Inspector General

Following these guidelines can help you handle the many inspections that come calling at your facility.

By Allen F. Weitzel

Inspectors inspect. Not only does their job require it, they do not believe businesses will inspect their premises voluntarily (everybody is too busy).

Inspectors record all they see because they believe that company-conducted inspections would not catch all the hazards. They additionally believe that even if a company inspected on their own and spotted all the hazards they may not abate them in a reasonable time.

Inspectors want to leave feeling they have done some worldly good, that the facility is safer because of their actions. They want to know that companies have staff who can spot hazards when the inspector is not there and the company will fix those troubling spots.

Never treat all inspectors the same. Each differs in the size of the fines they could levy, whether they are there to educate or enforce, their own hot topics, or the politics of their agency at that time. New inspectors will write up more concerns than veterans. Rookies need to prove their worth and are notoriously stricter, doing do things "by the book".

Assume inspectors will notice any and all concerns. Do not insult an inspector by pointing out things they do not see the first time (sure enough, they'll see it on the follow-up visit). Never intimate that inspectors are not experts in their field; they will just bear down more.

To reduce the number of inspection items and inspections, you need to assure the inspector that the company will follow up without reminders or reinspection visits.

Types Of Inspections:
A wide variety of inspections could take place at your operation.
—General Liability audits
—Property insurance inspections (including pressure vessel inspections)
—Insurance Brokers (especially during the bidding for insurance coverage)
—Worker's Compensation Carriers
—State ride safety inspections
—Bank inspections (when a park needs a loan or refinance)
—County environmental health department
—Fire department
—Health department.
—State lottery inspections for Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) concerns
—Local Air Quality Pollution Control Board
—City building inspections
—Weights and Measures (in food operations, where product might be sold in bulk, or for company gas pumps)
—Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) aerial tramway inspections
—Highway Patrol or police agency inspections for Department of Transportation or Class B driver's license required vehicle
—Alcoholic beverage control reviews
—State elevator inspections
—Railway inspections
—Performance and quality assurance inspections by the manufacturers and suppliers of products and equipment
—Travel agency inspections to rate your facility's quality for published travel guide books

As your facility ages and building codes change, you will find more nooks and crannies of your park getting inspection attention. New codes and regulations will prompt additional
inspections as well.

Responding to these numerous inspections can be overwhelming. Local fire codes require compliance to a documented hazard in 14 days. Insurance carriers want recommendations resolved within 30 days of the inspection date. Health Department or OSHA inspectors could require immediate compliance.

Many parks are starting to "cut deals" with inspection agencies. Because some lists could be voluminous, albeit minor inspection concerns (such as leaky faucets or extension cord
violations), some parks write a letter to the inspection agency proposing a plan of action (POA) to abate the concerns and suggest their own compliance schedule. Many agencies will accept this approach, knowing the park can better infiltrate the repair list into their culture for a more universal and longer lasting compliance.

Another tact is to inform the inspector you will not hide locations or hazards. In return,
inspectors must be reasonable about compliance deadlines and work with your staff to educate to abate, engineer to abate or, as a last resort, cite to abate.

Ask the inspecting agency to schedule inspections in advance. This avoids the Fire department showing up on a Monday morning and saying they need to inspect now, forcing you to drop whatever you are doing. Some inspections will require a follow-up visit. Be sure to request that the agency schedule such visits with you in advance.

Request the same inspector from that agency every time an inspection is performed. This will help your staff establish a rapport with the inspector. Many inspectors would rather educate than write citations. Creating a good rapport will reduce the number of inspection items noted. Conversely, you should provide the same staff members to accompany inspectors, so they, too, can feel comfortable with their "tour guides." This way, your staff will know, after a period of time, what each inspector looks for. It takes time for an inspector to trust your staff.

Prior to any audit or inspection, sit down with the inspector and discuss what they want to so see. Show them any necessary paperwork and explain how your company procedures work. This will cut down the number of questions during the tour and reduce the time of the touring.

Accompany inspectors or send along a competent staff member. Inspectors feel their work is important. If you tell them to inspect on their own, they will think you don't care and will look for more concerns. Sending along a staff person makes the inspection go faster, too. Employees can open locked doors, explain procedures, document (precisely to the spot) what the inspector saw, and ask for clarification (to understand why something needs to be fixed). Plus your staff member can take them directly to the area they wish to see and avoid snaking through unrelated locations.

Some agencies, such as the fire department, do not consistently give the inspected property a report at the time of inspection. Many agencies require the property owner to write down the identified hazards. With large properties, inspectors either request an accompanying employee to write items down or the inspector will transcribe noted hazards into a pocket tape recorder and then send a "fix it" list later. Sometimes this is a disaster. The inspector may not know the park well enough to provide a proper description. When you get the list, you may not be able to pinpoint the exact location of the concern.

While on tour with inspectors, avoid hiding anything from them. Do not point out issues, but do not try to distract them. Let them do their job. If inspectors ask about something, be honest. Ask them if they want to see the area or want documentation on it. Many times, inspectors will take your word and require no further follow up. If you tense up, the veins pop out of your neck, and you fumble around when they ask about a subject, they may suspect you are hiding something and will want to see more.

If an inspector takes a photo, your staff should shoot the same photo. This is critical if the inspector has the capability to cite and fine or if the agency does not plan to give you copies of the pictures.

Once identified, discuss hazards with inspectors. You do not want to abate or fix a problem the wrong way and have to redo it. If you can fix a concern that day, do so. It shows you are
interested in doing the right thing. Inspectors do not like seeing concerns repeated and/or unabated. Not abating concerns in a timely manner is a surefire way to get a longer follow-up inspection list. If you do not feel you can abate an item, tell the inspector why. Discuss alternatives. If you will have a delay in abating a concern, also advise the inspector in
advance.

When agencies receive complaints from disgruntled employees or guests, the agency will come out and inspect. Once on site, they will be thorough, comprehensive and want to see everything. The better informed employees are (they know why you have not yet fixed something), the less chance they will submit an anonymous complaint.

Consider using the expertise of trustworthy inspectors. Most inspectors have seen many facilities and can provide unique solutions to problems that do not come directly under their purview. Many times, too, they are powerless to cite or fine you for problems that are not within the direct scope of their job.

Understand that fire departments also inspect for life safety issues on rides. They do not merely inspect buildings for occupancy ratings and exit routes. Use this skill to your advantage.

If you have lots of inspections and inspection items, set up a database to log each inspection concern. Many times, different agencies will note the same concern. Because almost all inspections have to be abated and documented, when you respond on the same repaired item, you can respond to all the agencies at the same time. If you have many inspection items, establish an Inspection Response Committee to review the inspection list before cutting work requests sending abatement instructions to departments.

Have your law firm review any general liability inspections so they can comment on the validity of the inspections and offer advice in handling it.

"Is it safe?" That should be the primary goal of any inspection. Plaintiff counsels will always ask if you did know or should have known. A park needs a good checks-and-balances system, so consider the use of internal company inspections. Be sure you document. Good documentation is a far better alternative than no documentation or verbal instructions. Juries want to know that there is a safety plan. They want to know someone is out there looking out for the public's well being.

Inspections are one more tool to keep your facility safe.

Having worked in almost every department listed on an amusement park organizational tree, Allen is a fifth-generation Californian and lives in San Jose with his wife Susan, and computer guru sons, Sean and Tod, along with cats, Missy and Turbo Gut, and Sparky the Dog.