4 ways to bring social distancing to inspections

Inspections are a fundamental aspect of any construction project. Quality Assurance and Quality Control inspections are critical to preventing and identifying defects and preventing snagging, whilst Health & Safety inspections are essential in identifying and eliminating risks and hazards. Frequent and detailed inspections contribute significantly to the smooth running of a project.

  The changed circumstances of the last few months have altered how inspections are undertaken. Many construction projects were paused as a result of COVID-19, but with work now resuming, social distancing needs to be factored in to Quality Assurance/Quality Control and health & safety inspections. This presents a number of challenges to construction professionals – here are a few of the ways that you can overcome them.

1. Utilise existing measures

In almost every industry sector, a physical return to work has been dependent on social distancing measures being put in place. Before workers have set foot on a site, many employers have implemented one-way systems and markers or physical barriers to separate areas of activity.    Whilst following a set path around a site helps to ensure that distance is maintained, using digital technologies to create a detailed inspection checklist can ensure that all of the risk or problem areas are covered, and establish if the routes need to be changed to account for them.

2. Schedule out-of-hours visits

Staggering shift patterns is one way that project and site managers have addressed the risks of contact on sites. In a similar way, conducting inspections outside of normal working hours can further reduce these risks. Additionally, it helps to minimise any disruption.

This can also be a positive factor where there are confidentiality issues surrounding an inspection. The access control features offered by digital inspections also help in this respect, ensuring that the information gathered during an inspection is only available to those who need to see it.

3. Streamline workflows

Whenever inspections are conducted, it’s more important than ever that they are performed quickly and efficiently. Technologies such as Zutec Field allow for workflows to be customised and refined, to make sure that less time is needed to be spent on site.

Even with construction slowing down or pausing, regulations have continued to emerge and change – again, the modules available in Zutec Field allows for workflows to be quickly changed to factor these in.

4. Virtualise visits

Wherever possible, it is advisable to keep the number of people physically onsite during an inspection to a minimum. Key to doing so is the ability to collaborate effectively with people back at the office, either in real time or after the on-site inspection has been completed. Zutec Field allows both approaches – able to work live in real time, or offline in areas of poor connectivity, synching whenever Wi-Fi or 4G coverage is available.

The importance of inspections is not diminishing, and the ongoing concerns resulting from COVID-19 make efficiency and safety all the more important. Zutec’s Quality Assurance/Quality Control module allows you to easily update photo mark-ups, site diaries and data on snagging and defects. Zutec’s Health and Safety module lets you complete Health & Safety inspections in the field, quickly and safely.

Quality Assurance/Quality Control and Health & Safety are part of the range of modules that make up Zutec Field. Available on both iOS and Android devices, Zutec Field brings efficiency, accuracy and safety to all of your inspections. From snagging and defect management to custom inspection checklists, Zutec Field helps you reduce delays, paperwork and risks.

Contact us to find out how Zutec can help make your inspections safer.