Ventiv Technology

ONE OF THE IMPORTANT NEW FEATURES OF THE JUST-RELEASED UPDATE TO RISKCONSOLE, THE BIGGEST EVER TO THE VENTIV TECHNOLOGY RISK MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEM, IS A BRAND-NEW UNIVERSAL INTAKE TOOL. We spoke with Mark LeVeque, a manager in the Ventiv Global Product Management and Engineering group, about how the Product team built the new intake tool and why effective data intake is important for risk, safety and claims managers. An intake tool is, basically, an electronic, online entry form that's built specifically for data entry—in the case of our tool, data entry by end users in the field. We use the term "universal" because we've designed this intake tool to enable organizations to record virtually anything that needs to be collected from the field, including incidents and claims, renewal information, safety audits and surveys, environmental incidents, and regulatory violations or visits by regulators. WHAT EXACTLY IS A "UNIVERSAL INTAKE TOOL"? A good intake tool will make it as easy as possible for the end user to enter data into the online form. At the same time, a good intake tool will ensure that all the necessary data is collected and is accurate. When it comes to ease of use, it's important to remember that end users don't complete these online forms very often. You want them to be able to report the information quickly and easily so they can get right back to their daily routine. If it's a claim or incident, you hope that a field user goes months or even years without needing to report something. If it's renewal-data gathering, that's often an annual process. A good intake tool will present the end user with forms that are easy to read and navigate. It will also provide instructions and relevant inform- ation wherever is necessary. When it comes to collecting all necessary data and ensuring accuracy, a good intake tool needs to be dynamic. By dynamic, I mean that the form changes based on the answers provided by end users. For example, if a sequence of answers indicates that an incident may be OSHA recordable, then the logic built into the intake tool should dynamically ask the end user to provide all information required by OSHA regulations. WHAT ARE THE MAJOR PRIORITIES IN DESIGNING A NEW INTAKE TOOL? Above all, we relied on more than ten years of experience in working with clients on their risk, safety and claims needs. We tried to apply everything we've learned from our clients about their needs and what would work best for them. WHAT WAS YOUR TEAM'S INSPIRATION OR SOURCE OF DIRECTION WHEN BUILDING THE NEW VENTIV UNIVERSAL INTAKE TOOL?

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