Step up your building inspection game

Building inspections are an essential part of keeping communities safe and compliant with necessary regulations. New technologies have made it possible to improve how building inspections are set up and performed.

The Village of Pemberton, B.C., started using Cloudpermit in the spring of 2021 for modernized building permitting. Since then, the Development Services Department has experienced greater efficiency in its processes and building inspections.

Schedule Inspections Online

It requires a lot of back-and-forth communication to book a building inspection. Residents need to call, email, or visit their building department to find a time that works for them and their inspector. Cloud-based software solves this time-consuming problem.

Cloudpermit provides a very productive environment for our applicants and the village,” said Nikki Segovia, Pemberton’s Building & Planning Clerk. “Now, half of our building inspection requests come in online instead of by phone or email. We also have no need for paper applications anymore since the online process is far more streamlined.”

Perform Remote Inspections

Fieldwork usually requires inspectors to be in the field. But there are opportunities for more flexible ways of working.

We hired two remote building inspectors, and without Cloudpermit, we wouldn’t have been able to do that,” Segovia said. “Every couple of weeks, one of our inspectors conducts on-site inspections. Otherwise, plan reviews, initial consultations, and simple inspections are done remotely with the software.”

Teach and Involve Your Builders

Segovia also stressed the importance of including their building community in the transition.

It was meaningful to us to have our building community on board,” Segovia said. “We hosted a luncheon for our most frequent builders to show them how to use and benefit from our new system. My primary goal of making our application process easier for homeowners and builders has been realized as a result.”

Now, it is easy for residents and builders to stay informed. They are immediately notified via email when the status of their permit or inspection changes. This improves transparency and keeps builders involved online.

Communicate What You Want

Municipalities must collaborate with software providers. This helps influence systems that work to meet their needs.

Our software provider’s team has been receptive to some of the feature requests I’ve made and I’m grateful for their accommodating services,” Segovia said. “Now, I benefit from using new features that were important to our team.”

To learn more, visit cloudpermit.com.

This article was originally published in Municipal World and can be viewed here.