Visual inspection and structural damage / condition assessment are two sides of a coin called structural rehabilitation.

Visual inspection is to be very carefully, critically and scrupulously carried out.

Visual inspection lays a foundation of structural damage / condition assessment. Inspection of the surface under address has to be careful and close. Spalling of concrete, deflection of concrete member, cracks, signs of fungus, differential (horizontal or vertical) movement of the member, traces of rust colour on the surface, bulging of member etc are few of many signs of structural damage or deficiency. Width of crack, degree and distance of deflection, buckling width of member, surrounding conditions etc can be found out only with careful and critical visual inspection.

Reason of each defect / deficiency / damage are to be individually evaluated and identified. This is possible only with close and careful visual inspection because it forms a base of further investigation like tests (non-destructive or semi-destructive) to have better idea about root cause of damage. It fairly helps in distress mapping of the member which can lead towards software analysis of the damages to arrive close to identification of particular parameter with its magnitude of loss.

Just as many zeros carry the value only after they follow the ‘figure one’, visual inspection is that ‘figure one’ for all the exercises of structural damage / condition assessment.

It is hence mandatory that the first and foremost step towards structural damage / condition assessment – which is visual inspection – is carried out by an experienced, knowledgeable and an expert technocrat to take the further investigation in the most appropriate direction.