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| Source: Spilled News |
A short history of data capture
Over recent years technology had moved on at a rapid pace and there are now numerous hardware choices and software packages on the market that enable Surveyors to carry out surveys ‘remotely and in real time’. I have been lucky enough to be involved in stock condition surveys over the last 20 years, which initially were all undertaken on site by hand, usually with a pre-prepared proforma. This then developed into the first iteration of electronic data capture in the form Psion handheld’s. These were large ‘bulky’ pieces of equipment which were difficult to navigate through and were extremely limited in their capacity to store data. At the end of each day it was necessary to upload the information from the handheld via a docking station, which often led to ‘technical issues’ which sometimes resulted in data being lost. As you can imagine this was very frustrating. Battery life was also an issue, where it was necessary for us to take back up battery packs to allow us to stay on site for a full day. As technology advanced we started trialling on site data collection with smaller and slimmer PDA’s and Palm Pilots. In the early days these were extremely ‘sluggish’ on site, as the capacity to store data was often limited. I can remember that one of my clients had produced a proforma that required recording of so many attributes that the PDA became unusable. We had to recommend a significant re-drafting of the proforma in order to be able to continue with the survey. Nowadays tablet’s have emerged as the new way of collecting on site data. These have built in camera’s, have much larger built in memories, are light weight and can offer unparalleled back up facilities. With a number of specialist stock survey software packages available we now have both hardware and software to make the whole process faster and more efficient. In addition, Cloud based technologies continue to evolve and these have significantly impacted on data storage and usability of data. It is however worth stating that however advanced hardware and software may become, the accuracy and value of the data will always be relative to the knowledge and expertise of the Surveyor.
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| Source: Journal for Clinical Studies |
It is highly unlikely that the cost of a stock condition survey will exceed OJEU thresholds (although after Brexit OJEU is unlikely to be an issue) therefore the content of a tender submission will be down to the requirements of each individual Client. At this stage it is vitally important to read the tender documents thoroughly to establish the scope of the survey and therefore assess the resources that will be needed to deliver what the client is expecting. Although very significant, resources will not just relate to the survey team. Purchasing hardware and obtaining software licences can be extremely expensive which if not adequately considered could significantly reduce the profitability for the Consultant. Also, a Client may have their own in-house Asset Management system and if so are likely to require data collected during a stock condition survey to be compatible with their system. There are numerous examples of asset management software such as Orchard or Atrium to name a few, however a Consultant will need to become familiar with a Client’s particular system, which will involve consultation and possible training. In fact establishing a Client’s existing asset management processes and systems is fundamental to helping a Consultant to deliver a successful stock condition survey.
The deadline is also fundamentally important in planning the survey and also for fee calculation. A delivery programme should be formulated at the earliest possibly opportunity, working back from the Client’s deadline. The programme should include all pre and post survey activities including consultation with the Client; planning, pilot surveys, training of staff, arranging access, on site surveys, quality assurance checks, moderation and validation, reporting, etc. The amount of inspections that are required (which will be determined by the target sample size) will determine how many surveyors will be needed. It may be that during the preparation of the programme that a Consultant will realise they will need more surveyors than they first thought in order to achieve the deadline. This will subsequently impact on the amount of hardware and software licences that are needed and therefore the fee that is likely to be charged.
Survey stage
Once a Consultant has been awarded a contract to deliver a stock condition survey there are number of things that can be done to ensure that the deadline is met and that the data collected in accurate and consistent:
Good leadership – It is extremely important that a Consultant appoints an experienced member of staff to oversee and take charge of the stock survey, right through to completion. Ideally, this individual should have been involved in the tender process and therefore understand the Client’s requirements; be able to manage a large team of surveyors and be able to incorporate and manage a robust quality assurance system and act as liaison with the Client. A Consultant should never underestimate the complexity of delivering a stock condition survey and unless a suitable ‘leader’ is appointed to manage the project, then the whole process can become chaotic and poorly managed and will ultimately result in failure.
Training – Quality of data and consistency are important in ensuring that the data can be confidently used in the future for a variety of different things. Achieving this however is always one of the biggest challenges a Consultant will face and one of the biggest frustrations that a Client will encounter if the information received is of poor quality. The problem with undertaking any inspection is that different surveyors could inspect exactly the same building but actually produce a different assessment of an element or an attribute. This is human nature and although impossible to avoid, it is possible to manage. What a Consultant should be trying to achieve is for Surveyors to be looking at elements/attributes in the same way and although they may not arrive at identical assessments, they should be very similar.
Prior to letting my Surveyors undertake the onsite surveys I would give then lots of information which would include definitions of physical condition, priority, user effect and risk rating etc. (This would vary from survey to survey, depending on the Client brief). The table below provides an example of typical definitions that could be used:
I would then arrange a half day workshop with the whole survey team, where amongst other things we would discuss the definitions and use examples to assess how individual Surveyors would consider a particular element/attribute. During this meeting we would also discuss and use the hardware/software that was going to be used for data collection, discuss access issues, time frames and the quality assurance procedure. These types of meeting are invaluable as it gives the survey team the opportunity to understand what is expected and provide an opportunity to raise any questions they may have.
Quality Assurance Procedures – As discussed throughout this article, quality assurance processes are an extremely important part of the whole process. When managing large condition surveys I would spend a few days out on site with each member of the survey team during the first few weeks of the survey. This enabled my Surveyors to ‘iron out’ any uncertainties whilst I was present and to ask further questions as needed. When the data was uploaded I was able to view this through the relevant asset management database and I was able to add filters so that I could generate numerous reports throughout the whole time that the data was being collected. I was then able to question things that appeared to have been missed where data fields were empty, or ask questions where surveyors had identified high priority issues etc. This enabled data to be corrected where necessary and sometimes identified surveyors who I needed to spend more time with who clearly required more training.
To consider every aspect of a stock condition survey in such a short article would be impossible. Hopefully, I have discussed some interesting aspects of what can be a complex process to manage and deliver. Above all, the success of a stock condition survey will be down to good organisation, management and leadership which will incorporate all of the various aspects I have discussed above. Once the process is set up and organised correctly the data collection is usually reasonably straightforward. In order for this to be achieved there needs to be a great deal of planning and consultation many months before the data is collected onsite, if this is not undertaken then a Consultant is likely to encounter serious difficulties in meeting the expectations of their Client
Author: Gary O’Neill
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