Do Inspectors have 2 modes?

Status
Not open for further replies.
Pierre C Belarge said:
Well... there are a couple of inspectors in the country who may have an ego and it does not matter if your job is compliant. I am glad to see that you don't live in the part of the country where those 2 inspectors work. ;)
Click to expand...

I am sure we all have seen a few like that but most are out to do the job they are hired to do. All inspectors start off with getting my respect. Keeping it up to them. Very rare that i fail an inspection. I take a red tag like i would an F in school.
 
Jim W in Tampa said:
. All inspectors start off with getting my respect. Keeping it up to them.
Click to expand...

Jim on the flip side all contractors start off with getting my respect. I always go onto an inspection with a green tag on top of my red tags. There are a few contractors that I don't think much of but if their job is code complient they will still get a green tag.

Mentioned in other posts about leaving an intentional violation for the inspector to find is one of the oldest tricks in the book. If I find one violation chances are there are more.
 
Jim W in Tampa said:
Leaving something for him to find is asking for a tag
Click to expand...


I have yet to get a red tag for salting an inspector with a violation.

It's something simple that can be corrected on the spot.... a loose recep or a breaker with 2 conductors on it. 10-second fixes.

Inspector finds it, I fix it, they feel they've saved the world, and I get my green tag. (Well, not really, they're tan here, just have check boxes for pass or fail.)
 
480sparky said:
I have yet to get a red tag for salting an inspector with a violation.

It's something simple that can be corrected on the spot.... a loose recep or a breaker with 2 conductors on it. 10-second fixes.

Inspector finds it, I fix it, they feel they've saved the world, and I get my green tag. (Well, not really, they're tan here, just have check boxes for pass or fail.)
Click to expand...

Well if i was your inspector and you played that game and i know it then you not only get a tag for it but i will dig deaper. That to me is being disrespectal to him.
 
Jim W in Tampa said:
Well if i was your inspector and you played that game and i know it then you not only get a tag for it but i will dig deaper. That to me is being disrespectal to him.
Click to expand...


It may be disrespectful to you, but not to him. He just hasn't figured out the game. And that's the difference between you and him.... All he knows is that he's obliged to find something. If he doesn't, he thinks he hasn't done his job.

The vast majority of inspectors I deal with are great. They rarely find anything, and what they do find are minor oversights on my part.
 
480sparky said:
Giving 'em something to find makes them feel like they're doing their job. Even if it is something simple like a missing 4S cover or open ground on a recep.
Click to expand...

Sounds like a dangerous game. What if you get busy/distracted and forget to correct that???
 
480sparky said:
I have yet to get a red tag for salting an inspector with a violation.

It's something simple that can be corrected on the spot.... a loose recep or a breaker with 2 conductors on it. 10-second fixes.

Inspector finds it, I fix it, they feel they've saved the world, and I get my green tag. (Well, not really, they're tan here, just have check boxes for pass or fail.)
Click to expand...

Sound like you don't care much for inspectors,breaker with 2 conductors on it that isn't something you missed it is intentional and hoping the inspector dosn't catch it
 
480sparky said:
Absotively posilutely. Some inspectors just cannot be satisfied unless they find some sort of violation. If they walk onto a job that has no violations, they will invent one. Giving 'em something to find makes them feel like they're doing their job. Even if it is something simple like a missing 4S cover or open ground on a recep.
Click to expand...

What if they don't mention it ? Do you go back and correct it ?
 
480sparky said:
I have yet to get a red tag for salting an inspector with a violation.

It's something simple that can be corrected on the spot.... a loose recep or a breaker with 2 conductors on it. 10-second fixes.

(Well, not really, they're tan here, just have check boxes for pass or fail.)
Click to expand...

Do you meet the inspector on every inspection or does he just assume that you will correct the 10-second fix and leave a green ( tan ) tag?
 
480sparky said:
I have yet to get a red tag for salting an inspector with a violation.

It's something simple that can be corrected on the spot.... a loose recep or a breaker with 2 conductors on it. 10-second fixes.

Inspector finds it, I fix it, they feel they've saved the world, and I get my green tag. (Well, not really, they're tan here, just have check boxes for pass or fail.)
Click to expand...

hum, if he finds it you fix it, do you fix it if he dosn't find it
 
I wonder what it's like to have to intentionally make a mistake for the inspector to find? I tend to make a mistake or two anyway, so it would be kind of a moot point.

I see doing something intentionally wrong to make the inspector feel better as silly, IMO. I would feel like a real dummy for, say, landing a pair of neutrals under the same screw, and I would think that he would be troubled by seeing a stupid mistake like that and start digging deeper. Just my opinion.
 
George Stolz said:
I wonder what it's like to have to intentionally make a mistake for the inspector to find? I tend to make a mistake or two anyway, so it would be kind of a moot point.

I see doing something intentionally wrong to make the inspector feel better as silly, IMO. I would feel like a real dummy for, say, landing a pair of neutrals under the same screw, and I would think that he would be troubled by seeing a stupid mistake like that and start digging deeper. Just my opinion.
Click to expand...

That is my take on it too ,George. I did the best that I could and was PO,d if I came up short. Not with the inspector,with myself.
 
I actually look forward to getting my work inspected. I make it a pont to be there for the inspection and have a good relationship with most inspectors I deal with.I look at it as an educational experience and usually strike up some sort of code related conversation.
 
wawireguy said:
Basicly if you're a bunch of hacks then you need to worry about the inspector. I like the inspectors and enjoy working with them.
Click to expand...

Same here.

All the one's I have met have been pretty good guys.

The strictest one works for the City of Muskegon (EC's call him the Code Nazi) and we have been friends since before I started my apprenticeship. In fact, he helped me with some of my homework questions.

I think that any sparky that takes real pride in his work will not have issues with inspectors.
 
One-eyed Jack said:
I can safely say NO job is without violations.
Click to expand...

One-eyed Jack said:
I did the best that I could and was PO,d if I came up short. Not with the inspector,with myself.
Click to expand...


I don't understand that line of reasoning. I normally don't expect to see a red tag on a job. If there is something that is questionable on a job I would be the one to bring it up with the inspector.

Before an inspector ever sees the job it's important to walk it with a critical eye and look for code violations yourself. If an inpector can actually find violations in 15-20 minutes that I can't spot having been on a job for weeks then I'm in the wrong profession.

Now I have been caught on some local codes that I was not aware of and didn't know to question early on .

If a contractor knows his job there is no reason for anything to be written up on most small jobs. On a bigger job where a contractor is depending on the leadmen and job foremen it's more likely that something will get missed. I have learned that people don't take things as seriously if they are working for someone slse.
 
As far as justifying my existince, I did that when they hired me, and as long as there are EC's and laws that require a building and safety department then my existince will be justified also.

I get paid the same whether I write you a correction notice, sign your job card, sit in my office doing plan checks or for that matter even take the day off.

You do your job right and I do my job right, I sign your job card.
You do your job wrong and I do my job right, you fix it and I sign your job card.
You do you job right and I do my job wrong, at some point I'm still gonna sign your job card.

I've said this before, and it's a quote from one of our field supervisors, "you're gonna sign that job card sooner or later, how hard you make it is entierly up to you."

Don't leave something for me to find, if I'm in a hurry, I may not have time to stand around while you "fix" it and then you just cost yourself another day.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top