Few in the building and construction sector – or Kiwis building a house – would argue against making the inspection and consenting process faster, more consistent and cheaper. The government’s announcement earlier this year shone a spotlight on the role technology will need to play in making that happen.
Remote inspection technologies currently in use in Aotearoa New Zealand range from video-facilitated tools, where a builder points a phone camera at building works on site and an inspector from a building consent authority (BCA) conducts a normal inspection from afar, to comprehensive evidence-based quality assurance tools that create a permanent record of work.
Gold standard
BRANZ’s free app Artisan is considered by many in the sector to be the gold standard in the latter group – with
advantages that go well beyond improved productivity.
Artisan is installed on a builder’s phone or other smart device. The builder then uses that device to photograph building works as they progress. Artisan provides instructions on exactly what needs to be photographed and when, then enables the photos to be submitted to the BCA for inspection.
Using the Artisan web portal, the BCA inspector views the photos and inspects the work. The inspector uses Artisan to either approve the work or send advice back to the builder, in real time, on how to achieve the required standard.
It’s a simple concept with multiple benefits.
Artisan eliminates the need for inspectors to travel, which can significantly increase the number of inspections completed in a day. It also lowers costs for BCAs and reduces their carbon footprint by getting vehicles off the road.
Artisan’s shot lists describe the nature and level of workmanship the builder should be trying to achieve throughout the project. This increases the likelihood that work will be done right first time and that repeat inspections won’t be necessary, thereby speeding up the process and lowering costs for the BCA, builder and client.
The heart of the matter
More than that though, Artisan helps to tackle the problem of time-consuming and expensive inspections at its very heart.
Traditional BCA inspection processes, involving in-person, on-site checks at multiple points during a building project, are designed to minimise the risk that substandard or non-compliant workmanship will need legal or other redress in the future.
These processes have contributed to making Aotearoa’s homes among the most expensive in the world to build – but without consistently achieving the desired quality.
While the traditional processes record whether an inspector has passed or failed a project, little evidence in support of that decision is typically retained. Some inspections do include photos, but there’s no consistency or central mechanism for storing and retrieving them.
Artisan requires a build team to provide a consistent set of photos for every inspection, every time. That record is kept in perpetuity and can be accessed at any time.
For insurers and litigators – should the need arise – easy access to the exact evidence used by the inspector to decide is invaluable. Artisan’s photos isolate and identify any compliance issues.
Simplicity and consistency
Artisan doesn’t require any special infrastructure. Builders install an app on their phone and BCA inspectors interact with information on their web browser. Full training is given.
Every inspector must check the same elements of a build for compliance, but they may take different approaches to checking those elements and look for different things. Artisan is paving the way for all BCAs to check the same elements in the same way.
Proven benefits
BCAs and builders currently using Artisan, including Auckland Council and Kāinga Ora, represent a significant percentage of the total building activity in Aotearoa.
The tool has been adopted by volume builders as a quality assurance tool, while Kāinga Ora has chosen Artisan to support its efforts to obtain New Zealand Green Building Council Homestar certification for its new homes.
The Artisan team says that, during its 5 years of operation, they’ve lost count of the times builders have reflected to BCAs that they didn’t know what compliance looked like until Artisan’s shot lists told them what BCAs look for and therefore what builders need to achieve.
One volume builder told Build that the benefits of Artisan’s open digital record were immediate. They incorporated Artisan into a wider project where audits, education and training formed a large part of the investment.
They believe the benefits would have been lost had it not been for their ability to implement Artisan across their network. As a result, they’ve been able to audit contractors working in their segment of the industry and, where necessary, provide extra training and assistance to help them achieve the required standard.
For more, visit the BRANZ Artisan website.