The coronavirus pandemic has sped up the implementation of remote virtual inspections for many building departments, and many officials have indicated that their agencies will probably continue to use remote inspections even after social distancing rules ease up.
Using common, inexpensive communication tools like Facetime, Skype and drones, inspectors report that most inspections that can be done visually in person can be done remotely.
According to the International Code Council (ICC), however, approximately 60% of building departments surveyed said they did not yet have the capacity to perform remote inspections. A new publication from the council provides best practices that inspectors can use to accelerate the adoption of these types of offsite inspections during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.
