This past year, our firm has had several requests to provide independent inspection of building systems. It seems to becoming a niche business for us, one based on client concern and/or dissatisfaction with the product that is being delivered to them by the building industry. In many instances, we find the design is adequate and the construction is adequate, but the owner sure does not share this opinion when we first arrive.
In reflecting back over the past year, I can't recall owner concern being as big an issue as it now appears to be, and I believe a core problem lies with a lack of sensitivity by the design-construction participants toward the owner relative to the final installation being left in a filthy condition. This dissatisfaction with the "deliverables" may be a bad assumption by me, but the inspection business is coming in, and our findings are not necessarily design or construction deficiencies but instead the state of uncleanness of the facility; these are cases where a picture is worth a 1,000 words. Remember, perception is reality!