BuildingReports Blog

BuildingReports and Edwards United Technologies (EST) are pleased to announce the continuation of the export and import tool launched for the EST3 with the new EST4 panel. With the EST-3 panel, BuildingReports users are able to export a special .brc file from the EST-3 System Definition Utility. Now, with the new EST-4 panel, users can follow a similar process to export a file from the EST-4 software interface to avoid having to manually build a device database in the BuildingReports system.

ScanSeries for Android version 1.2.134 is now available for your Android mobile devices equipped with ScanSeries. The latest version contains numerous feature and functionality additions, bug fixes, improvements and usability enhancements. As a best practice, BuildingReports recommends keeping your device inventory up to date with the latest version of the ScanSeries mobile inspection application.

Here is a summary of the new devices - and updates to existing devices - coming to ScanSeries soon. BuildingReports always recommends keeping your application up to date with the latest version to ensure you have the latest features and functionality, and to keep current with changes to your device's operating system. However, due to the nature of this update you will see the changes automatically with no app store update required.

Building Owner customers of Service Members with SchedulingManager, or the full ManagerSeries suite which includes SchedilingManager, can now view service appointments scheduled for their buildings in the BuildingReports portal. This latest update also impacts the BRMobile application for mobile devices. The list of specific changes and impacts are as follows:

BuildingReports has released a few other updates in addition to two aforementioned feature launches. ScanSeries for iOS (v2.27.68) included several improvements and enhancements, and you may have already noticed some changes to the web portal user interface as well. The next update for ScanSeries for Android will be announced later this year.

Service Members who subscribe to DocDrive, a web service that enables the storage and sharing of any document in any file format in the BuildingReports portal, now have access automatically enabled for the new interactive floor plan feature. Accounts with floor plans allow for the upload of building floor plan images so that inspectors can use icons to denote the physical location of a device being inspected. Icons are color-coded to indicate the status of each devices.

As August 13^th draws closer, U.S. federal agencies are still attempting to comply with Congress’s ban passed last year which takes effect on that date. Recently, two prominent security camera manufacturers have been identified as having vulnerabilities that can allow unauthorized parties to gain administrative access over the devices. Other manufacturers and devices are also named in the US Department of Homeland Security's Industrial Control Systems Cyber Emergency Response Team advisory and subsequent legislation that effectively banned their use by Federal agencies on that date:

Click on the infographic below to see how perceptions align and differ between service companies and facility management professionals, including the growing use of technology in service delivery and customer satisfaction.

The latest update of BuildingReports ScanSeries for both Android and iOS includes a host of updates to devices and fields associated with existing devices. While this post does not include every update in the latest release, we've selected some of the highlights to share with you in this post.

BuildingReports recommends keeping your ScanSeries app up to date with the latest release. Android users should update to version 1.1.358, while iOS users should update to version 2.25.8 in order to remain current.

Unlike the critical update for ScanSeries for Android discussed in this blog, the new update has no specific user targeted changes or improvements. But, just as with ScanSeries 1.1.344, this update is required for Symbol TC55 and Janam XM5 compatibility with the upcoming server changes.