What Does Stormwater-Specific Inspections Software Offer that General Inspections Software Cannot? | ComplianceGO

What Does Stormwater-Specific Inspections Software Offer that General Inspections Software Cannot?

It’s all about specialization.

Our stormwater industry is a highly specialized, unique and niche business, full of acronyms like NPDES, SWPPP, CGP, SPCC, BMP, RECP, SWMP, NOI, and NOT that are unmatched in numbers by most other professional fields. And that’s not even mentioning the self monitoring nature of complying with stormwater permit requirements. Stormwater compliance is heavy on documentation, documentation, documentation combined with a proven set of logs, dates and updates that will make most people’s heads spin.

Comparing stormwater-specific inspections management software to general inspections software begins and ends with the ability to conduct an inspection on a phone, tablet, or computer. Conducting an inspection is at first glance the basic requirement everyone is trying to accomplish. However, when you factor in stormwater industry-specific inspections intervals and corrective action item due dates that often require reminders to stay on track, one quickly realizes that the stormwater inspections process requires details that can prove to be costly to overlook. Understanding rain event requirements alone along with accurately documenting the weather and precipitation over time by source-specific to your sites further magnifies specific software features needed to help you comply.

There are many general software options to conduct simple inspections and checklists. Here are stormwater industry specific requirements that must be accounted for and included in your software in order to ultimately comply with stormwater specific regulations:

Notifications and follow-up reminders for 7 day, 14 day, or other intervals for inspection requirements.
Notifications and follow-up reminders for immediate/24 hour, 5 day, or 7 day action item completions.
Corrective action item sign-offs with the ability to be performed by multiple people.
Corrective action item reminders when inactivity, overdue signoff, or a delay occurs.
Notifications and follow-up reminders for .10”, .25”, .5”, and other precipitation thresholds that trigger rain events.
Notifications and follow-up alerts for weather forecasting and precipitation history based on your sites’ location that are documented and sourced on inspections.
Complex certification and signatory requirements for inspections, corrective action items, etc. This includes multiple ongoing signature requirements for different persons in some cases.
Site logs for lot starts/stops, excavation, and stabilization documentation.
BMP installation and discontinuation dates by location.
Potential pollutant sources introduced by dates, discontinuation dates, and location.
Large files like multipage Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plans (or SPCC plans), maps and plan sets that must accompany inspections and corrective action item documentation.
On-site availability of documentation, including inspection reports and other support documents
Finally, the ability to oversee all of this to make sure inspections, corrective actions, and maps are updated and more aren’t being missed.