By Keith Swift, PhD
InterNACHI member/InterNACHI Report Writing Consultant
President, Porter Valley Software
I don't want to talk about computerized report-writing software because I have
a vested interest in one. However, if you want to know how I feel about computerized
report-writers, read my articles in The Mall, and particularly one with the subtitle,
"The Weapons of War." What I would like to talk about briefly are the types and
styles of reporting. Simply put, there are two basic types. In common, are paper
check-sheets and NCR forms, as opposed to a variety of computerized systems. Paper
check-sheets and NCR forms had a place when the inspection industry was in its
infancy, but with real estate leading the nation in litigation they have gone
the way of the flower children. It's hard to let go of the past, I know, and old
habits are hard to break. I once briefly held a door open for what must have been
a militant feminist who puffed herself up like a brooding hen and informed me
that she was quite capable of opening the door herself. Sadly, I may never hold
another door open. So, if you're still using paper check-sheets or NCR forms,
you're either part of a dying breed or living in a Utopia where peace and love
prevail. But, let's talk about report-writing styles.
There are really only two styles of reporting, what are loosely referred to as
room-by-room or system-by-system. Both have there virtues. For instance, the room-by-room
style is able to detail a number of unrelated issues in a specific location, such
as an outlet with reversed polarity on a wall adjacent to a French door, a bar
sink faucet that needs new stem-washers, an entry door that needs to be trimmed
or shaved, and a window pane that is cracked, for instance. And there is no doubt
that this is really convenient for a person undertaking the repairs, but many
inspectors prefer to have all plumbing issues in a report appear under "Plumbing,"
and all electrical issues under "Electrical." And, the truth is, there is no best
way, and it usually comes down to the way in which an inspector learned his or
her trade. Most inspectors trained by ITA, for instance, insist of using system-by-system
report-writers. I prefer the room-by-room, because I'm thinking about my clients
and can lead them from room to room or from area to area, with the report in my
hand, and point out and elaborate on a variety of issues. However, in the age
of computerized report-writers, you can have it both ways, and even several ways
if you want to. I said that I didn't want to talk about computerized report-writers
but I have to, just a little.
With a computerized report-writer, you can have endless libraries. For instance,
my report-writer is set up room-by-room, and has a master library of approximately
ten-thousand industry-standard narratives. However, with the simple click of a
mouse, I can switch to a system-by-system library that has more or less the same
number of narratives. Furthermore, with yet another click of a mouse, I can switch
to a new construction-library, which doesn't have the same amount of narratives
but doesn't need to. That is the beauty of having a computerized report-writer,
which as I've argued elsewhere is first and foremost a mechanism of storage and
retrieval that can be edited, added to and polished, indefinitely. Furthermore,
it is the penultimate way of avoiding litigation, but that's a story I've dealt
with in thirty or so other articles.
