck with your venture and enjoy the ride!

[mikemiller117]

Thank you!

Yeah the idea is to replace our customers' current data collection and report writing process with our software. Could you elaborate more on what you mean by "Nobody wants to change "how" they fit the data collection piece into the rest of their processes"?

The automation comes in at the report writing stage. Instead of coming back to the office with a stack of notes and manually entering the data into a report template, the inspector will be able to automatically generate a completed inspection form from the data collected with the mobile application.

Thanks for the suggestion regarding document management functionality, it sounds interesting. Currently users can view previous inspections of a specific structure and all inspections performed by a specific user.

[baby_wipe]

Parsable seems to be dealing with the issue of unique workflows. From what I understand they provide a tool to companies that lets them create their own workflow.

https://www.parsable.com

[handbanana]

Site took a good 5 seconds to load anything. Was just a white screen before that

[rajeevk]

I had the same experience. I thought some problem with my internet connection

[mikemiller117]

Hmm strange. Thanks for the heads up!

[infectoid]

Sounds similar to what SafetyCulture[1] do. It's a great idea and good to see this space opening up.

[1] https://www.safetyculture.com.au/

[wilfriedchung]

Congrats Amanda & Mike! What about plane security inspections? Will from SE ;)

[puneet2x4]

Good job Amanda & Mike, 'tis fair!