Building updates

From the 2nd of December last year we made some changes to the inspection booking process.

The changes were intended to help pull back inspection wait times to 48 hours maximum.

We have been monitoring and are pleased to see the wait times significantly decreasing.  

We are making another change with respect to final inspections which will be actioned from the 4th of February.

These inspections require more time due to the documentation that needs to be checked. Prior to the 2nd December we required all documentation to be uploaded into the system before you could book a final inspection.

The change we made on December 2nd was to allow the inspection to be booked without having all CCC documents lodged and the inspector would check paper documents on site. This has not gone well and some have been confused both lodging documents as well as bringing paper ones to site.

The feedback from staff is also that the process is taking longer and due to the dual system not efficient as was thought. Most have not changed and are still uploading the required documents to the consent.

Therefore we have decided to revert back to requiring all documentation to be submitted prior to the final inspection as it was prior to 2nd December and this will take effect from the 4th of February. Apologies for the change back but hope you realise we are doing all we can to make the process efficient. We will change what we need to make any improvements.

What if there is delay in getting a document and I still need to book the inspection? We recognise that there can be delays at times with chasing contractors i.e. energy certificates is often the last document to get. We will allow provisional bookings to be made in these cases.  However, please ensure these missing required documents are sent in prior to the day of inspection.

We are putting more resources into reviewing technical CCC documentation that is submitted prior to the final inspection.

This will help speed up the final inspection and certification process. We are currently working to resource and train support staff to be able to do this. The better we get at it the more efficient the CCC process will be. Submitting all your CCC documentation as early as possible before the final inspection will enable it to be reviewed and processed as quickly as possible. It also gives you the opportunity to provide any documentation missing or correct any errors you will be notified of. Imagine the inspector undertaking the final inspection with all documentation having been processed already. Code Compliance Certificate cannot be issued until all required documentation has been provided. Final inspections prior to this do not speed up the process.

This will also free up more inspection time to even further reduce wait times. Help us to help you by managing your jobs well. Get a system in play where consent documentation is sent in as soon as possible to clear it.

There have been issues with people adding to the waiting list and not being ready when called by the inspector. We appreciate one of the reasons this was an issue in the past was due to the extended delay in inspection times. You cannot easily manage inspection times 4-5 days out. But now we are pulling these wait times back, so please do not go on the waiting list unless you know you will be ready. This only slows everything down.

There will be increasing options to get next day inspections and the more efficient we get the more common these will become. The waiting list should only be used if you cannot get the day you need within 48 hours and you must be ready on the day you say you will be.

Inspections of course have to be cancelled from time to time for various reasons. However, they must be cancelled by 2pm the day before since that is the time inspections will be allocated.

If it is not cancelled there is one less inspection done and arrangements have to be made to fill up the inspectors day. This is what the waiting list is used for. The Team Leader and senior cannot waste time calling bookings on the wait list that have stated they will be ready only to be told they are not. This is why we have to charge for inspections that have not been cancelled and are on the waiting list but not ready at the time they said they would be.

If the inspection is cancelled whether booked or on the waiting list before 3pm the day before the inspection there will be no charge and this gives another person the opportunity to get an inspection in its place.

The word fail does not necessarily mean your work is not good. It is a word that is also used to manage required documentation. The most common fails are at foundations when an engineer is required to certify the ground or foundation prep. Also when set out cannot be confirmed at the time of inspection and we need a surveyors certificate, or this is required as noted on the consent by the processor.

Concerning engineers, we are not after a PS4 at this stage but at least engineers site notes to certify the concrete can be poured (PS4 can come later). The inspection must fail and a block on further inspections added until we receive the document. Upload this into the consent (even a photo is fine) and the block will be removed. It protects us all to ensure the right certification has been confirmed. We cannot continue inspections when these documents have not been provided and litigation experience has taught us this.

Whatever your document management system is the sooner you get us these the sooner we will get them reviewed and cleared in preparation leading up to the final inspection.

We can assure you that the procedures we are developing and changes made are intended to help get you to the Code Compliance Certificate as efficiently and as soon as possible.

The efficient management of documentation is a key part of this. Feel free to provide any feedback or suggestions. While we will not be able to please everyone, I can assure you we will be able to explain the reasons why.