Recording the building inspection on site, element by element

Keursnel works with one fixed template for the building inspection of a home. It runs from the roof to the crawl space. It contains 42 chapters, 227 sections and 446 items. Together they offer over 4,800 answers to choose from.

The home profile determines which chapters and rows you see. It has 31 characteristics, such as the year of construction, the type of home, a VvE (owners' association) and the number of bathrooms. If the profile says there is no cellar, you do not see the Kelder (cellar) chapter.

In the template, 14 building elements are repeatable. Each instance gets its own answers and its own costs. So you fill in two dormers separately, each with its own rating.

• On the roof: dormer, roof window, continuous rooflight and chimney
• Inside: bathroom, toilet, kitchen, other sanitary facilities and boiler
• Outside: balcony, bay window, extension, carport and outbuilding

An answer in Keursnel is more than a tick. The answer determines what goes into the report: the text, the rating, the amount and the timeframe. If an answer is priced per m², per metre or per unit, you enter the quantity.

There are six ratings: good, adequate, fair, poor, further investigation and not assessed. A section or chapter gets the most severe rating of everything below it. You also see how often each rating occurs.

With fair or poor there is always an amount, or a reason why there is no amount. You can also set a rating yourself, always with a reason. There is no AI involved: the text comes from the answer you choose.

• Text: a finding and advice
• Rating: one of the six ratings
• Amount: from the rates, entered by you, or a reason without an amount
• Timeframe: within 1 year, within 5 years or improvement costs
• Flag: safety or consequential damage, where relevant

Often the rest of a chapter is simply in order. With Rest in orde you set everything that is still open to “in orde” (in order) in one go. You can do this per chapter, or per instance, such as one dormer.

It takes two steps. First, Keursnel shows what is about to happen. Then it asks whether everything was accessible and whether you have looked at everything. Only when you say yes does Keursnel set the answers.

Rest in orde skips 85 rows, such as measurements. You always choose those yourself. For each answer, Keursnel records that it was set with Rest in orde. That way it stays a deliberate choice on your part.

Type a word in the search bar. Keursnel searches all items and answers, including the text that goes into the report. So you can find “panhaken” (roof tile hooks) or “wortelgroei” (root growth), even if that word is not in the title. Tap an answer in the results: Keursnel selects it and jumps to the item.

With Looproute (walking route) you put the chapters in the order in which you walk through a home. The numbers and the order in the report do not change. If you open the inspection again later, the link “Verder waar je was” (continue where you left off) takes you to the chapter you last had open.

You add photos at the item itself, with the camera or from your files.

• Your recently chosen answers close at hand
• Copy answers from the previous instance, such as for a second dormer
• Keursnel saves your walking route per user

Every home is different. That is why you can change the text, the amount, the timeframe, the title or the NHG code of a chosen answer. You give a reason. The report shows what applies, and Keursnel keeps a record of what you changed and why.

See something that is not in the template? Create a custom finding with a title, text, rating, amount and timeframe. You can also set a flag, a reason without an amount and an NHG code. A custom finding counts towards the rating, the costs and the report.

Does a row not apply to this home? Set it to not applicable. The row then does not count towards the rating, the costs or the check. You can always undo that.

Use your own text often? Anyone allowed to manage the firm's texts can save it from the input screen as a custom answer.

If a custom finding with a defect sits next to a row set to “in orde”, Controle warns you to check this.

For a new, empty inspection, Keursnel retrieves data from the BAG of the Kadaster (the Dutch Land Registry). To do this, the address is sent to PDOK (the Dutch government's geodata platform). This gives you the type of home, the year of construction, the usable floor area and some tiles of the home profile. For a building with one home, the volume in m³ is added as well. Keursnel gets that from 3D BAG by TU Delft, using the building number.

You get a notification to check that data. Do check it: the BAG is a register, and it can differ from what you see on site. Keursnel does not yet make a measurement report according to NEN 2580 (the Dutch standard for floor areas); it is listed in the app as Binnenkort (coming soon).

Starting profiles fill in tiles of the home profile in advance, based on the type of home and the construction period. It is a preselection; you check the tiles.

Some answers follow from others. For example, if you choose timber boarding for the ceiling, Keursnel suggests that combustible finish under fire safety. You decide whether to accept the suggestion. If a characteristic matches exactly one descriptive answer, Keursnel selects that answer in advance.

• Type of home, year of construction and usable floor area from the BAG
• Volume in m³ from 3D BAG, for a building with one home
• Starting profiles by type of home and construction period
• 3 rules that suggest an answer based on another answer

Sometimes a client only asks about the roof or the crawl space. Then you choose a partial inspection. You choose per chapter, or per part directly below it, what you inspect. The input, the check and the report only show those parts.

A partial inspection does not get an NHG annex. The NHG model covers the whole home.

Inspecting with a colleague? You can both work in the same inspection at the same time. What the other person enters comes in live. If you both work on the same field, the last change applies.

Lose signal in the cellar or the crawl space? You simply carry on working. Your input and photos wait, encrypted, on your device until there is a connection again.