We live in the world of big data, where individuals and companies have access to more data than ever before. Your business is not likely to survive without a data collection plan. Naturally, you want your data collection methods to be as efficient as possible so you can get the most useful data in the shortest amount of time and access it easily. Here are some data collection tools that can help.
Data Management Software
When manufacturing began, any data records had to be kept in a big room of file cabinets full of papers that hopefully had some kind of organizational paradigm to it. This system was extremely slow and inefficient. Today, there is no excuse for not digitizing most or all of your records.
It is easier than ever before to keep your important data on a computer or online in the cloud. Today’s data management software not only allows you to easily input any necessary information, but can also analyze this information, allow you to access this information from almost anywhere and control which of your administrators or managers can access which sectors of data.
A few hours of training on a quality data management software program can yield huge dividends. It may also be worthwhile for your business for you to have an IT professional dedicated to running your data management software and interpreting the analysis it yields.
Written Surveys
That being said, there is still a place in the manufacturing workplace for written surveys. While you will ultimately want to digitize the information these surveys generate, for those individuals who are not as computer-savvy, a paper survey they can easily fill out by hand may be a more effective way to collect the information you need.
Interactive Voice Response
Interactive Voice Response systems can combine the best of both worlds when it comes to data collection. These are automated phone surveys that are easy for anyone to use by simply pressing buttons on their phone in response to the questions they hear. At the same time, it is very easy to compile and digitize the information you receive.
Mobile Apps
Mobile apps are becoming a more and more common way to collect data — and they can be very effective. They allow people to report data from almost anywhere they are, so you can get the truest data right in the moment.
Even if you don’t have an internet connection, most mobile apps allow you to store the data in your phone for upload when internet access is available. You can usually add mobile app data seamlessly to your computer network or wherever you store and analyze your data once you have collected it.
By using a combination of traditional techniques and modern technological advances for collecting data, you can streamline your operation and effectively collect data from multiple sources across a wide variety of demographics.