The inspection plan is an essential part of today’s property manager or building owner’s maintenance agenda. Creating and following a plan helps sustain a healthy and attractive property while maintenance projects become more predictable and tenant satisfaction, retention, and attraction all can improve.
“It’s easy to think the most critical success factor in inspections is construction expertise,” says Teddy Williams, Western Specialty Contractors Content Marketing Manager. “But even folks who don’t primarily think of themselves as technical can build an active inspection program — if they have the right strategy and know how to make it work.”
Property inspections can be expensive and time-consuming, but they don’t have to be.
Planning, combined with the right professional advice, is what makes the difference. The most critical maintenance skill property managers can develop is strategy — a skill that can be gained by anyone who seeks the right advice.
Creating an inspection plan begins by asking what building components are going to be inspected. Figuring out what to inspect is easy if a building component inventory has already been created for the property.
It’s also important to determine what information property managers want to get from their inspections. At a minimum, the result will be a report on the current condition of each component which can be used as a baseline for future maintenance. Inspectors can record a condition rating for each component along with written descriptions about the condition and pictures for the record. Western Specialty Contractors advises owners and managers to take their time during this phase to look for opportunities to take the guesswork out of inspections.
The resulting inspections should be highly effective, because they ensure those responsible for the building get the right data. Inspections also will be more cost efficient and simpler and quicker to do when following a plan.
Once the components to inspect and the information to record has been determined, the appropriate inspectors can be identified. Two general options are in-house maintenance staff and outside specialists, such as a contractor or consultant.
For example, to assess a building’s structural integrity, a structural engineer would be the appropriate choice. Other situations aren’t as obvious. Owners and managers should consider whether their in-house maintenance staff has the expertise to determine the root causes of building deficiencies. Can they identify problems and why those problems are happening or do they need the help of an outside expert to help solve building problems and limit ownership liability?
For assistance in creating an effective property inspection plan, contact the Western Specialty Contractors branch location nearest you: https://www.westernspecialtycontractors.com/western-locations/. For more information on building inspections, check out Western’s latest newsletter: www.westernspecialtycontractors.com/newsletter-1/.
Family-owned and operated for more than 100 years, Western Specialty Contractors is the nation’s largest specialty contractor in masonry and concrete restoration, waterproofing and specialty roofing. For more information about Western Specialty Contractors, visit www.westernspecialtycontractors.com.