Who this article is for: Authority staff responsible for conducting and recording facility inspections.
Overview
Inspections are a core part of any pretreatment program. Authority staff visit Industrial User facilities to verify compliance with discharge permits, review sampling practices, and check pretreatment equipment.
In SwiftComply, each inspection is filled out on an inspection template, chosen when the inspection is started or scheduled. The template sets what the inspection form contains. It can be a short form that records the key details, with the full report attached as a file, or a longer form that holds the inspection questions themselves. When an inspection is submitted, SwiftComply generates a PDF of the completed form.
Accessing the Inspections List
Click Inspections in the left sidebar. The inspections list displays all inspections in a searchable, filterable table. The Status column shows whether each inspection is Scheduled, Past Due, or Completed. The default visible columns are:
Status
IU Name
Account Number
IU Type
Inspection Due
Inspection Start
Inspection End
Inspection Result
Inspection Type
Inspection Reason
Authority Follow Up Required
IU Corrective Actions Required
Nonconformance Found
Nonconformance Definition
Samples Taken
Inspector Name(s)
IU Representative Name(s)
Enforced By
Additional columns (Discharge POTW, SIC Code, NAICS Code, Regulatory Rationale) are available through the column menu but hidden by default. Click a Completed inspection to open its detail page. Click a Scheduled or Past Due inspection to open its inspection form.
Inspection Types
The Inspection Type field has two options:
Type | Description |
Scheduled | A planned inspection conducted as part of the routine monitoring program. |
Unannounced | An unplanned inspection conducted without prior notice to the Industrial User. |
Inspection Reasons
The reason for an inspection indicates why it was conducted:
Reason | Description |
Annual | Routine annual inspection. |
Violation | Follow-up on a reported violation. |
Complaint | Response to a complaint about the facility. |
New Facility | Initial inspection of a new Industrial User. |
Other | Any reason not covered by the above categories. |
Inspection Results
The Inspection Result field has two options:
Result | Description |
Pass | The facility meets all compliance requirements. |
Fail | One or more compliance issues were found during the inspection. |
Recording an Inspection
Make sure the Industrial User already exists in the system.
Navigate to Inspections in the left sidebar and click New Inspection.
In the New Inspection window, select the Industrial User and a Template, then click Start Inspection. The Template list shows your organization's inspection templates. If your organization has a template named Hard Copy Inspection Report Upload, it is selected by default.
Fill out the Inspection Form step, add any nonconformances and attachments, and click Next.
On the Review, Sign, & Submit step, enter your name in Type Your Name and a Date/Time, review the PDF preview, and click Finish. You will be redirected to the inspection detail page.
Inspections created with Schedule appear in the list as Scheduled (or Past Due once their due date passes). Click one to open its inspection form and complete it the same way.
What comes from the template
The template sets the content of the Inspection Form step: its layout and wording, which fields and questions appear, and which of them are required. Your organization can add and edit inspection templates, so the form can differ from one template to the next. Answers to the template's own questions are saved with the inspection and appear in its PDF.
Inspection fields
SwiftComply also has a set of built-in inspection fields that a template can include. Wherever a template places them, they work the same way, and their values appear on the inspection detail page and in the inspections list. The template decides where each field appears and the text shown next to it. The names below are the ones used on the detail page.
Field | Input | Notes |
Inspection Start | Date/Time | Required. Cannot be in the future. |
Inspection End | Date/Time | Required. Must be after Inspection Start. It can be later than the current time. |
Inspection Type | Dropdown | Scheduled or Unannounced. |
Inspection Reason | Dropdown | Annual, Violation, Complaint, New Facility, or Other. |
Inspection Result | Radio buttons | Pass or Fail. |
Authority Follow Up Required | Checkbox | Whether the authority needs to take additional action. |
Authority Follow Up Description | Text | Details of the follow-up actions. |
IU Corrective Actions Required | Checkbox | Whether the Industrial User must take corrective steps. |
IU Corrective Action Description | Text | Details of what the IU needs to do. |
Samples Taken | Checkbox | Whether samples were collected during the inspection. |
IU Representative Name | Text | The facility representative's name. |
Inspector Name(s) is not a form field. It is filled in from the name you enter in Type Your Name when you submit.
The Inspection Form step
Below the template content, every inspection form has a Nonconformances table (see Nonconformances below) and a file upload area (see Attaching the Inspection Report and Supporting Files below).
Next checks the required fields. If any are unanswered, an error lists them and you stay on the step.
Save & Exit saves your progress and returns you to the inspections list. The inspection is marked In Progress until it is submitted.
Cancel asks you to confirm. For an inspection started with New Inspection, confirming deletes the inspection. For a scheduled inspection, it keeps whatever was last saved.
⚠️ Canceling an inspection that was started with New Inspection deletes it, including anything saved earlier with Save & Exit.
The Review, Sign, & Submit step
Opening this step saves the form and generates a PDF preview of the completed inspection.
Type Your Name is required and is recorded as the Inspector Name(s).
Date/Time is required and cannot be in the future.
Click Finish to submit. The inspection's status changes to Completed.
Inspection Detail Page
The detail page for an inspection includes up to three tabs:
Overview tab — Displays the Inspection Report card with the inspection summary (IU Name, Account Number, Inspection Due, dates, type, reason, result, follow-up fields, Samples Taken, Discharge POTW, inspector names, IU representative name, and Enforced By) and any attached files, followed by an Inspection Report PDF section that shows the PDF generated from the completed form.
Activity tab — Lists the inspection's activity, such as when the report was created, edited, and submitted.
Nonconformances tab — Lists any nonconformances documented during the inspection, in separate Violations and Exceptions sections. This tab only appears if nonconformances were recorded.
Nonconformances
Nonconformances are specific issues documented during an inspection. In the Nonconformances table on the Inspection Form step, click Add New to open the Add Nonconformance window. For each nonconformance, enter:
Type — Violation or Exception
Definition — Specific Control Condition or General Control Condition
Classification — Required for violations
Legal Control — The control the nonconformance relates to (required)
Nonconformance Date/Time — When the nonconformance occurred (cannot be in the future)
Description — Details about what was observed
Outfall Name (ID) — The relevant outfall, if applicable
Attachments — Supporting files specific to this nonconformance
You can add multiple nonconformances to a single inspection.
Follow-Up Tracking
When the template includes them, an inspection can flag two types of follow-up:
Follow-Up Type | Description |
Authority Follow Up Required | The authority needs to take additional action after the inspection. |
IU Corrective Actions Required | The Industrial User must take corrective steps to address findings. |
Each follow-up type has a matching description field (Authority Follow Up Description, IU Corrective Action Description) that a template can include.
Attaching the Inspection Report and Supporting Files
Every inspection form has a file upload area below the Nonconformances table, whatever template it uses. Files added here are attached to the inspection itself. Each nonconformance has its own attachments in the Add Nonconformance window.
Click Browse files or drag and drop files onto the area. Accepted file types: PDF, DOC, DOCX, XLS, XLSX, CSV, JPG, JPEG, PNG, GIF, SVG, HEIC, and HEIF. HEIC and HEIF photos are converted to JPEG before upload. Maximum file size is 32 MB per file.
The inspection's attachments also appear on the Inspection Report card on the detail page, where files can be added or removed.
⚠️ Next and Finish are unavailable while files are uploading. Wait for all uploads to finish before continuing.
FAQ
Q: What is the difference between Scheduled and Unannounced inspections?
A: Scheduled inspections are planned in advance as part of the routine monitoring program. Unannounced inspections are conducted without prior notice to the Industrial User.
Q: Can Industrial Users view their inspection records?
A: Yes. Industrial Users can view inspection details for their facility, including results and any required corrective actions.
Q: Can I create an inspection for a date in the future?
A: Inspection Start cannot be in the future. Inspection End must be after Inspection Start, and it can be later than the current time. To plan an inspection ahead of time, use Schedule to give it a due date.
Q: Can I edit an inspection after saving?
A: Yes. Open the inspection and click Edit to reopen the inspection form, then click Finish to resubmit it. Archived inspections cannot be edited.
Q: Can I delete an inspection?
A: You can delete an inspection that has not been submitted yet (Scheduled or Past Due). Open it and click Delete, then type the IU Name to confirm. A Completed inspection cannot be deleted. You can Archive it from its detail page instead.
Q: What are nonconformances?
A: Nonconformances are specific issues documented during an inspection. They can be classified as either a Violation or an Exception, and linked to a Specific Control Condition or a General Control Condition. Each nonconformance is tracked separately and can include its own attachments.