Work Order: Defect Management Software

Published 25/02/2024

Defect Management Software: Setup, Design and Tips

The challenging thing with construction projects is conducting analysis and identifying the causes of risks. Hazards, incidents, injuries, and near misses in work sites are real and unavoidable when corrective measures are not employed to track what causes hazards. When the right defect detection tool is used at the right workplace, misfortunes are tracked and recorded in real-time. Defect management software is used to monitor risks in a construction site; what are these defects?

Construction site defects are errors in a building under construction that arise due to a shoddy workforce or building constructed in a rush. These errors include; wet painting, leaking plumbing, wet floor, steep staircase, hanging electric wires, and fire extinguishers mounted low for children to access. When these defects are tracked before the building is commissioned for official use, the contractor corrects the defects.

Maintenance of defects takes the minimum time but should be done with maximum care to avoid triggering the building. Prominent business merchants have already implemented defects detection systems like time trackers and laser scanners. When classifying defects, it does not matter whether they are major or minor, caused by human error or design flaws. See more on a best practice setup.

View Defect Management Examples

Steps to manage defects

Defects are corrected upon detection, and the contractor assumes responsibility since a building with errors cannot be put into use. It is against the law to endanger lives and structures, so the owner must notify the contractor in case of a defect. Here are the steps for managing defects once detected.

1: Vacate the workstation or construction site with defects.

The owner will advise the occupants of the workstation or the workers on the site to vacate immediately to avoid misfortunes. The owner records the time and dates the defect has been detected, the location, occupants, and defect to prepare a report. In some cases, the legal team is conducted to assess the extent of damage, determine the time it should take for the defect to be corrected, and calculate the compensation for loss of use of the building.

2: Notify the contractor

The owner has to notify the contractor about the defect, send details, and schedule maintenance dates. The owner has to discuss the defect with the contractor to know the kind of workers to assign the task to.

3: Defect rectification

During the defect correction, the contractor assesses the defect and figures out who might have caused the defect. Many stakeholders, subcontractors, and suppliers are involved in the contract during construction. If the supplier supplies low-quality materials, the supplier becomes accountable for the defect. If a subcontractor, let's say, the one who installed wiring caused errors; becomes responsible for the defect. At this stage, the owner is not involved in determining who was assigned to do what and when.

4: Report generation

When the defect is corrected, the owner writes a report for future reference and serves the legal department in charge of construction with a copy in case a major defect happens, and human life is affected.

Importance of Defect Management Software

Defect Management is important for workplaces in managing and reporting defects because it helps to ensure that defects are detected and addressed as quickly as possible, minimizing the risk of further damage or disruption to operations. It also helps to ensure that the root cause of the defect is identified, addressed, and documented in order to prevent similar issues from occurring in the future. Defect Management also helps to create an audit trail of the defect and its resolution, allowing the company to track and analyze the issue in order to improve processes and performance. Defect Management also helps to ensure that the appropriate personnel are notified when issues arise and that corrective actions are taken in a timely manner.

This leads to:

- Improved transparency

The registry of defects records all defects within the warranty time agreed upon by the owner and the contractor. The registry also documents all defects, the time they were recorded, location, eyewitnesses who occupied the building or construction site at the time of realization, and action is taken. This registry improves the transparency of transactions between the owner and the contractor.

- Prevent incidents

Incidents and hazards occur when defects are ignored. Defect detection software in a building or construction site helps reduce the number of incidents recorded since some defects can be so minor for regular people to notice.

- Better contractor management

The contractor can have several subcontractors and suppliers within a single construction site. Since all blame from the owner is channeled to the main contractor, he should ensure all project stakeholders have delivered as required. This is only possible when defect management software is implemented.

Instead of blaming stakeholders at the end of a project, contractors should implement defect detection systems to monitor and correct defects as the construction progresses. It may be expensive to install detection sensors, but the results are worth the cost.

View a sample Defect Management Form structure

See: Defect Management Form

Sample Registry

Example form for construction: Defect Inspection Form

Commonly used tools for defect management:

- Work Request form
- Work Order Software
- Maintenance Management
- Preventative Maintenance

What to include?

Commonly a defect management system includes several features to allow for efficient and effective defect management such as:

- Defect Tracking: The ability to track and document the progress of defects from the initial identification to resolution.

- Reporting and Analytics: The ability to generate reports and analyze data related to defect management.

- Issue Management: The ability to manage and prioritize issues, assign tasks, and coordinate resolution.

- Workflow Automation: The ability to automate workflows to minimize manual effort and expedite defect resolution.

- Collaboration: The ability to facilitate collaboration and communication between stakeholders.

- Security: The ability to ensure data security and integrity.

- Integration: The ability to integrate with other software and systems.

Defect management helps to identify, prioritize, and resolve defects in a timely manner. It also helps to ensure that any issues found in the code are fixed before they lead to bigger problems. Additionally, defect management helps to optimize the process of development and maintenance, and helps to ensure that the software is of high quality.

Defect Reports in Project Management

Defect reporting is an important part of project management. It involves the tracking and reporting of any issues also known as defects that are discovered during the development process. Defects are commonly reported by project team members, customers, or other stakeholders and should be tracked and addressed in a timely manner. Defect reporting might include a description of the defect, its category such as functional, performance, its severity, and any other relevant details. The defect should then be assigned to an appropriate team member for resolution. The team should then work together to identify a solution, test it, and implement it. Finally, the defect should be tracked and reported to the appropriate stakeholders.

View Defect Report Templates, Forms and Registry

Common fields in a Defect Report form

Defect reports might vary organisation to organisation and project to project but here are some common fields to include:

1: Summary: A brief description of the issue
2: Product: The product or application name
3: Component/Module: The component or module associated with the issue
4: Version: The version of the product or application
5: Operating System: The operating system on which the issue is occurring
6: Environment: The environment in which the issue is occurring, e.g. production, development, test
7: Severity: The severity of the issue, e.g. critical, major, minor, etc
8: Priority: The priority of the issue, e.g. high, medium, low
9: Steps to Reproduce: The steps taken to reproduce the issue
10: Expected Results: The expected results of the steps taken
11: Actual Results: The actual results of the steps taken
12: Attachments: Any supporting documents or images related to the issue
13: Assigned To: The person assigned to address the issue
14: Status: The status of the issue, e.g. open, closed, in progress, etc
15: Resolution: The resolution of the issue, e.g. fixed