E-Control BV: From Binding Machine to Inspection Workflow

The move to Incontrol

"High standards in inspection have always been our baseline. Now we uphold that standard across the entire flow, so our clients can see what's happening and trust that it's taken care of." – Rob Bosch, Manager Inspection and Advisory Bureau E-Control BV.

In the E-Control office, there's a binding machine. It's no longer in use, but Rob Bosch hasn't thrown it away either. It's a reminder of how inspections used to work: typing up deviations, compiling reports, printing, binding and sending them by registered post.

A full day of inspecting in the field meant half a day of reporting back at the office. The four-eyes principle was enforced on paper: one inspector carries out the inspection, another reviews it. That diligence has always been a hallmark of E-Control. In 2011, E-Control made the move to digital. PDFs replaced the binders. The inspection process became more efficient, volume grew. Contracts with major clients followed — 400 inspections a year for a.s.r., even back then.

The move to Incontrol

In 2024, E-Control made the switch to Incontrol. The immediate reason was straightforward: the ability to plot measurement values digitally on floor plans, ensuring full traceability. But for Rob, the decision to go with Incontrol went beyond that single feature.

E-Control was invited to help develop the prototype for pinpointing on digital floor plans — testing, providing feedback, sharpening the product. For an organisation that has operated with a critical eye since its founding, both internally and towards its clients, that role was a natural fit. It's not the attitude of a client that waits and sees. It's the attitude of a professional who knows what works. "Being involved in the thinking helps keep the momentum going," says Rob. His inspectors are pleased with the switch. With the new installation testers, measured values are automatically mapped to the floor plan. On the ground, that means less typing and more focus on the inspection itself.

The four-eyes principle in a digital flow

E-Control has worked with the four-eyes principle for decades. One inspector carries out the inspection, another reviews it. That way of working requires a shared, up-to-date record — not two separate documents that need to be merged afterwards.

With Incontrol, the latest status is always available online. No local storage on iPads that can break or lose data during transfer. Whatever is recorded in the field is immediately visible to the reviewer. The diligence E-Control has always applied is now built into the flow.

FIX: from A to Z

Rob describes Incontrol.FIX as "very smart, from A to Z." The complete flow: inspection, finding, follow-up, proof of remediation. All in one platform.

It took some adjustment, but E-Control is now fully set up around it. The way of working has changed — the standard hasn't. No more loose remediation photos sent by email; photos are now linked directly to the finding. That makes reviewing remediation work significantly more efficient.

Scope 8 & 10 in one report

E-Control works across a range of standards: Scope 8, Scope 10, Scope 12 and NEN 1010. The combined Scope 8 & 10 report — where a single inspection covers both standards in one integrated report — saves considerable time. Processing the report and carrying out the review takes 50% less time.

For NEN 1010 reporting, everything is clear at a glance. No separate components that need to be pulled together afterwards.

Inspections at scale

The inspections E-Control carries out vary considerably in scope. From half a day to projects spanning two or three weeks. And sometimes longer: one colleague has been working at Amsterdam UMC (VUmc location) for years, completing the inspection rounds there annually. Same location, same standard, always a current report. Each visit builds on the last. The history is there, and so is the context.

For long-running projects like these, having the latest status available online is not a luxury — it's the foundation on which the inspection is built.

Proactive partnership as standard

E-Control doesn't just adopt software and move on. Rob and his team maintain a critical eye on the product, and Incontrol expects nothing less. New features are tested, feedback goes straight back to the developers. That keeps the risk low for E-Control: they don't need to tinker with forms and templates themselves. That's Incontrol's job.

The result is a partnership that goes beyond a subscription. And the binding machine has come to stand for more than nostalgia — it shows how far E-Control has come, and how seriously they take every next step.