As a consultant you are in the service industry, no matter what you may think, you are providing a service to your client and your end product is your report. That’s the only deliverable you generally have from an inspection. It’s the main thing you will be judged on. Because of this, your report writing ability will define your success and your repeat clients. Practice your writing. Write a few articles, papers, and opinion pieces in response to what you see online. Save them, review and rewrite as you get more practice, you don’t have to publish them!
Your writing style is your own and will develop as you gain more experience with the process of writing various reports, and there are so many different types of reports that you can write your style should change for each one. If you have a template or controlled system, (think of the SIRE, CMID, or OVID inspections) the questions are set, responses are required, and entered in specific ways. Training is required for the inspector in those programs and the requirements normally require honesty and no opinions.
Similarly, if you are completing a condition survey, marine warranty, mission equipment, or other equipment surveys then the report allows for more flexibility. You are assessing if the vessel or equipment is suitable, operated safely, and so on. This is much more subjective but is still based on facts.
Then, if you are completing an incident investigation, corrective actions, causation report, legal report, or similar then the main conclusions are likely to be completely subjective and your opinions based, again, on the facts.
Know who your final audience is for the report. If it is a suitability survey for a marine warranty work scope then the main deliverable is whether the vessel is suitable for the work scope it is intended for, the 50 pages of details are generally going to be skimmed over and the executive summary read in detail. The client is not likely to have time to read every part of a suitability survey report for a large project. For legal reports, the whole report will be read carefully by lawyers and their team on both sides and you may be questioned on parts in the courts.
Format & Content
If you have been given a template from your client or company to complete then do just that. If you start messing with the formatting it can make the whole document unusable. If you are starting with a blank document write it with accessibility, cross-referencing, and future editing in mind. Use numbered lists for each paragraph, keep the formatting constant. If you are using Microsoft Word then use the “styles” formatting for every part of the report.
Keep the documented aligned to the left throughout. Use a standard font (Calibri, Arial, or similar) and a standard size throughout (11pt works). Only use bold and larger text for a heading. Use italics and underlines sparingly. Use color judiciously. If you are creating your own report making it pleasing to the eye may differentiate you from the competition.
The content should be clear. If you are writing a technical report try not to go over the top with the jargon, but if you do, then explain what the term means in plain English the first time you use it. Any abbreviations should be written longhand the first time it is used. Numbers should be spelled out between one and ten, then numbers (465, 7,823 etc) used for larger numbers.
The word processing program you are using likely comes with spell check and grammar checking capabilities. If you are not sure of their use then download Grammarly and install it in your browser, on your phone etc. (it is free, multi-use across your programs.) Use the language setting for the location your final client is in, if they are in the UK then add some U’s, USA remove the S’s, and replace them with Z’s. If English is your second language these tools can be invaluable.
Follow the Basics:
A standard report that you may write should follow a standard style similar to the one listed below:
Issue: What is the problem you are trying to describe, explain or show? What were your instructions from the client?
Introduction: Who are you? What vessel is it? When were you there? Where was it? What was it doing?
Fact: What are the facts? What happened? What is incontrovertible? This should be backed up by observations, photographs, documents, or statements. This is not for opinion or generalizations.
Opinion: What is the opinion or conclusion of the observations made? This should be an opinion that a peer would share, or come to the same conclusion, on the basis of the facts laid out.
You can adjust the headings for each section but think of it as a story with a beginning, middle, and end that should flow and lead the reader to the same conclusions you made.
Conclusion / Executive Summary
If the report allows it include a conclusion. You could call it an executive summary and put it at the front if you wish. It is generally a descriptive text for the vessel, cause of inspection and big picture conclusions. It is normally a few paragraphs long and declares the main conclusions, observations, and so forth.
Control your Document
Save your report often. The newer versions of Microsoft office come with an auto-save feature. This can be a blessing, or a disaster if you are not aware of it. The autosave will overwrite your original document as you edit it, so if you are opening an issued document to edit it, “save as” before you start your edits.
Control the document with revision numbers. Usually, revisions with letters are internal and used prior to issuing to the client, then revision 0 is the first revision issued to the client. Save your document with the title you want prior to starting to edit. Consider sending the client Rev.X for review prior to sending the final Rev.0 report (depending on the type of report and the client).
Use track changes if you are reviewing someone’s document, do not edit it without showing the author what you suggest they change, it is not your remit as the reviewer to determine what was observed. Save the file with a new name, with your initials, or some other way to identify it as a QC’d version.
Delivering the Product
Your report could be shared within the company or sent to other clients, and other marine consultants. You want to make your report stand up to that scrutiny.
The report should be converted to a secure format, PDF is normal, and make sure it is signed. You can sign digitally if you know how to, and this also secures the document.
Follow Up
Once you have sent the report, and if you do not hear back from the client, follow up after a few days to check the report could be opened and satisfied the client’s requirements. It’s basic marketing that you have the excuse of the report to further interact with the client and see if there’s anything else you can assist them with.
Our Conclusion
- Be factual.
- Use a standard font and a standard size.
- Use a spell-check and watch for correctly spelled words that do not fit. (Fall, fell, fill, full for example.)
- Use a grammar check solution if you can and have someone else read the report before you send it out.
- Make sure your conclusion or executive summary makes sense.
For more information check out some publications on the subject with more detailed guidance:
Report Writing for marine surveyors – ISBN-12: 978-0954809775
Report writing for professional marine engineers – ISBN-13: 978-0956560056
How to write an expert witness report – ISBN-13: 978-1892904430
We will try and place a repository of inspection templates at the end of the series.