What we mean by building inspections
A building inspection can be carried out by walking around your school building(s) and identifying energy and water using equipment, how it is being used and the condition it is in. Building inspections are often made easier with the use of checklists so that they can become part of routine maintenance procedures and regularly address the same issues each time they are carried out.
What are the benefits of building inspections?
Regular inspections of your energy and water using equipment can help you to identify where and how much waste is occurring. They can also help you prioritise housekeeping and maintenance activities.
Inspections should be carried out at different times of the day so you can build up a picture of how equipment is used and perhaps identify what apparatus is left running overnight, wasting energy and increasing your costs.
How to get started on building inspections
Develop a set of checklists to cover all areas of your school. Most energy will be used to provide heating (space and water), lighting and to power ICT equipment. Specialist areas such as kitchens and sports facilities should have their own checklist.
Allocate checklists to the appropriate people. For instance, maintenance staff may be responsible for inspections of heating plant and specialist areas whilst pupils could complete good housekeeping checklists for toilets, corridors and classroom areas.
How Sustainable Learning helps registered schools with building inspections
Sustainable Learning offers guidance on the importance of regular inspections, and a simplistic checklist to get you started is available in the Sustainable Learning Scheme Progress Booklet available to registered schools to download. Work in this area will count towards all Level awards within the scheme.
We are currently developing a tool to assist in this process which should be available early next school year.
Where to get further information
The Carbon Trust have produced a free guide: A Whole School Approach (CTV037) with an insert to help schools with inspections. You may need to tailor the publication to suit your school’s requirements.
