Inspections services
solution
Enterprise-grade marketplace solution to overcome inspector shortage, reduce turnaround time and generate revenue
Third party “marketplace” model for inspections
A platform where clients can easily schedule inspections with authority-approved private agencies
Oversight & Transparency
Authority has easy access to near real-time information to improve the ability to monitor inspection activity, manage performance, and early warning signals to support building safety reviews.
Analytics
Reporting capabilities, statistics on the types of inspections or clients.
Case Study Department of Buildings District of Columbia
Tertius marketplace
The Department of Buildings is responsible for regulating construction activity in the District of Columbia. It protects the safety of residents, businesses, and visitors and advances development of the built environment through permitting, inspections, and code enforcement.
Due to the high demand for inspectors the Department had to solve- Lengthy turnaround times: property developers had to wait weeks or even months to get their building projects inspected
- Costly delays: even minor delays can be costly for developers as construction crews are paid by the hour and developer may also lose revenue if buildings are not completed on time
- Slow hiring process: DOB inspectors must be certified by the state. This results in a slow hiring process, and certification requirements can also be a barrier to entry for new inspector staff.
- Fixed overhead: full-time staff represents a fixed overhead as DOB has to continue paying their salary even if demand for inspection work drops.
Solution: Inspection Marketplace developed by platformOS
To solve the problem DOB, with the help of platformOS created a multi-sided enterprise-grade digital marketplace where clients can decide whether they want to use state-approved private-sector or government inspectors.
Tertius is a platform where property developers can book a third-party or government inspector in minutes, receive quotes, and pay in one motion. The Department has easy access to near real-time information to improve inspection activity monitoring and to manage performance, which results in enhanced transparency and efficiency.
The new platform has substantially shortened inspection times (days instead of weeks) often results in significant net savings for developers and even serves as a source of revenue for the Department of Buildings.
Tertius marketplace reduces complexity and provides a seamless user experience to all parties (authority, property developers and agencies) by features like easy project creation workflow, inspection (auto-) scheduling system, reporting features, built-in payment module, and more.
Features
built in modules
Project creation
Scheduling
Reporting
Payment
Project creation
- Users can find the agency that can provide all the services they need.
- They can negotiate pricing through the marketplace.
- Rating and review system supports transparency.
Inspection Scheduling
- Clients are notified through the app and/or emails about regularly required inspections (e.g. boilers, elevators)
- Online scheduling system for the state authority: client can decide based on the availability of the state inspectors if they wanted to wait for their free service or hire an agency.
- Auto-schedule system based on location of the inspection site, type of inspection and the inspectors availability.
- Text messages: clients are notified about the expected arrival of the inspector.
Reporting
- Example of DOB - Standardized Report: Guide for third-party inspectors on what actions need to be taken for the various inspection types.
- Need to upload photos as a proof of inspection
- Description of violations easy for inspectors with relevant code section dropdown
- Pdf is automatically generated from the standardized report as a certificate of the inspection
- It’s optimized for mobile view, so inspector can go with just a mobile / iPad to the inspection site
Built-in Payment Module
- Our platform is a proxy for payment between agency and client. All transaction are visible for the authority.
- The authority also collects fees for the maintenance of the site.
- Payment for agency and authority in one transaction: platform fee deducted automatically.
- Credit card and ACH method available through Stripe: ACH better for bigger amount because it has a 5$ cap on fees.