A signature of approval authorizes specified subsequent actions.
In the field of materials testing, by signing a test report the signatory is saying that it is okay to archive and send the test results to stakeholders. In addition to placing the signature on the form, digital signing should do more to make any subsequent authorized tasks as seamless as possible. This means taking advantage of the computer to boost productivity by:
- Eliminating manual handling of the test reports
- Streamlining the process of distributing approved reports to customers
Authorizing Automatic Archiving and Distribution of Test Reports
In a typical manual process, after a reviewer approves and signs a test report, a clerical staff collects the signed original, makes a copy for archive, organizes the copy into a folder and filing cabinet, and then finally faxes or e-mails the report to several stakeholders.
On the other hand, when you sign in BreakTest software, most of the steps in the above resource-guzzling manual process are reduced to a couple of mouse clicks:
Only personnel with proper user rights have the option to sign test reports. Each time a form is signed a PDF is generated with a revision number and time stamp, and the test is added to the the list of tests awaiting distribution.
- An authorized reviewer approves and securely signs a test report in BreakTest with one click
- BreakTest saves a snapshot of the signed report as a PDF in your network file server
- BreakTest’s dashboard indicates to personnel that a signed report is ready for distribution
- An authorized personnel selects all the reports for distribution and clicks once to initiate the process to send to all designated recipients at once.
- The send engine confirms if date of signing is recent (< 2 days), confirms that signed PDF is on the network, checks for recipients' contact info, and then sends or prints the reports as specified for each recipient (i.e. send by email or fax; print for faxing or mailing).
Any errors found are reported at end of the process. - Signed reports can also be automatically uploaded to a web portal from where your clients can access them at their convenience.
To send the reports:
On the dashboard, you can review all signed test reports and distribute them to their corresponding customers.
This sign-to-archive feature of BreakTest software saves hours that are otherwise lost in a manual process of handing reports between staff, sorting, and photocopying; it creates a streamlined process for distributing approved reports to customers.