The coming IR wave

IR scanning technology in home inspections… the birth pangs of a changing profession…

I have read with amused interest the pros and cons inspectors have about the use of FLIR technology VS price and even moral ethnics… But the truth is we can not put the genie back inside the bottle, we can not re-close Pandora’s box… and Adam can not ever un-bite the apple. Many boilermakers cried rivers of tears when that “evil” diesel engine was adapted to locomotive platforms, and the eerie but loved steam whistle fell into silence across our great nation. And today we have home inspectors who swear by flashlights and think this keeps them free from the truth of progress of the profession, or reduces their liability.

Like the boilermaker, the genie, and even the missing apple chunk… the wind of change is blowing in our profession… In business, you absorbed the price, and find a way… or you become extinct, you market better, get smarter, or what have you, you never remain static in your profession, or you become “without” a profession.

Remember when the suction device was introduced to dentistry? It was all the rage! Not to slobber all over yourself, or have the assistant smear spit all over your chin every 2 minutes… That suction thingy sure was the cats ***… Now you cant find a dentist with out one… Why? The demands of the human race for progress yearn for mouth suction devices at all dentist office throughout the land…

Remember when many home inspectors thought the mercury bulb thermometer was irreplaceable? That was such a silly time in our past… hehehe. Remember when many home inspectors never saw that big FLIR truck speeding at them, or failed to recognize it? Lead, follow or get out the way. The FLIR truck is here and the profession is changing… do you see it now? How about now?

Any half way descent attorney can make you look guilty as he** if you have FILR, or if you don’t have FLIR… the secret is it all depends what side has the most money to pay in attorney fees, and what you portrayed to your clients in word and pen… and if you are confident in your use of the technology… Do you remember the lawsuit involving that negligent dentist who accidentally suctioned a client’s eye out… the client never saw that coming… LOL… never the less, the suction tool is indispensable when used properly… (I for one,) wont use a dentist without this tool, but I will keep my eyes closed when that sucker gets near my face… especially if the dentist is wearing a clown suit… I don’t trust clowns with dental suction devises….

FLIR… it cost money to make money… your profession is changing… see it now… Did seatbelts increase or decrease auto makers liabilities for wrongful deaths?

Remember when 8-track tapes and tape players were the “final word” in music recording?

Remember beta recording tapes for your VCR?

Technology comes and technology goes…new replaces old…but the home inspector with his eyes, ears, nose and knowledge is not to be replaced by a gadget. Gadgets replace gadgets.

Accurate reporting at reasonable costs in adherance to the SOP is what the customer will be paying for … just like they still do with inspectors who still use mercury bulb thermometers.:wink: