For years, the Israeli real-estate market has been dealing with overload: demand significantly higher than supply, limited land availability, and licensing processes that move slowly. The desire to shorten timelines pushed the state to promote several major reforms, foremost among them: the “Licensed for Permit” model, which allows certain architects to approve permits themselves. This certainly streamlines the path, but also requires them to take on broader responsibility.
Alongside the new model, another component now operates within the state’s efficiency process – the inspection institutes. They were created to ensure that planning and execution meet standards, and that all required checks – fire safety, Home Front Command, Ministry of Health, and more – are consolidated in one place. The goal is to create a more organized and clearer process, one that reduces errors and eliminates unnecessary back-and-forth between authorities.
As with any reform coming from above, it takes time until the field adjusts. Developers need to understand what is required of them, architects get accustomed to their new responsibilities, and authorities align themselves with the updated systems. Within this reality, natural questions arise: Where exactly does the inspection institute come in? How does one work with it? And most importantly – can it truly make the process simpler?
Ariella Gutenberg-Yariv, CEO of the inspection institute “Calibrate,” who closely accompanies this transformation, explains that the changes in construction licensing are creating a new work system among architects, developers, and inspection institutes, one that represents a real opportunity to bring order to the field. “The inspection institute is not just another form that needs signing,” she says. “When we sit together over the planning, things become clearer and complications disappear. Developers and architects discover that it is possible to execute projects efficiently, precisely, and above all – more safely.”
A Perfect Match: Architects and Inspection Institutes
According to the new model, the inspection institute already enters the process at the early planning stages and serves as a professional partner to the architect licensed for permit approval. As part of its work, it performs risk management that defines which engineering components will be considered critical for design and execution oversight.
But the significance of this collaboration is not merely technical. The early involvement of the inspection institute creates an additional protective layer for the architect, enables risks to be identified before they materialize in detailed planning, and helps build more accurate, safe, and continuous planning. It is a professional dialogue that brings clarity and reduces room for error for all project participants.
Gutenberg-Yariv explains: “We enter the process to understand the design thinking and to ensure it is expressed optimally. When there is open professional dialogue, solutions can be found instead of obstacles. We work with the architects, not against them.” She describes how the inspection process becomes a working tool that raises the professional standard of architects themselves: “After two or three projects together, the architect already knows exactly what to expect and what level of precision is required. It is cumulative learning that improves the overall planning quality in the market.”
These points become even more significant when the responsibility of the licensed architect is taken into account. Architect Boaz Snir of “Boaz Snir Architects,” who is licensed for permit approval and has worked multiple times with inspection institutes, explains: “The moment I sign a permit, the legal responsibility is on me. One mistake can come at a high cost. An inspection institute is a safety net. It allows the architect to work with full confidence, knowing there is someone checking, refining, and approving.”
Nimrod, an architect in his office, describes their first experience working with an inspection institute: “It brought order to every stage of planning. We received clear guidelines, professional support, and even assistance in dealings with the municipality. It makes the entire system more precise.”
And What About the Developers?
For them, integrating an inspection institute into the process is not just “another step along the way” but a move that changes the entire way the project is managed. Instead of working with four or five different authorities, each with its own requirements, forms, and timelines, the developer receives one central entity that consolidates all requirements, synchronizes between consultants, and accompanies the process from beginning to end. This creates planning continuity that significantly reduces the chance of errors and prevents costly delays during execution.