Minimizing Interruptions During Fire Inspections: Everyone Wins

Alarms blaring for extended periods of time. A stranger walking through private areas of an apartment or office. As the inspector, you’ve been there. So have your customers. And so have your customers’ customers. Often, life stops during a fire inspection. You don’t want to be that guy, but it can be challenging to effectively complete an inspection without major disruptions.

Minimizing these types of interruptions helps keep your customers happy because it keeps their customers happy. And, when you operate efficiently, you get more done in less time without compromising inspection accuracy or safety.

Interruptions & Your Customers’ Customer

Disruptions to your day are never fun. In apartment complexes, people may be working remotely and in virtual meetings, taking care of their kids and trying to avoid meltdowns, or corralling nervous pets that don’t do well with loud noises and strangers. Ear-splitting alarm tests that last for more than a few minutes can be extremely disruptive and stressful. And an inspector in their apartment for prolonged periods can throw off their whole day. The same thing goes for a place of business–a retail shop, a restaurant, an office building, or industrial facility has operations to get back to. An inspection that lasts longer than it needs to disrupt business and could lead to your customer losing money. It’s a lose-lose for everyone.

These inspections and tests are critical, but the longer they last, the more impatient and frustrated your customers (and their customers) will become. You’d love to complete the inspection more efficiently, too, but the tools you have may be keeping you from limiting interruptions as much as possible.

Minimizing Life & Business Interruptions

So, whether you’re inspecting apartment complexes, office buildings, manufacturing facilities, or anything in between, there’s a lot of life and work in the locations you inspect. While this is a reminder of why thoroughness and accuracy are so critical, it raises another question: How can you minimize interruptions to the daily life and business of both your customer and your customer’s customer?

• Communicate with your customers ahead of time.

Provide a clear picture of what needs to be done and how long you expect each test or inspection to take. Work with customers as much as possible to plan around any challenges. As much as possible, work with their schedule to avoid disruptive tests at inopportune times. Prior communication also ensures your customer is ready for you, with access to what you need when you arrive on site. You play a critical role in the safety of your customers–when possible, be a true partner in their operations, too.

• Help your customers communicate with their employees, residents, and/or customers.

You can drive the process to ensure building occupants are ready for you. You can also confirm that your contact provides notice to anyone impacted by your visit.

• Utilize tools designed with your inspection workflow in mind.

When you have everything ready before you arrive, you can spend less time on site while providing the highest quality inspection and service. From building information to the proper forms, a tool that helps you know what needs to be done and pre-populates the right information can be a game changer in speeding up the process and minimizing interruptions.

• Utilize tools that drive efficiency without sacrificing inspection quality.

Tools that allow you to test and inspect multiple alarm devices at once can make you significantly more efficient when testing, meaning no more alarm bells ringing for too many minutes.

Minimizing interruptions ultimately starts with your inspection workflow. You’re the expert and you know what needs to be done. Communicating well before you show up ensures your customer and their customers are prepared for you. And making sure you have the right tools to support your work and operate with efficiency streamlines the process for everyone.

How can you minimize interruptions to the daily life and business of both your customer and your customer’s customer?

Efficiency & Safety Make for Satisfied Customers

The right tool can help you do everything you need to with greater efficiency and fewer interruptions. Inspect Point’s solution facilitates easy communication between office staff, technicians, and customers. Manage everything from scheduling and building information to your customer points of contact. And, when it’s time for the inspection, minimize interruptions with an efficient workflow that lets you focus on safety and compliance. With built-in, code-compliant, customizable forms, you’ll always have exactly what you need when you arrive on-site. You can also access historical inspection data to ensure nothing falls through the cracks.

Additionally, Inspect Point’s Quick Inspect and Bulk Inspect features make testing and recording inspection data for alarm devices simple and efficient. Rather than individually answering inspection questions for each device, you can pass, fail, or make notes on groups of devices with one action.

Minimizing interruptions during fire inspections doesn’t have to be difficult. Commitment to customer service and a tool that fits into and enhances your workflow makes all the difference. Conduct a smooth (and nearly invisible) inspection, keeping your customers happy and reducing complaints from their customers. Everyone wins–especially when you get that repeat business.