Plan Review Skills

A successful plan reviewer must have the requisite technical and soft skills in order to excel in their role to ensure safe, code-complaint buildings. Technical knowledge and skills can easily be attained through education, training and mentorship. However, the approach, philosophy and understanding of one’s role are not as readily available to the aspiring plan reviewer as the soft skills that are essential for their success. Soft skills are those nontechnical traits and behaviors that enhance the plan reviewer’s ability to interact and collaborate with design professionals and building owners. In addition to people skills--those social graces that improve interaction with people--soft skills include decision making, problem solving, professionalism, integrity, honesty and time management, to name a few.

Plan Review Skills raises awareness of the significance of soft skills and provides guidance on recognizing and improving those skills. The text also reinforces the positive behaviors of successful plan reviewers who have and practice these skills. In addition to soft skills, this book offers an overview of approaches and techniques that the plan reviewer may employ in order to achieve an efficient and successful plan review. It discusses the plan reviewer’s role in relation to other building department staff and how to communicate code requirements to the public in a manner that explains compliance with credibility.

Topics Include:

• Department Success
• Effective communications
• Ethics
• Customer service
• The Importance of Plan Review
• Approaches to plan review
• Code compliance process
• Plan review checklists
• Role and duties of a plan reviewer
• The successful plan reviewer
• Plan review philosophy