Factors influencing the adoption of remote visual inspection in building regulatory activities

Remote visual inspection (RVI) has garnered significant attention in building regulatory activities around the globe, triggered by both pandemic-induced restrictions that necessitated short-term solutions, as well as the longer-term imperative to meet increased inspection demands amid a shortage of skilled inspectors. Despite extensive research aimed at advancing RVI methods with improved inspection accuracy and minimized human intervention, limited efforts have been devoted to investigating its acceptance amongst stakeholders concerned with building and plumbing compliance and enforcement. Thus, this research conducts a case study to analyze compliance and enforcement stakeholders' perspectives on RVI in Victoria, Australia. This study involved semistructured interviews with stakeholders operating in four diverse but highly relevant settings: persons within the statutory authority responsible for compliance and enforcement, persons in policy reform roles, building surveyors, and building/plumbing practitioners. All of them have had direct or indirect experience with building regulatory activities enabled by RVI. An extended Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) model was adopted in this study with perceived risks incorporated as an additional construct. This model guided the development of topics in the semistructured interviews and facilitated the subsequent data analyses. As a result, two conceptual frameworks were developed from the interviewees' responses to offer a nuanced understanding of the factors influencing the adoption of RVI. The findings can aid policymakers in making informed decisions regarding the viability of inspecting building works remotely, as well as the policy reforms required to facilitate such remote inspections.