Context
This report provides key findings from the evaluation of the Digital Compliance for Low-Risk Plumbing and Drainlaying Work Pilot (the Pilot). The purpose of the Pilot was to test the use of a digital record-keeping application for low-risk plumbing work, enabling remote inspections and determinations of compliance with building consents issued under the Building Act 2004.
This evaluation was carried out by the Building System and Tenancy Team, Evidence & Insights, at the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment. Governance for this project included representation from Master Plumbers, BRANZ, and participating local councils.
At the time this evaluation was undertaken, several Building Consent Authorities (BCAs) were already regularly making use of remote inspection tools, some of which include digital record-keeping functionality. This evaluation assumes these remote inspection processes are reliable and can result in efficiencies for stakeholders (see Appendix 1 for more information), and instead focuses solely on evaluating the viability and value of the digital record-keeping component.
The remote inspection tool used in the Pilot is the BRANZ Artisan application[1]. The Artisan application allows BCAs to establish ‘shot lists’ of required photographs for a given job type, which plumbers/drainlayers[2] then take on-site and upload to the application. This digital record can be reviewed by BCAs, enabling remote inspections to be undertaken. The Artisan application enables BCAs to seek clarification or request additional information from plumbers.
Evaluation objectives
The objective of the Pilot was to test the viability of digital record-keeping by plumbers using the BRANZ Artisan tool. Specifically, it aimed to describe the benefits and risks of using this tool and identify any issues or recommendations for change. The key evaluation question was:
- How viable are remote inspection tools for facilitating plumbers to compile a digital record of their work?
- Does the digital record keeping provide sufficient information to determine whether the work complies with the building consent issued under the Building Act 2004?
- Are there sufficient benefits to using remote inspection tools for Building Consent Officials and plumbers?
Limitations of the evaluation
The following limitations should be considered when interpreting findings from this evaluation:
- The evaluation was conducted in collaboration with two BCAs, and as such should not be considered representative of all BCAs’ experiences with remote inspections and digital compliance. That said, participating BCAs were selected to ensure a variety of experiences. One participating BCA represented a large almost exclusively urban area, while the other was a smaller BCA and covered a mix of small urban and rural areas.
- Plumbers and drainlayers included in the pilot were selected by BCAs based on previous experience and should not be considered representative of all individuals in these trades. BCAs were clear that in moving to a higher trust form of inspection, they were selective about who would be offered this option.
- All digital records assessed during this evaluation were created using the Artisan tool. There are other remote inspection platforms currently being used by BCAs in New Zealand. The functionality and features vary considerably between platforms. As such, findings in this report apply to digital records created using the Artisan tool.
Footnotes
[1] https://www.branzartisan.nz/(external link)
[2] For ease of reading, plumbers and drainlayers are collectively referred to as ‘plumbers’ throughout the report.