The CASp inspection and report are a critical and vital part of accurate compliance on your property. This inspection is performed by a Certified Access Specialist who has undergone rigorous training and education in the exact field of disability access.
Prior to the CASp program, owners needed a precise avenue to pursue compliance. City Building officials, inspectors, architects, and contractors needed particular training; therefore, architects would design projects, city officials approved them, contractors built them according to plan, and the owners were sued later. This is why all projects should start with a CASp inspection and a report by a quality inspector.
When locating and ordering your CASp inspection, ACR highly suggests working with a qualified ADA TEAM. If you elect not to work with a TEAM, you will most likely have difficulty finding an ADA Designer or a contractor qualified to perform the corrections within the report. This often becomes very frustrating. When you work with a truly qualified ADA TEAM such as ACR, we provide the CASp report, ADA Design, ADA contractor for the corrections, and the city permit. All of this is performed in-house, which reduces costs, mistakes, and frustration.
Keep in mind, like everything else, there are good CASp inspectors and poor inspectors. Be careful and ask questions such as “As an inspector, do you also work for law firms that file these cases against owners”? Believe it or not, some inspectors assist the law firms that file these cases, so be careful. Ensure your inspector uses a BlueDAG format since this is the best way to review the report. The report should NOT be used as a design and not handed to a contractor to correct according to the report since it is NOT a blueprint. The report should be handed to the ADA TEAM and the ADA Design Professional for a design and city permit. For example, the cost for a typical CASp inspection and report for a small retail center for the exterior should be in the range of $450-$750. This gives you a basic cost of a quality report.
Ensure your CASp inspector does not insist or pressure you to use his contractor. Often, the inspector has a financial relationship with the contractor and may overlook corrections in the contractor’s favor. So ask, “Do you have ANY financial agreements with this contractor?”. This could be as simple as the contractor paying the CASp inspector a finder’s fee or referral fee. The key is to have the inspector separate so there is no conflict.
When working with ACR and our TEAM approach, we are all separate professionals, including CASp Inspector, ADA Design Professional/Contractor, and our expert ADA attorney to assist clients with ADA lawsuits. This confirms there is NO conflict, and we work together to provide the best compliance to reduce multiple lawsuits due to inferior work. This method has proven to provide the best compliance at a competitive price.
