Third-party building department services exist to help streamline development projects, improve safety and reliability, and ultimately help save your department money. And outsourcing these services helps municipalities meet fluctuating demands without compromising quality, improves workflow efficiency, and most importantly, keeps costs low.
Let’s look more closely at how outsourced building department services can improve development in your community.
Building Departments Can’t Scale
One of the biggest challenges when relying on a building department is that you can’t scale staff with your workload. This often results in a lack of staff during busy seasons (requiring an unsustainable amount of overtime) and not enough work to go around during slow seasons.
Instead of balancing overworked and underutilized employees, third-party building service partners like SAFEbuilt can provide the services you need at the right time with the right staff. This keeps projects moving and saves you the time it takes to schedule your team around fluctuating workloads.
Let's Bring Your Vision to Life
Revitalizing a Small-Sized Building Department
Welcome to Maryville, Georgia, population 12,000, led by City Manager Michelle.
Michelle and the city's building department have been unable to keep up with increasing workloads. Their backlog has only intensified as residents:
- Use insurance money to replace roofs following a spring hailstorm
- Continue to move to the community
- File complaints about the quality of their public spaces
City Manager Michelle:
- Time as city manager: < 6 months
- Platform: Revitalize her small community
Let's see what Michelle accomplishes in the next year:
New High School
With certified inspectors at the ready, Michelle made it possible to:
- Schedule inspections and manage inspectors online
- Streamline inspections with multi-disciplinary staffing
- Receive real-time inspection and project updates
Leading to:
- Less scheduling & administrative logistics
- A faster timeline to ribbon cutting
City Hall
With third-party plan reviewers on stand by, Michelle made it possible to:
- Complete plan reviews electronically
Leading to:
- Same-day inspections, leading to quicker plan review turnaround
- Breaking ground faster on new projects
Updated Public Park
With additional resources, such as planning and landscape architecture, SAFEbuilt helped:
- Design a practical, eco-friendly public space to better suit the neighborhood
- Interpret zone codes for Michelle
- Preserve the historical look and feel of the city
Leading to:
- A healthier, happier community
- A more desirable neighborhood to live in with increased property values
New Housing Development
With a third-party staff member to manage permitting, and SAFEbuilt’s electronic permitting software, Michelle was able to help:
- The department to keep up with the busy season via a permit technician
- Residents to submit, manage, and approve permits online
- The department to reduce their outstanding permits
Leading to:
- Happier residents
- Budget protection
- Speed to revenue
- Reduced calls and complaints to city hall
Do Michelle's experiences as a city manager sound familiar? Let SAFEbuilt bring your vision to life.
Hidden Costs of Recruitment
As fewer people pursue a job in the trades industry, building departments are experiencing an extreme shortage of certified staff. So if you find a qualified candidate, why wouldn’t you want to hire them full-time to secure them for year-round work?
It’s important to keep in mind that in-house employees come with additional costs, including:
- Health benefits
- Training
- Paid time off
- A pension
- Additional liabilities for your department
- Technology (laptops, phones, ipads, etc)
- Vehicles (maintenance, insurance, fuel, repairs)
You also have to account for recruiting budgets, including the time spent interviewing and onboarding new staff. Once you find the right candidate and get them up to speed, you could discover they aren’t the right fit for the team and have to start over from scratch. With SAFEbuilt, we can make adjustments to get the right people in place without causing delays in daily operations.
Third-Party Building Services Create a Safety Net
With a third-party building department team on your bench, you can get timely plan reviews and inspections even if your workload surges or your internal team experiences illness or turnover. This safety net helps prevent projects from sitting idle (which ultimately leads to lost revenue, frustrated residents, and unnecessary stress). With fully-customizable options, you can leverage the expertise of a third-party provider for short-term coverage, project-specific support, and to augment your internal team as needed.
Switching Up Your Building Department?
If you’re thinking about making changes to your building department, we’re here to help you make the most efficient, reliable, and cost-effective choice for your community. SAFEbuilt can tailor a solution that will fit your jurisdiction budget and needs.
