HomeMy WebLinkAboutE-Mail - Discussion ItemHernandez, Julia D.
From: Stiers, Melissa
Sent: Wednesday, June 03, 2015 11:47 AM
To: Hernandez, Julia D.
Cc: Suarez, Francis (Commissioner)
Subject: Discussion Item for 6/25
Attachments: California county pilots virtual building inspections.pdf
Hi Julia:
Commissioner Suarez would like to include the following discussion item on the agenda for 6/25 on the City page:
California Pilot Program for Virtual Building Inspections
Please include the attached article as back up. Thank you.
Best,
Melissa Fernandez-Stiers
Chief of Staff
Office of Commissioner Francis Suarez, District 4
3500 Pan American Drive ( Miami, Florida 33133
Tel: 305-250-5420 I Fax: 305-856-5230
Email: mstiers@miamigov.com
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6/3/2015 Smart Cities Council 1 California county pilots virtual building inspections to save time and money
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California county pilots virtual building inspections
to save time and money
Fri, 2015-05-29 06:00 -- Doug Peeples
Virtual buildings inspections are relatively
new but the technology looks promising -
- promising enough for San Bernadino
County's Building and Safety Division of
the Land Use Services Department to
take it out for a spin.
"Using technology to make the county's
inspection and permitting process more
efficient will help residents and
contractors save both time and money,"
said 2nd District Supervisor Janice
Rutherford. "I look forward to seeing the
results of this pilot project and to
expanding the use of virtual technology to improve efficiencies throughout the county."
How it works
The pilot program won't be open to all applicants, at least not in the beginning. The Land Use
Department will pick participants from the applications they receive based on their suitability
for the pilot, and the selected applications will be limited to hot water heater installations and
roof inspections.
After they download a special application, applicants will be able to forward their projects to the
department via smart phones or tablets, which also will be used to exchange information.
Rather than waiting at a project site for a building inspector to show up, applicants will submit
their projects at a specific time, saving them time and reducing the amount of time inspectors
spend on the road traveling from one site to another.
Projects selected during the program, which will continue for at least 90 days, will be in the
county's desert and mountain communities because those areas present the most challenging
environments for the wireless data connections needed for it to work. The accuracy of the
project site verification process and the strength of the video signals also will be tested. The
plan is to conduct two to three inspections weekly.
Florida schools are on the virtual bandwagon, too
Orange County (Florida) Public Schools began a similar pilot inspection program two years ago
and in June 2014 opened it up to all contractors. The school district, which has about 200
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6/3/2015 Smart Cities Council 1 California county pilots virtual building inspections to save time and money
properties, uses live -streaming video with Face Time and Skype to send their projects to
inspectors.
David Young, responsible for building code compliance for the school district, said the program
has reduced vehicle operating expenses and travel time. "It can increase the number of
inspections we're doing a day, and we should be able to double the inspections and cut costs
25%," he told the Orlando Sentinel. He added that the failure rate for virtual inspections was
identical to the rate for traditional in -person inspections.
Like San Bernadino County's program, Orange County limits the virtual inspections to specific
types of projects. Young commented that inspections for emergency lighting systems, for
example, still require an on -site inspector.
###
Doug Peeples is a Portland, Oregon -based writer specializing in technology and energy.
Follow @smartccouncil on Twitter.
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