The New Zealand Chinese Building Industry Association released a report last week showing construction sector productivity levels have remained the same since 1985. It also found the time taken to build a home has increased by 50% since 2013, from 13 months to 19 months.
Penk was confident more remote inspections could be rolled out in a way that balanced productivity gains with ensuring buildings were safe and built to a high standard.
“Concerns that can’t be addressed will mean that we simply don’t require remote inspections to be the default approach in those cases”, he said.
“We are trying to be quite nuanced in recognising that there will be circumstances in which it’s not possible or desirable to have remote inspections – be it building type, or perhaps going to the credibility of the person doing the work, or internet coverage – but certainly we think by having a conversation about where the lines should be drawn, we can get benefit overall.”
The Herald has obtained initial Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment (MBIE) advice to Penk about the use of video and photo evidence for remote inspections under the Official Information Act. The briefing is from May.
Officials identified six key issues that needed to be worked through.
They said there needed to be an agreed-upon approach between consent authorities and the construction sector. This was because remote inspections required an accurate representation of the work to be provided to the inspector.
“The potential for misrepresentation of building work exists (intentional or otherwise) and many stakeholders have indicated that remote inspections should only be used with proper controls to prevent misuse, including ‘spot check’ inspections and/or random audits”.
Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk (right) says a constant frustration getting in the way of building is the cumbersome consenting system. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Some consent authorities were comfortable with remote inspections for trusted professionals but did not consider it appropriate for all, the briefing said.
Another issue was the risk of building defects going undetected, and even building failure, along with potential increased liability and insurance cover concerns for building consent authorities.
“ Claimants could request a copy of the photos/footage and search for anything that could be non-compliant in order to seek financial redress”, MBIE said.
The briefing said many consent officers and tradespeople were in “the older generation” and there could be challenges with adapting to new technology. However, existing remote inspection apps had proven to be intuitive so this concern may not materialise.
The money needed to establish remote inspections also might be “hard to argue for” against other council priorities, MBIE said.
“Some building consent authorities, particularly smaller ones that conduct a small number of inspections, may not anticipate a sufficient return on investment for training, technology and the costs of aligning remote inspection technology with existing consenting and/or record-keeping systems.”
The fourth issue was that some inspections were less suited to be undertaken remotely like physical testing. For example, moisture testing.
In some cases, on-site inspections might be more efficient and deciding to do one from the outset would save time rather than “considerable back and forward communication between the site and office-based inspector”.
“Efficiency gains may also be lost if an inspector increases their level of security when conducting a remote inspection, out of concern that they could miss critical details that they would otherwise have seen more readily on-site.”
Another concern related to who was appropriate or qualified to physically capture the video and photos required for inspection.
The final issue was poor internet coverage in rural areas or new developments that would hinder remote inspections, especially when video calling was required in real-time.
The Government will release a discussion document by the end of September so councils and the sector can provide feedback on the best approach.
Penk said the new direction would mean more remote inspections overall but will also provide guidance in instances where the practice could be being used too liberally.
“I am hopeful we will get to a point of saying: ‘Here are specific cases in which you must use it and here are specific cases in which you must not use it’. I think inevitably there will be discretion that will be able to be applied as to whether cases meet that threshold.”
A New Zealand company already providing remote building inspection technology says many of the challenges are social, not technical.
Penk noted concerns about misrepresentation and defects going undetected.
“I think we will be able to achieve an appropriate balance where we can trust the builder doing the work because they’ve got credibility, experience and maybe assets that mean they can be sued in the event of poor performance, compared with a guy in a ute who turns out his or her pockets and not be accountable, which we see too often.”
It was a small proportion of people who were not ethical or competent and there were existing measures of credibility in the sector, like Licensed Building Practitioners, which could be used to determine access to remote inspections, Penk said.
“There are measures we can use to ensure people don’t get the benefit of the regime who aren’t entitled to it because of course at the end of the day, we’re interested in protecting the consumer at an individual case level while at the same time wanting those system-wide benefits of lower building costs overall.”
As for the possibility inspectors would spend more time looking at material remotely in fear of missing something, Penk said he would rather they spent time inspecting building work than travelling to different sites.
Penk was also keen on allowing inspectors to work remotely to help other regions around the country with greater demand.
Zyte is a New Zealand company that already provides remote inspection technology to about 15 building consent authorities across the country.
Executive director Philip White said it’s far more sophisticated than a video conferencing tool.
An inspector in a council office and the builder on site connect via a call on the phone. The builder then receives a link to access the software without having to install anything, register, or have training.
“Essentially the builder just needs to follow the instructions of the inspector who will then direct them around the site.”
The inspector can take photos and videos whenever they want. These are captured through the builder’s phone for better quality rather than taking a screenshot of the video call.
“Really, the builder is just standing there like the inspector’s robot”, White said.
The latest technology allowed builders to scan a site using their phone’s camera with no internet connection required, he said.
“What the inspector receives back is a detailed 3D model with photos as well that allows them to see the whole site in context.”
A lot of the challenges with remote inspections were social, not technical, White said.
“People don’t realise how far the technology has come ... and I think that has been a really big barrier to be overcome mentally.”
Georgina Campbell is a Wellington-based reporter who has a particular interest in local government, transport, and seismic issues. She joined the Herald in 2019 after working as a broadcast journalist.
