How XDS Fire delivers inspection reports before leaving site

XDS Fire is a US special hazards firm that designs and installs engineered fire protection systems for data centers, telecom facilities, battery enclosures and other mission-critical sites. We sat down with Founder Chris Van Der Stokker and the team, to hear how Uptick supports their service and inspection work.

Putting the best people on service

Based in Colorado, XDS is known for its patented XDS-1230, an extended discharge clean agent system. "At this point in XDS's growth, we're starting to do classic, traditional special hazards on top of the extended discharge," says Founder Chris Van Der Stokker.

As the business grows, service is where Chris puts his strongest team. "A lot of companies utilize service teams as a way to train their technicians. We have always approached it differently," he explains. "We utilize our best people in the service department, because they are the link to the customer on an ongoing basis. One of the most important things you have to bring to the table with a good service department is not only the very best technicians, but the very best reporting software."

Consistency, year over year

"One of the biggest challenges is consistency of inspections, being able to return to a site and do a quality service," says Chris. "If you don't have access to the former service reports, or you don't have good transfer paper to paper year over year, you get reduced quality in your service and your inspections. That's the number one thing that has to be provided in our industry."

The right software keeps that history with the site. "The number one thing that you get is enhanced record keeping. It's digitized and it's transferable year over year," he says. "If you don't have the same technician going, or maybe even the customer doesn't remember exactly where everything is, a properly prepared, digitized report gives you that year-over-year consistency."

Built for the technician

On site, the software should never get in the way. "When you're doing inspections, your focus needs to be on the fire system itself and the job at hand," says Chris.

"If the software or the user interface gets in the way, it takes away from the service and inspection. We were very impressed with Uptick and the way it interfaces for the technician. The ease of use of the software and the accuracy, they just elevate the quality of the entire service and inspection experience for the technician."

Technician Max Van Der Stokker agrees: "Having an app that's not easy to use sucks. It's horrible to try and navigate. A good user interface is super important to being able to understand the information that's being transferred to me."

Project Manager Tray Reid values the range of options in Uptick's forms too. "Whether it's hydro testing, or semiannual or annual inspections, we have the ability to go in and select those options for a customer, and display it in a nice, easy-to-read format for them. And they seem to love it."

Same-day reports and invoices

Uptick also connects the field to the office in real time. "That instant connectivity back to the admin in the office is another excellent feature," says Chris. "It allows us, if we choose, to submit same-day reports and same-day invoicing. Those are things you simply cannot do without digitization. That capability may exist within other platforms, but what we have found is a unique ability for real-time connectivity between the office and the admin personnel."

Customers see the benefit before the team even leaves. "Being able to supply the customer with an inspection report, before leaving the job site is critical in this industry," says Project Manager Nathaniel Brueske. "When the customer immediately sees any defects, they're immediately going to be able to schedule the repairs. It's just a much more clean, linear solution."

For Accounting Admin Liz Van Der Stokker, meanwhile, the highlight is the finance link: "My favorite thing about the Uptick software is how it seamlessly integrates with our financial software."

A team that listens

"As we've gotten to know Uptick better, one of the most impressive things is that the team is dedicated to providing ongoing new features," says Chris.

"The ability for us to provide feedback to the development team is excellent, because our concerns are listened to. Some of the things we needed quickly at the beginning of using Uptick, we already have in place. We're not the only company that needs those things, and we understand there's a process to bring those to the table. But we've been really impressed with how quickly Uptick listens to those concerns and turns them into marketable features for us."