Machine learning a time-saver for trades

According to simPRO, a leading producer of job management software, machine learning is having a significant impact on the trade service industry due to its ability to decrease the time needed to complete administrative tasks and increase efficiency and workload capacity.

Using past examples of different formats and information, machine learning can suggest the content and context of the new incoming documents and automatically process them. And the more information and examples that flow through the system – with feedback from people indicating whether the interpretation was accurate or not – the better the machine learning algorithms get.

This technology has been incorporated into simPRO’s Data Feed add-on, which uses complex algorithms to draw information from multiple electronic formats, such as PDFs and Excel documents, and correctly apply it to client updates, purchase orders, job requests and work orders. In this way, the system can extract information from sources not integrated with simPRO and accurately allocate it to workflows.

“It is time machine learning received greater notoriety for trade businesses to be better informed,” says simPRO director Curtis Thomson. “It is a step in the right direction towards becoming more productive, streamlined and more successful overall.”