Inspector

Inspect structures using engineering skills to determine structural soundness and compliance with specifications, building codes, and other regulations. Inspections may be general in nature or may be limited to a specific area, such as electrical systems or plumbing.

Tasks

• Inspects bridges, dams, building, and foundation for conformance to specifications and codes.
• Reviews and interprets plans, blueprints, specifications, and construction methods to ensure compliance to legal requirements.
• Measures dimensions and verifies level, alignment, and elevation of structures and fixtures to ensure compliance to building plans and codes.
• Approves and signs plans that meet required specifications.
• Records and notifies owners, violators, and authorities of violations of construction specifications and building codes.
• Issues violation notices, stop-work orders, and permits for construction and occupancy.
• Confers with owners, violators, and authorities to explain regulations and recommend alterations in construction or specifications.
• Reviews complaints, obtains evidence, and testifies in court that construction does not conform to code.
• Maintains daily logs, inventory, and inspection and construction records and prepares reports.
• Evaluates premises for cleanliness.

Knowledge

• Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
• Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
• Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
• Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
• Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
• Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub- atomic structures and processes.
• Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.

Skills

• Conducting tests and inspections of products, services, or processes to evaluate quality or performance.
• Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
• Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
• Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
• Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
• Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• Using mathematics to solve problems.
• Determining how money will be spent to get the work done, and accounting for these expenditures.

Abilities

• The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
• The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
• The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
• The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
• The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
• The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
• The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• The ability to choose the right mathematical methods or formulas to solve a problem.

Work Activities

• Inspecting equipment, structures, or materials to identify the cause of errors or other problems or defects.
• Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.
• Using relevant information and individual judgment to determine whether events or processes comply with laws, regulations, or standards.
• Identifying information by categorizing, estimating, recognizing differences or similarities, and detecting changes in circumstances or events.
• Communicating with people outside the organization, representing the organization to customers, the public, government, and other external sources. This information can be exchanged in person, in writing, or by telephone or e-mail.
• Assessing the value, importance, or quality of things or people.
• Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.
• Performing day-to-day administrative tasks such as maintaining information files and processing paperwork.
• Monitoring and reviewing information from materials, events, or the environment, to detect or assess problems.
• Translating or explaining what information means and how it can be used.

Interests

• Conventional occupations frequently involve following set procedures and routines. These occupations can include working with data and details more than with ideas. Usually there is a clear line of authority to follow.
• Realistic occupations frequently involve work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They often deal with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery. Many of the occupations require working outside, and do not involve a lot of paperwork or working closely with others.
• Investigative occupations frequently involve working with ideas, and require an extensive amount of thinking. These occupations can involve searching for facts and figuring out problems mentally.
• Enterprising occupations frequently involve starting up and carrying out projects. These occupations can involve leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes they require risk taking and often deal with business.