The Politics of Onsite System Inspections: Part 6

The Politics of Onsite System Inspections: Part 6
Installers and inspectors need to be professional, educated in onsite wastewater, involved with the industry associations and publications and, above all, totally open and honest with each other.

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With this issue, we complete the series on the “politics of inspections” by focusing on ways that the installer can earn or lose the personal respect of the inspector. 

Recall that the psychological aspect of this relationship is based on both positional (the role they play) and personal respect (the person they are). While positional respect is simply transferred to the next person in that slot, personal respect must be earned. At the same time, it is very fragile and can be easily and quickly lost. Personal respect that has been once lost is difficult to earn back and must be done so only purposefully and over time. 

Most of what it takes for the installer to earn the respect of the inspector is based in simple honesty. 

The most common complaints I hear when speaking with inspectors are about trust and respect, specifically misrepresentations by installers in three areas: field construction, paperwork and verbal statements. 

Field construction

When the inspector arrives at a job site, he expects the installer to be at the site on time, too. He expects to be able to locate the property according to the installer’s instructions. He expects the installer to be prepared and to have the septic system ready for the review. In some cases, he expects help in taking measurements, a transit already set up for him, etc. (local rules and procedures vary). Finally, he expects the system to be very close to its depiction in the design or preliminary permit. 

If presentations made by the installer to the inspector prove to be inaccurate or incomplete in the field, this creates more work for the inspector, and ultimately erodes his personal respect for that installer. 

Paperwork

In preparation for the inspection, the inspector expects that all required paperwork be completed at the site. 

If statements in the paperwork prove to be false or if they are left unfinished or sloppy, this also can upset the inspector and force him to lose respect for the installer. 

Verbal statements

Inspectors want to have a good relationship with the installer and they begin with an assumed trust that what that person verbalizes is true, accurate and complete. 

If the inspector finds that the installer ever attempts to “pull the wool over his eyes” either by covering over a mistake or taking a shortcut in materials or procedures, it will be very difficult for him to trust the installer again. This places tremendous tension on future inspections. 

The inspector/installer relationship is partially technical, partially business, but mostly a struggle for personal respect. 

So both sides of the public service coin need to be professional, educated in onsite wastewater, involved with the industry associations and publications and, above all, totally open and honest with each other. 

We’re all trying to make a living at this and we’re all just people. 

About the Author
Frank Aguirre owns Septic Systems Express, a system design and inspection company located in San Antonio, Texas. Contact him at 210/275-7866 or via email at frank@septicsystemsexpress.com.

This article is part of a series on onsite septic inspections:



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