A New Inspection Portal:
As of late 2015, New York City’s Department of Building (DOB) has developed a new online inspection portal called “DOB Now.” A portal the simplifies the inspection process for both New York residents and the appointed contractor. The process begins with the owner, Licensed Professionals(LPs), or delegate requesting an inspection online. Next, the inspection is scheduled using route optimization, and the involved person or group and an email is sent to notify the applicant, and the initial results are available online. Also, an essential and vital part of the inspection is that the supervisor reviews the results and a certifiable objection if applicable is sent to the owner and available online.
The units that are involved in the inspection process are the following Units participating: Boilers, Builders pavement plan, Construction, Cranes and derricks, Electrical, Elevators, House connections, Plumbing, and the Sustainability unit. Additionally, users that can register are the following: owners, Licensed Professional (LPs), and delegates. Any Interested party and unregistered users cannot access the online portal. Anyone can register for an account. However, only Owners, LPs, and their delegates can access their records and use “DOB NOW”.
The portal has increased inspections to more than 90,000 inspections that used the online portal — the outcome aimed at a shorter waiting time for construction inspections. Moreover, the new plan examiners were hired to make the process faster and easier for everyone. Furthermore, the inspections requested are being recorded and are released monthly via NYC Open Data. In my opinion the “DOB NOW” portal has brought change to the inspection process. A change that is more sustainable, sufficient and a more data driven outlook that can further the study of construction; to be able to have more real-time data driven solutions.
References:
https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/buildings/pdf/DOB_NOW_insp_general_information.pdf
https://thebridgebk.com/buildings-department-getting-act-together/
