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The Problem With Inspectors

I wish that there was a way to demonstrate the true state of building inspection here in Southern California. It is just a mess. After I retired from LA County Building Safety I went to work for a 3rd party inspection company. I have done a stint in seven cities...from a day to several weeks...and oh my what a travesty that has been. They shouldn't send their inspectors to do anything other than fetch coffee.

You might think that I am a jerk that enjoys trashing building departments... and then discount what I have to say. I can tell you that former supervisors have told me that I set the bar too high. That suits me. They set the bar way too low. Their problem is that they don't know any better... and neither do any of the their constituents.

With everybody in the dark, nobody recognizes a failure to perform. That makes for a happy community. Given that houses aren't burning down, people aren't being electrocuted or asphyxiated what is wrong with the status quo? I don't have an answer for that other than to say that it wasn't always like this.

The shift from code compliance to stellar customer service has eroded respect for building inspectors. We are expected to leave them with a smile no matter what it takes.
 
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ICE said:
I wish that there was a way to demonstrate the true state of building inspection here in Southern California. It is just a mess. After I retired from LA County Building Safety I went to work for a 3rd party inspection company. I have done a stint in seven cities...from a day to several weeks...and oh my what a travesty that has been. They shouldn't send their inspectors to do anything other than fetch coffee.

You might think that I am a jerk that enjoys trashing building departments... and then discount what I have to say. I can tell you that former supervisors have told me that I set the bar too high. That suits me. They set the bar way too low. Their problem is that they don't know any better... and neither do any of the their constituents.

With everybody in the dark, nobody recognizes a failure to perform. That makes for a happy community. Given that houses aren't burning down, people aren't being electrocuted or asphyxiated what is wrong with the status quo. I don't have an answer for that other than to say that it wasn't always like this.

The shift from code compliance to stellar customer service has eroded respect for building inspectors. We are expected to leave them with a smile no matter what it takes.
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How do you take your coffee?
 
I'll be the first to admit I never caught everything, and one of y'all could easily have come behind me and found fault. But I tried my best, as I do today. Too many are just punching clocks now and trying your best seems to be lost. But I will offer my opinion that "back in the day" we didn't have near as much waffling going on from above, or near as much code to decipher, without near as many experts parsing every word written in the books, and without near as many minutes to conduct an inspection. Absolutely not making excuses, just observing other ways the industry has changed.
 
As an architect in the private sector, I welcome inspectors who are thorough. Excellent customer service does not mean overlooking code problems. I welcome a diligent inspector and will tell my clients to never "go political" to the city council or city manager just because an inspector is enforcing code.

Excellent inspection service means:
  1. Providing the code reference when you cite something as noncompliant with code. (I'd say at least a third of the corrections brought to my attention simply disappear when I ask for a code citation.)
  2. Not playing games. Last year I had an inspector refuse to sign off a hotel swimming pool because of a "code violation" that he would not name. I just happened to be on-premises while he was making the owner guess the violation. I walked over and removed the paint can that was propping the gate open so that the furniture movers could install chairs and lounges. He then signed off the pool.
  3. Offering some flexibility with the paperwork - -specifically, accepting an RFI response with the DPOR's stamp on simple issues rather than requiring plan check resubmittal.
 
Yikes said:
Excellent customer service does not mean overlooking code problems.
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For the last ten years the slide to code complacency has achieved momentum. The push comes from a desire for workload relief. The less an inspector pays attention to details, the less interaction management has with customers and upper management.
 
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ICE said:
For the last ten years the slide to code complacency has achieved momentum. The push comes from a desire for workload relief. The less an inspector pays attention to details, the less interaction management has with customers and upper management.
Click to expand...
This is unfortunately true with third-party inspection companies and municipalities with lazy, complacent, or agenda-driven management. Often, the perception of potential problems fabricated in the mind of the inspector drives the level of performance too. Then there are professionals who put safety and quality first, regardless of perceived outcomes, hold the line, deal with upper management tactfully, and protect themselves and their departments under the scope of the law. I truly believe that 99% of complacent, compromised inspectors have a perception that does not match reality and use the fear they created in their heads as an excuse to intentionally drop the ball on the job. If you always do what's right, you can't go wrong. Some just lack the intestinal fortitude to live by that saying and continue to live in their own preconceived reality. Maybe excuses have replaced the elusive word integrity.
 
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