by Joshua Wilken, Business Development Manager
Introduction
Did you know that you conduct inspections every day of your life? Think about it: from the moment you step out of bed every morning (or evening depending on your schedule) you perform some type of inspection. You walk into the bathroom and look in the mirror. You pick out and examine the clothes you are going to wear for the day. You double check that loaf of bread before you make toast just to make sure it isn’t moldy. You double and triple check to make sure your front door is locked before heading to the office (at least in the pre-covid world ?). You are constantly looking around while you drive, bike, walk, or use public transit during your commute. This behavior continues through the entire day – before you sit down, while you drink and eat, when you go to the bathroom, the gym, and so on. It all takes place without you even thinking about the term “inspection.”
Types of inspections
Did you know: an inspection is done anytime you “view closely in critical appraisal, look over, or examine officially.”[1] Inspections can be as simple or as detailed as they need to be. In fact, there are many different types of inspections. As previously demonstrated, inspections take place on a regular basis all throughout our lives and can be called many different things. Here are some of the most common names used to describe inspections – audits, assessments, examinations, checks, checkups, reviews, and inventories.
Every audit, assessment, checkup, examination, review, and inventory are a type of inspection. However, not all inspections are the same. An example of this can be seen in the difference between an assessment and an inventory. An inventory gathers information on what is present or not. Whereas an assessment is used to evaluate the current condition of the item that is present.
Purpose of an inspection
The purpose of an inspection is to bring together specific information. Therefore, the very first thing you should do is ask yourself, “What information do I need gathered?” Your next step is one of two things. One, you go perform the evaluation and collect the information needed. A second option is to add additional items to be looked at during the inspection, and then complete step one (go get the information). You can then determine what you need to do with the information you gathered.
For example, when you walk into the bathroom in the morning (or evening) and look into the mirror you could say a number of things, e.g., “I look good,” “my hair is a mess,” or “these clothes need to be ironed.” Once you have this information, you are then able to act on it: “there is nothing to do,” or “ comb your hair (or throw on a hat if you are like me),” or “take your shirt off and break out the iron and ironing board (or, use Downy wrinkle release spray – a must when traveling)”. Another example of this is when you walk out to your car, you immediately say to yourself, “my car shines,” or “I need to wash my truck.” Then, based on the information you have just gathered, you go wash your vehicle or you don’t.
The point is we all perform inspections every day of our lives without even realizing it. In a business, this is no different. Business aspects get inspected all the time, either by employees or outside service providers. When business inspections are done accurately and with quality, they can add significant value to the firm. The results can lead to improvements in lighting, attractiveness, safety, risk reductions, and legal compliance, just to name a few. It is important that for any business inspections you find a firm that can perform the work consistently, with thorough detail, and in a repeatable fashion (if necessary). You don’t want to accidentally choose a firm that just “throws on a hat.” ?
ABOUT GMR:
Over the past three decades, GMR has become known as the “Industry Best Practice” for helping facilities document existing conditions, prepare for improvements, and minimize risk. We are a diverse supplier, woman-owned and operated firm, specializing in ATM lighting compliance surveys, custom facility inspections, engineered lighting designs, program management, 3D laser scanning, and security consulting. Headquartered in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex, we self-perform over 45,000 inspections and engineered solutions each year nationwide. Just as each client is unique, so are our methodologies and solutions.
[1] “Inspect.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/inspect. Accessed 19 Jan. 2021.