What does a public works inspector do?
Public works inspector responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real public works inspector resumes:
- Coordinate, manage, and conduct geotechnical engineering and engineering geology subsurface investigations.
- Inspect all new construct ion city public works projects, including water, sewer, asphalt, and concrete.
- Provide QA-QC on GIS files.
- Coordinate with the contractor and enforces safety rule and regulation according to OSHA.
- Work consist of calibration and installation of many electronic transmitters used in monitoring power boiler operations.
- Verify quantities for contract change orders and progress payments, and review submittals per contract, and RFI's.
- Document quantities of CIPP lining and point repair installations for progress schedules and invoices.
- Perform QA/QC inspection on open cut and CIPP point repairs at the location in the sanitary sewer system.
- Provide regional stormwater designs, water quality reports, SWPPP and BMP plans.
Public works inspector skills and personality traits
We calculated that 13% of Public Works Inspectors are proficient in Asphalt, Construction Projects, and Traffic Control. They’re also known for soft skills such as Communication skills, Craft experience, and Detail oriented.
We break down the percentage of Public Works Inspectors that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Asphalt, 13%
Inspected all new construct ion city public works projects, including water, sewer, asphalt, and concrete.
- Construction Projects, 12%
Perform oversight inspections for major construction projects that are under the project management of other entities, i.e.
- Traffic Control, 9%
Submit a traffic control and safety plan for job and employees prior in before starting project.
- Public Works, 8%
Perform final inspection of public works projects and prepare detailed lists of incomplete/deficient work.
- Construction Sites, 7%
Insured compliance with all construction materials, approved plans, specifications, and construction details for all construction sites.
- Construction Methods, 6%
Developed construction methods in both a safe and practical manner significantly reducing man-hour requirements.
"asphalt," "construction projects," and "traffic control" are among the most common skills that public works inspectors use at work. You can find even more public works inspector responsibilities below, including:
Communication skills. The most essential soft skill for a public works inspector to carry out their responsibilities is communication skills. This skill is important for the role because "inspectors must be able to explain problems they discover and to write a report that clearly describes their findings." Additionally, a public works inspector resume shows how their duties depend on communication skills: "maintained communication with the contractor and with the department of public works. "
Detail oriented. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of public works inspectors is detail oriented. This skill is critical to many everyday public works inspector duties, as "inspectors thoroughly examine many different construction activities." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "maintained detailed journals, creating gis maps and cad graphics. "
Mechanical knowledge. public works inspector responsibilities often require "mechanical knowledge." The duties that rely on this skill are shown by the fact that "inspectors use a variety of testing equipment to check complex systems and must therefore understand how the systems operate." This resume example shows what public works inspectors do with mechanical knowledge on a typical day: "provide training and mentoring to new hires including working knowledge of windows, city of tampa applications, procedures and policies. "
The three companies that hire the most public works inspectors are:
- Charles Abbott Associates, Inc. (CAA)2 public works inspectors jobs
- City of Renton2 public works inspectors jobs
- City of Louisville2 public works inspectors jobs
Choose from 10+ customizable public works inspector resume templates
Build a professional public works inspector resume in minutes. Our AI resume writing assistant will guide you through every step of the process, and you can choose from 10+ resume templates to create your public works inspector resume.
Compare different public works inspectors
Public works inspector vs. Warehouse examiner
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a public works inspector are more likely to require skills like "asphalt," "construction projects," "traffic control," and "public works." On the other hand, a job as a warehouse examiner requires skills like "financial institutions," "safety training," "dot," and "data entry." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
Warehouse examiners tend to reach lower levels of education than public works inspectors. In fact, warehouse examiners are 6.3% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.0% less likely to have a Doctoral Degree.Public works inspector vs. Port patrol officer
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that public works inspector responsibilities requires skills like "asphalt," "construction projects," "traffic control," and "public works." But a port patrol officer might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "patrol," "cvsa," "data entry," and "commercial vehicles."
Port patrol officers earn similar levels of education than public works inspectors in general. They're 1.2% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.0% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Public works inspector vs. Design project inspector
Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from public works inspector resumes include skills like "asphalt," "construction projects," "traffic control," and "public works," whereas a design project inspector is more likely to list skills in "engineering drawings," "r," "hvac," and "auto cad. "
Most design project inspectors achieve a similar degree level compared to public works inspectors. For example, they're 4.2% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 2.1% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Public works inspector vs. Section 8 inspector
Updated January 8, 2025
