Tuesday, July 9

The supply chain architect could not believe that almost two weeks had passed and still there was no sign of a plumbing inspector. The rough plumbing and electrical work were done. The electrical inspection was done. But the sheetrock work could not begin before the plumbing inspection.

He decided to call Tom, the house architect, on the phone.

I m sorry; I m unavailable to answer your call right now. If you would like to leave a message, please dial one at the tone.

He identified himself and left a voicemail, Good afternoon, Tom. Listen, you said it would only take a couple of days to get the plumbing approved. It s been nearly two weeks! Isn t there some way to move this along?

Tom returned his call two hours later. Yes, it has got to be frustrating for you. The plumbing inspection is scheduled for Thursday morning between 8:00 a.m. and noon. Will someone be home to let the inspector into the kitchen?

The electrical inspection was so fast and painless. Why can t one inspector do all the inspections? Why is this so complicated?

The different trades need different kinds of information. Inspectors are licensed under different jurisdictions. And there are different levels of regret factors if we continue with the work.

What do you mean? asked the supply chain architect.

The risk of the plumber having a bad solder joint on a copper pipe is that the pipe will spring a leak and ruin the sheetrock. But the...