Why Paper Inspection Forms Fail on Mine Sites
It's not that paper is a bad idea — it's that it breaks down in exactly the conditions field inspections happen in.
Forms get lost, damaged, or left in a vehicle
A paper form only exists in one place. If it's left on a dashboard, gets wet, or goes missing between the site and the office, the inspection it recorded might as well not have happened.
Handwriting isn't always readable later
A form filled in quickly, in the field, in bad light or bad weather, is often difficult to read back — and the person who wrote it may not remember the details a week later.
There's a delay between the check and the record reaching anyone
By the time a paper form physically reaches an office, gets filed, and is actually looked at, whatever it flagged may have already gotten worse.
There's no searchable history
Finding out when a specific piece of equipment was last inspected usually means physically going through a folder or a filing cabinet — if the form was filed at all.
There's no photo evidence attached
A written description of a fault is far weaker evidence than a photo taken at the time — and paper forms rarely have anywhere to attach one.