Inspection Departments Still Struggling to Trust Their Own Data, Survey Finds
According to Inspectioneering’s State of Inspection Data Survey Report, published in the November/December 2025 issue of Inspectioneering Journal, a survey of 131 owner/operators worldwide found that inspection departments are still navigating significant gaps in technology confidence and internal capacity when it comes to data-driven decision-making.
Where the Confidence Gap Lives
The report, authored by Nick Schmoyer, Managing Partner and Technical Director at Inspectioneering, examined digital transformation in mechanical integrity across three areas: data collection, data management, and data modeling and decision-making. The data modeling and decision-making section stood out as a particularly revealing area.
Two themes emerge from the publicly available structure of the report: confidence in mechanical integrity tools tends to build over time rather than arrive with implementation, and bandwidth is a primary bottleneck preventing teams from getting full value out of the technologies they already have. In other words, operators may have the tools but not the people-hours to use them effectively. That’s a meaningful finding for any company selling field inspection services into refineries, petrochemical plants, or midstream facilities.
What It Means for Subcontractors
- Bandwidth gaps are opportunity gaps. If owner/operators lack internal capacity to fully execute their inspection programs, third-party inspection subcontractors with trained personnel and proven workflows are a direct solution to that problem.
- Trust in tools takes time. Subcontractors who can demonstrate consistent, well-documented inspection data, delivered in formats that feed directly into a client’s existing MI systems, will have an edge over competitors who just show up and turn wrenches.
- Decision-making support is a sellable service. As operators lean harder on data modeling for run/repair/replace decisions, inspection firms that offer reporting tied to risk-based inspection frameworks, such as API 580 or API 510, position themselves as partners rather than vendors.
- Mechanical integrity work is growing in complexity. Subcontractors investing in personnel familiar with data management tools and digital MI platforms will be better positioned as owner/operators continue pushing digital transformation inside the fence.
