NBA Survey Teams

Housing stock condition surveys require housing stock condition surveyors - fieldwork operatives need to be skilled and experienced in :- data collection processes; current standards and guidance; observing and predicting element failures over time; accuracy and consistency in data recordings and judgments.

NBA's survey teams are specialised 'constant' survey units, on site 5 days a week throughout the year. Consequently, surveys are undertaken with fully trained and experienced NBA staff only, all of whom will have been involved in many similar assignments in the past - operating under a senior Survey Manager.

Rented &/or B&B accommodation is arranged to house the surveyors for the duration of the contract, where necessary

Surveyor Training

While NBA operate on the basis of established and experienced survey teams, a Project Familiarisation and Training process is included, which allows for the full briefing of all surveyors supported by a comprehensive Surveyors Guide giving briefing notes on data collection formats, procedures, access arrangements, code of conduct, ‘customer care’ and an index to the completion of survey pro-forma's.

The monitoring of surveyor performance and access response rates is, of course, on-going. As normal NBA practice, the Survey Manager undertakes site verification of a proportion of all surveyors work on a weekly basis - reporting directly to the Project Director and the survey team. Surveyor performance/calibration is assessed by marks given against checked inspection sheets, against the 'control' completed by the Survey Manager. NBA KPI requires that over 95% of 'fixed' recordings for each survey should mirror those of the 'control'

Subjective Standards

There is a necessity to maximise the consistency between surveyors in assessing repair needs and priorities. NBA Survey Teams are permanent survey units on site 5 days a week throughout the year. It is this mode of operation that has the greatest effect in maximising consistency between surveyors (they have all worked with each other for long periods, and discuss findings, issues, etc regularly in shared accommodation). While formal arrangements through the Survey Manager are important, it is the ability of the survey team to operate as one unit that is, in our view, critical to ensuring consistency in evaluation

Quality Control Systems

Normal NBA quality control provisions are designed to maximise the consistency of survey assessments and minimise data collection and input errors. These include :-

	Survey Team briefings and Survey Manual documentation
	Pre-appraisal assessments, undertaken during the preparatory phase operations by senior NBA officers - providing an indicative and expected 'findings base' to which actual survey findings are assessed.
	Survey Team proximity - to maximise consultation and consistency between inspectors.
	Manual collation and checking of all data collection sheets prior to computer input.
	Input verification and validation programmes to identify certain types of error in both data collection and input, at the time of computer input.
	Double entry of data, employing an 'input-tablet' designed specifically for this purpose - a 'belt & braces' formula to ensure the accuracy of data input
	Fully trained and experienced NBA Surveyors