What is a Remote Virtual Inspection
“Remote Virtual Inspections (RVI) are a method of inspection that allows the needed inspections to proceed in a timely manner by the owner or contractor located on the Jobsite and the inspector or inspection teams performing the inspection remotely,” as described by the International Code Council (ICC).
The implementation of remote virtual inspections can greatly save jurisdictions time and money as there is no longer a need for inspectors to travel to and from job sites.
A clear understanding of the requirements for remote inspections and regular communication throughout the process by all parties involved is of utter importance to conduct a successful inspection.
Types of Inspections
- Products & Services
- Safety Inspection: A safety inspection is a documented or formalized procedure that is often carried out by a safety specialist to identify potential hazards.
There are many types of safety inspections. Some examples would be to check vehicle safety, inspect industrial plants, and identify hazards in office buildings.
Most safety inspections involve a checklist, which helps inspectors thoroughly assess each area or potential hazard and pinpoint specific instances that may cause safety issues. - Quality Control: To make sure there is no compromise with the quality of the product being delivered, conducting quality control inspections before, during, and after production is the key to consistency in product quality.
Using a quality control checklist could be very helpful. These checklists refer to a document that outlines quality requirements and specifications in a clear and concise manner for your supplier or installers.
- Site Inspections
- Worksite Inspection: Site inspection verifies the quality, compliance, and safety of a worksite. This can apply to construction sites, factory machinery, etc.
- Home Inspection: Before agreeing to purchase a new home, it is crucial for a homeowner to have an inspector verifying that the home is safe to live in.
Benefits of Inspected Virtual Inspection Software
- Simple Interface: Ability to implement inspection stages, categories, and comments.
- Inspection Scheduling: Dynamic scheduling of video inspections.
- Geotag: Authenticate and integrate permit information to the property address and location.
- Cloud-based: Recording capabilities securely stored in the cloud.
- Auto-Generated Reports: Ability to populate reports on the previous inspections including status, notes, comments, and images.
- Search History: Recall previous inspection results for all inspections including partial and re-inspections.
- Flexibility: Two Versions with a variety of features to meet your needs.
- Real-Time Support: Inspected provides real-time monitoring for troubleshooting.
Video Conferencing Tools to conduct Inspections
Many have attempted to use a variety of products for conducting virtual inspections such as to complete live walkthrough inspections without physically being on the property. These video conferencing tools are being utilized for inspections as companies and jurisdictions are becoming more familiar and adaptive to the idea of Virtual Inspections.
However, video conferencing tools do not provide users with features to properly conduct virtual inspections through standards and best practices. They do not have the capability to capture shared notes. This is an important feature as the inspector often has to provide evidence to parties that were not a part of the actual inspection process such as the regulators or customers. Another issue that could arise is the ability to assign individual user rights/access. The documentation process of the inspection is simply not available and processes become complicated when using such tools as opposed to performing inspections with a dedicated platform such as inspection software.