# Culvert inspection software that writes the condition record for you.

> Culvert inspection software: field photos, video and voice become coded, GIS-ready condition records. AI drafts each finding; your inspector approves.

Pilot open. Page: https://inspectial.com/culvert-inspection-software

Photograph the inlet, barrel and outlet. Inspectial's AI codes debris, sediment, cracking, corrosion, joint defects and scour into a structured, evidence-linked culvert record. Your inspector approves every finding, and the data lands in your GIS, not in a PDF.

## The culvert visit is the quick part. The coding is not.

A single culvert comes back as a pile of loose evidence. Someone in the office then sorts it, matches it to the culvert ID, codes each defect against your rating manual, writes the report and updates the GIS.

Multiply that by hundreds of structures on a route, and the condition data your asset system needs is the last thing to get done. What comes out is usually a PDF or a spreadsheet that someone has to re-key.

## How it works

1. **Capture offline, culvert by culvert.** The field app lists the culverts on today's route by distance and walks the inspector through inlet, barrel, outlet and roadway. Every photo, clip and voice note is stamped with time, GPS and culvert ID. No signal needed.
2. **AI codes the defects.** Evidence is grouped by component and turned into coded observations: debris, sediment, cracking, corrosion, joint defects and scour, each with a severity, a confidence and the photos it came from.
3. **An inspector approves.** A qualified reviewer checks each finding next to its photos and approves, edits or rejects it. The AI's grade is kept separately from the approved grade, so you can always see what a person changed.
4. **Export to your GIS.** Approved culvert records go out as GeoJSON, CSV, a PDF report or through the API, keyed to your culvert IDs and ready for ArcGIS, QGIS or your asset management system.

## What the culvert pack records

Four components, fifteen observation types and a four-step condition scale where the worst defect controls. During the pilot we map it to your agency's rating manual and culvert IDs.

- **Inlet and outlet:** Debris blockage, Sediment, Vegetation, Erosion, Scour / undermining, End structure damage, Perched outlet, Piping / seepage
- **Barrel:** Cracking, Spalling / exposed rebar, Corrosion, Deformation, Joint defect, Misalignment, Sediment, Debris blockage
- **Roadway and embankment:** Roadway distress, Erosion, Piping / seepage, Vegetation

**Condition scale:**

- **Good:** Functions as designed. Minor, isolated defects at most.
- **Fair:** Moderate defects that don't yet threaten structure or flow. Monitor or schedule maintenance.
- **Poor:** Significant defects affecting structure or hydraulics: section loss, open joints, active scour. Repair needed.
- **Critical:** Failure or imminent failure: collapse, perforation with soil loss, full blockage. Immediate action.

**Reference standards:** AASHTO Culvert and Storm Drain System Inspection Guide; FHWA Culvert Inspection Manual; State DOT culvert rating manuals; Your own condition codes

## Example record (Culvert C-1042)

- Headwall · surface: weathering (AI suggested)
- Barrel · surface: staining (AI suggested)
- Barrel · vegetation: moss at wall base (AI suggested)
- Outlet · flow: clear (human verified)
- Channel · sediment: loose stones (possible) (AI suggested)
- Wing wall · surface: no defects visible (human verified)

## Principles

- **Agent-ready data, not documents.** The structured dataset is the source of truth, so your GIS, scripts and AI agents read it directly. Reports are generated from approved observations, never written straight from the media.
- **Evidence first.** Every observation references the photos, clips or notes behind it. A finding never exists only as an AI sentence.
- **A human approves.** AI proposes; a qualified person decides. Inspectial is not an autonomous inspector, and only approved inspections become official records. Every value is tagged with who stands behind it.
- **Location is first-class.** Evidence, observations and assets carry coordinates, so the output drops onto a map without cleanup.
- **Offline-first.** The full capture flow works with no signal. Data syncs when the connection returns.
- **Configurable, not custom-built.** Your checklist, condition codes and report format live in a template we set up with you. Not a new app.

## Who it's for

- **Drainage and culvert inspection contractors:** You already have crews, cameras and reporting workflows. Inspectial is built to cut the hours spent coding photos and writing reports, so the same team covers more structures.
- **Counties and municipalities with small GIS teams:** Get culvert condition data that lands in your GIS, keyed to your asset IDs, without anyone re-keying it from PDFs.
- **Road maintenance contractors:** Inspect long runs of cross-drains along a route, with status and priority per culvert on one map.

## Outputs

GeoJSON, CSV, PDF report and REST API in the first release; Excel, Shapefile and GeoPackage planned. Works with ArcGIS, QGIS, PostGIS, MapLibre.

## Questions

### Does the AI replace the culvert inspector?

No. AI drafts the coded observations; a qualified inspector or engineer approves, edits or rejects each one. Only approved inspections become official records, and every value shows whether a person verified it.

### Can it follow our state's culvert rating system?

Yes. The culvert pack is a template: components, defect types and the condition scale are configuration, not code. During the pilot we map it to your manual and your existing culvert IDs.

### What if the photos don't show the defect?

The AI can mark a culvert or component as not assessable instead of guessing, for example when the barrel is submerged or the inlet is overgrown. The reviewer sees that and can ask the field team for more evidence.

### Does the field app work without signal?

Yes. The full capture flow works offline, in a ditch or under a road. Photos, clips and notes sync when the connection returns.

### How does the data get into ArcGIS?

Approved inspections export as GeoJSON or CSV with coordinates and your culvert IDs, or through the REST API. ArcGIS, QGIS and PostGIS read them directly; there's no proprietary format to convert.

### Can we use our past inspections?

Yes, that's how the pilot starts: bring historical photos, video and the reports you wrote from them, and we compare the AI's coding with your inspectors' findings.

## Join the culvert inspection pilot

We're onboarding a small number of drainage and culvert inspection teams. Tell us what you inspect, roughly how many structures a year, and which GIS or asset system you report into.

- Bring real inspections: photos, video and the reports you wrote from them.
- We set up a culvert template that matches your existing condition codes.
- You review the AI's structured output against your own findings.
- Exports arrive as GeoJSON, CSV or PDF, or through the API, in the format you need.

Contact: pilot@inspectial.com · Apply: https://inspectial.com/culvert-inspection-software#pilot