Purpose Statement

The Multiple Inspector Signatures feature allows fire departments to document and capture digital signatures from all inspectors who participate in team inspections. This feature ensures accurate accountability, meets compliance requirements, and reflects the reality of how complex inspections are conducted with multiple personnel.

Background Information

Many fire inspections require multiple inspectors working together, particularly for large commercial buildings, hospitals, schools, or high-rise structures. Previously, the system only supported a single inspector signature, which didn't accurately document team inspections. This feature enables inspection administrators to configure specific inspection types to support multiple inspector signatures, ensuring complete documentation of all participating personnel.

The feature is particularly valuable for:

• Complex commercial building inspections
• Hospital and healthcare facility inspections
• School and educational facility inspections
• High-rise building inspections
• Multi-story residential complexes
• Specialized hazardous material inspections

Required Permissions

To use this feature, users need the following permissions:

• Inspection Type Configuration: Administrator access to modify inspection type settings
• Inspector Management: Ability to view and select from the inspector user list
• Digital Signatures: Permission to capture and manage digital signatures
• Inspection Completion: Authority to complete inspections with multiple signatures

Video

Step-by-Step Guide

1. Navigate to Inspection Types
2. Select the inspection type you want to modify
3. Click Edit to open the configuration screen
   

1. Locate the "Additional Inspector" toggle switch
2. Toggle the switch to On to enable multiple inspector signatures
3. The "Additional Signature Requirements" dropdown will appear
   

1. None: No signature required from additional inspectors
2. Sign or Fill: Additional inspectors can either sign digitally or fill in their information
3. Sign: Additional inspectors must provide a digital signature

1. Click Save to apply your selections
2. Confirm that a success message displays

Conducting an Inspection with Multiple Inspectors

5. Start the Inspection Process

1. Begin the inspection following standard procedures
   
2. Complete all inspection sections as normal
   

1. Primary Inspector Designation
   
2. The logged-in inspector is automatically designated as the "Primary Inspector"
   
3. The primary inspector's full signature block appears with all configured fields (Name, Position, Rank, Badge Number, etc.)
   

1. In the "Additional Inspectors" section, click the dropdown menu
   
2. Search or browse available inspectors (excludes primary inspector and already-added inspectors)
   
3. Select an inspector from the list
   
4. Click the ADD button to add them to the inspection
   

1. View added inspectors with their name, title, and signature area
2. Use the remove (×) button to remove an inspector if needed
3. Confirm removal by clicking Remove in the confirmation dialog
   
4. Can add multiple Additional Inspectors 

1. Primary inspector signs their full signature block
2. Each additional inspector provides their digital signature in their designated area
3. Use Fill, Sign, or Remove options as configured for each signature area
   

1. Ensure all required inspectors have provided their signatures
2. Click Complete Inspection to finalize the process
   

Best Practices

Configuration Best Practices:

• Only enable multiple inspector signatures for inspection types that regularly require team participation
• Choose Sign requirements for inspections requiring legal accountability
• Use Sign or Fill for training scenarios or when digital signature capture isn't always available
• Choose the Assigned To strategy if your department wants continuity with the original inspector handling the follow-up
• Select the Scheduled To strategy if your workflow prioritizes the inspector who actually conducted the inspection

Inspection Process Best Practices:

• Add all participating inspectors at the beginning of the signature process
• Ensure each inspector reviews their portion of the inspection before signing
• Double-check that all required signatures are captured before completing the inspection
• Use the search function in the dropdown when working with large inspector lists

Workflow Considerations:

• Review your department's reinspection workflows before configuring the Default Reinspection Assignee setting for multiple Inspection Types
• Consider using different strategies for different Inspection Types based on their complexity or compliance requirements
• Train inspectors that they can still override the pre-filled assignment when necessary for workload balancing or special circumstances

Team Assignment Tips:

• If your original inspection was assigned to a team but later changed to a specific user, the "Assigned To" strategy will reassign the reinspection to the original team
• Ensure that teams configured in your system are kept up-to-date for accurate assignment routing

Documentation Best Practices:

• Verify inspector names and titles are correct before adding them
• Ensure digital signatures are clear and legible
• Keep a backup record of team inspection assignments for reference
• Review the final report to confirm all signatures appear correctly

Common Mistakes to Avoid:

• Don't complete an inspection without all required signatures
• Don't add the same inspector multiple times (system prevents this)
• Don't remove inspectors after they've signed without proper justification
• Don't forget to save inspection type configurations after enabling the feature

Troubleshooting & FAQs

Multiple Inspector Signatures Questions:

Q: The "Additional Inspector" toggle doesn't appear in my inspection type configuration.
A: Verify you have administrator permissions for inspection type management. Contact your system administrator if the toggle is still missing.

Q: An inspector isn't appearing in the dropdown list.
A: Check that the inspector hasn't already been added to the inspection and verify they have active inspector permissions in the system.

Q: I accidentally removed an inspector who had already signed.
A: Once removed, the inspector's signature is permanently deleted. You'll need to re-add them and have them sign again.

Q: The signature area shows "Your Signature Here" but won't accept a signature.
A: Ensure the signature requirements are set to "Sign" or "Sign or Fill" for the inspection type. Check that your device supports digital signature capture.

Q: The inspection won't complete even though everyone has signed.
A: Verify that all signature requirements are met according to the inspection type configuration. Check that the primary inspector has also provided their signature.

Q: Multiple inspector signatures don't appear on the printed report.
A: Ensure you're using the updated form builder components that include the "Additional Inspectors Table" component.

Q: Can I change the signature requirements after inspectors have already signed?
A: No, changing signature requirements affects only new inspections. Existing inspections maintain their original requirements.

Q: Is there a limit to how many additional inspectors I can add?
A: The system supports a minimum of 6 inspector signatures per inspection, including the primary inspector.

Q: Can additional inspectors edit the inspection details?
A: Only the primary inspector (logged-in user who completes the inspection) can edit inspection details. Additional inspectors only provide their signatures.

Q: What happens if an additional inspector leaves the department?
A: Completed inspections retain the signature information. For active inspections, you may need to remove the departed inspector and add a replacement.

Default Reinspection Assignee Questions:

Q: I don't see the Default Reinspection Assignee dropdown in my Inspection Type settings. Why?
A: This dropdown only appears when the system-level setting "Enable Inspector Scheduled To Field" is turned ON. Navigate to Settings > Inspection Setup and verify this setting is enabled.

Q: What happens if I select "Scheduled To" but the original inspection has no Scheduled To inspector assigned?
A: The system will fall back to the original inspection's "Assigned To" user or team. If that is also not valid, the "Assigned to" field will be left blank and will require manual selection when scheduling the reinspection.

Q: Can inspectors override the pre-filled assignment?
A: Yes. The Default Reinspection Assignee setting only prefills the "Assigned to" field in the Schedule Reinspection modal. Inspectors can select a different user or team from the dropdown before saving the reinspection.

Q: What happens to existing Inspection Types when this feature is deployed?
A: When the feature is first deployed, all existing Inspection Types (where "Enable Inspector Scheduled To Field" is ON) will default to the "Assigned To" strategy. You can update them individually as needed.

Q: If an inspection was originally assigned to a team but changed to a specific user, which assignment is used for the reinspection?
A: When using the "Assigned To" strategy, the system will reassign the reinspection to the original team, not the individual user it was changed to during the inspection process.

Q: Where does this assignment behavior apply?
A: The Default Reinspection Assignee strategy applies in two scenarios:

1. When an inspector creates a reinspection while conducting an inspection
2. When scheduling a reinspection from the inspection list for completed inspections with violations that don't yet have a scheduled reinspectio