March 2011

How Do We Do It?
Ensuring Our Clients of Structural
Integrity of Their Investment Part III of III
by an Inspector, Infrastructure Engineers, Inc.

Once we receive the information from an inspection back at our offices, the Team Leader is responsible for updating the schedule and transferring and duplicating report information for duplicate storage and data processing. At this time, the report findings are once again discussed with the Project Manager, and a determination is made whether or not to review and perform calculations for any Bridge Posting changes.  Copies of the field sketches, previously edited reports, previous load ratings, and photographs are then forwarded to our Load Rating Engineers for processing and back-checking.

As the load rating calculations for this structure are performed, our data entry technicians correct spelling issues and improper grammar usage.  They also translate new data and update any previous data that may have changed during the current inspection. During this stage, all documents and detailed information required are merged into the report.
Once the draft report has been assembled and completed, the report is given to the Team Leader that supervised the inspection. The Team Leader compares the previous report to the current draft, verifies that all necessary changes have been accurately made, and that all data is incorporated into the draft report. The Team Leader also makes maintenance recommendations, which is included in the report. Once a thorough review of the draft report has been completed, the Team Leader returns the report to the data entry technician for corrections.

At the supervisory review level, a Senior Team Leader performs a second review of the corrected report. The Senior Team Leader verifies that all safety regulations have been followed and that safety documentation has been included in the report. The supervisory reviewer also reviews and back-checks the report against the field book. They verify the corrections have been performed, and provide comments, suggestions, and feedback to the field team. A feasibility review of recommended repairs by the Team Leader takes place at this level. Also, any discrepancies from the field data to the draft report are remediated. The report is then returned to the data entry technician for another round of corrections.

The Professional Engineer’s (PE) review is one of the final steps in the reporting process. The PE is responsible for the accuracy and contents of the entire report. A review is performed on the report after the second round of corrections has been made. At this point, the comments from previously reviewed copies are compared to this final draft. The load rating calculations are compared to the data that is in the report’s Structure Inventory and Appraisal (SI&A). Feasibility review of these calculations and additional recommendations are performed at this point.  Proper description of all defects is checked for accuracy and exclusions, and for a third time, the report is returned to the data entry technician for corrections.

The PE then performs a final review to ensure that final changes have been made accordingly and that all data in the report conforms to the scope of services, as well as Federal, State, and Local requirements. It is at this point that the PE signs and seals the report and submits to the client for acceptance.
Once the end user’s review has taken place, we await acceptance or rejection from the client. Any non-conforming issues will be addressed and corrected. The final report with the PE’s signature and seal is submitted, certifying that the conditions listed in the report are correct. A copy of this report will also be filed in the records at the inspection office for future reference.

Infrastructure Engineers follows the methods and procedures explained above for all structural inspections. The combination of these abbreviated steps, skilled inspectors, highly specialized inspection equipment, and a full understanding of the services expected by the client ensures that both the integrity of the structure and the safety of the traveling public will be maintained.