How to carry out an INSTA 800 inspection, step by step

An INSTA 800 inspection is not difficult. But it has fixed rules, and if you skip one step the result is worthless. Here is the whole process, the way we recommend doing it, with a 62-room office building as the example.

Need the basics first? Read What is INSTA 800? and the quality levels 1–5.

Step 1: Set a quality profile on every room

Before you can inspect, every room needs an agreed level per object group. This is the quality profile. Set it per room type, not per room, so you avoid maintaining 62 individual decisions.

Example for the office building:

The profile belongs in the contract. If it is not there, you have nothing to inspect against.

Step 2: Define the lot

A lot is all the rooms that are inspected together. Usually that is all rooms with the same quality profile in one building, or all rooms in the building if you want one combined result. In the example: all 62 rooms.

Rooms over 100 m² must be split into inspection units of up to 100 m². An open-plan office of 240 m² becomes three units.

Step 3: Draw the sample

This is where the statistics come in. INSTA 800 uses the sampling tables in ISO 2859-1. You need two numbers:

• Lot size: number of rooms (62)
• AQL: acceptable quality level, agreed in the contract, usually 4 percent

The table then gives:

• Sample: 13 rooms
• Acceptance number: 1
• Rejection number: 2

In other words: inspect 13 rooms. If at most one room fails, the lot passes. If two or more fail, the lot does not pass.

The sample must be random. Do not pick the rooms you "know" are bad, and not the ones you know are fine. Use a random draw. In CleanFlow the sample is drawn automatically when you start the inspection.

Step 4: Choose the time

The inspection must be done after the cleaning has been carried out and before the room is used. If you arrive at 2 pm at an office that was cleaned at 6 am, you are measuring the users' mess, not the cleaning.

So agree a window in the contract, for example "within two hours after cleaning is completed". Many do the inspection early in the morning together with the cleaning supervisor.

Step 5: Count accumulations per object group

Now the actual inspection starts. For each room in the sample you go through the four object groups:

1. Furniture: desks, chairs, shelves, doors, frames, handles
2. Walls: including skirting, switches and sockets
3. Floors: including corners and under furniture you can see under
4. Ceilings: including light fittings and vents

For each group you count accumulations of waste, dust and stains. An accumulation is a bounded area of dirt. Three dust particles close together are one accumulation. Dust along the whole window sill is also one accumulation, but on an easily accessible surface.

Surface soiling (type 4) is not counted. There you assess how large a share of the surface is affected.

Some practical advice:

• Always count in the same order, so you do not forget a group.
• Distinguish between easily accessible and hard-to-reach surfaces. The limits differ.
• Take a photo of borderline findings. It saves discussion later.
• Do not tidy or wipe while you count. You are the inspector, not the cleaner.

Step 6: Assess each room

Compare the number of accumulations with the limit for the room's level, accessibility and area class. One object group over the limit is enough for the room to fail.

Example: Office 214, 18 m², level 3 on furniture. The inspector counts five accumulations of dust and stains on easily accessible furniture. The limit for level 3 in this area class is lower, and the room fails.

It is easy to get the tables wrong here. Software that knows the limits makes this step both faster and safer. In CleanFlow the inspector enters the count in the app, on a phone or tablet, and the system answers approved or rejected per room. The inspection works without coverage too, and the report is ready when the last room is assessed.

Step 7: Conclude and report

Count the number of failed rooms and compare with the acceptance number.

• 0 or 1 failed out of 13: the lot passes
• 2 or more: the lot does not pass

The report should contain:

• date, building, inspector and who took part
• lot size, AQL, sample and acceptance number
• the list of rooms in the sample with results
• findings per object group for failed rooms, preferably with photos
• the conclusion for the lot

Share the report with the other party as it is. When both see the same numbers, the follow-up meeting is short.

What do you do when the lot fails?

The contract should say. Common solutions:

• The contractor corrects the failed rooms within a deadline.
• A new inspection is carried out within, for example, two weeks.
• Repeated failures trigger a price reduction or a formal notice.

The important thing is that a failed lot leads to action, not to a discussion about whether the inspector was too strict.

Between the formal inspections: self-inspection

A formal INSTA 800 inspection is perhaps done monthly or quarterly. In between, the cleaners or the supervisor should do self-inspections with simple checklists. That catches deviations early, and it shows the customer that quality work is continuous. In CleanFlow, self-inspection is a separate, simpler inspection type that follows the same quality profile.

Frequently asked questions

How long does an inspection take? With 13 rooms and a digital tool: one to two hours including the report. With a form and a pen: add an hour for compilation.

Can customer and contractor inspect together? Yes, and it is recommended. Then both agree on the count immediately.

What if we disagree about an accumulation? Take a photo, note the disagreement and move on. One disputed accumulation rarely decides the result for the lot.

Want to skip the tables? See how CleanFlow draws the sample and calculates the result automatically, or try it free for 14 days.