Module 5 · Conducting a Damp Inspection
5.6 Red Flags & When to Escalate
7 min read
Competence includes knowing where your competence ends. Some findings need a structural engineer, an electrician, a specialist leak detection contractor or an asbestos surveyor, and some need someone today rather than in the report. This lesson covers recognising both, and how to communicate them without either alarming or under-warning.
Learning objectives
By the end of this lesson you will be able to:
- Recognise findings that exceed a beginner's competence.
- Identify findings requiring urgent action rather than a report.
- Communicate escalation clearly, with an appropriate level of urgency.
- Frame a limitation as a professional finding, not a shortfall.
Key terms
- Escalation
- Referring a finding to someone with the competence or equipment to resolve it.
- Urgent finding
- Something creating a risk to health or safety that cannot wait for the written report.
- Limitation
- Something the inspection could not cover, stated explicitly with the reason.
- Scope of competence
- What you are qualified and equipped to assess. Working outside it is where liability lives.
Free — enrol to continue
Read the rest of Conducting a Damp Inspection
Module 1 is open to everyone. The remaining six modules — building science, each damp mechanism in depth, meters and thermal imaging, the full inspection method, and report writing — are free too. We just ask for an email so you can pick up where you left off, and so we can send your certificate when you finish.