Efficiency at Dutch Inspectorates:

Inspectorates have the difficult task to try to keep the Netherlands as safe as possible. They do so with limited resources and continuous involvement of politics, organizations and civilians. Besides those challenges, they almost have to act as a soothsayer: trying to prevent something that has not happened before. How can Inspectorates keep up and fulfill their task? Different research has been done about the supervision paradox and the risk regulation reflex. Both phenomena have a considerable impact on the way an Inspectorate functions. To address those phenomena, a more transparent and accountable way of supervision planning is needed. Therefore, in this research, we propose a new way of supervision planning based on prospective supervision and risk coverage. We created a model that optimizes the way inspectors, the resources of Inspectorates, are deployed. This creates a more efficient way of supervision planning, with direct impact on the amount of risk coverage and by doing so, aiming to lower the risk in the living environment. Because of the by default immeasurable attributes of risk, measuring the effects of the optimized coverage is difficult. Instead, the proposed solution and model creates transparency and accountability for the decision makers to decide on which risk area there should be focus and what the impact is on the current focus. And, if risk coverage is not adequate, what is the impact of a number of new inspectors? The proposed solution in this research is the answer to the formulated research question: How can the total risk coverage in a geographic area suitably inspected or visited be maximized by more efficiently deploying available resources? By doing so, the proposed solution helps ILT with the challenge (business problem) to deploy resources more efficiently and at the same time, this solution assist in a new way of supervision by creating accountability and transparency.