Q&A with Portland Community College (PCC) Commercial Building Codes Students for Building Safety Month
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Source: Q&A with Portland Community College (PCC) Commercial Building Codes Students for Building Safety Month ↗ Last modified: Sun, 19 Apr 2026 20:08:23 GMT
One of the themes of the International Code Council (ICC) Building Safety Month ↗ for 2022 is “Building Safety Careers ↗." We recently met with students from the Portland Community College (PCC) Commercial Building Codes 3 program. Joe Disciascio, a Development Services Inspections Supervisor, spoke with students about working for the City of Portland and becoming an inspector. Joe shared stories with the students about what he’s learned in his years on the job and answered student questions.
Joe Disciascio started with the construction industry since 1991. He joined the carpenters’ union in 1996 and in 2004 went back to school for Building Inspection and Plan Review. Joe has worked in inspections for close to 20 years. Joe started as a building inspector, became cross-trained in combo inspections, was a senior inspector for several years and then became a supervisor. Today, Joe oversees Residential Inspections. Read what questions inspections students had for the seasoned inspector and then search all City of Portland job openings ↗.
Day-to-day responsibilities of an inspector
What kind of problem-solving would a building inspector or a plans examiner encounter?
One of the hardest things is understanding the intent of the code. We might all think it means something different. We must navigate the code the best we can. Don’t second-guess yourself; wrong calls will happen. Be willing to accept that and be willing to work on it. You’ll come across contractors who know more than you do about the code. That can be challenging! Leave your ego at the door and if a contractor says they disagree, talk with them to learn more. Learning will only improve your performance.
The code book is a prescriptive tool you can use to help the customer to get to compliance. You can give them instructions and help for how to correct a problem in a way that helps the customer- and it helps build relationships.
What are the safety requirements?
For clothing, you should wear steel-toed boots, wear durable pants (no sweatpants) and your shirts must have sleeves. Sometimes job sites require more safety equipment like hard hats- we'll provide that for you. We follow OSHA requirements.
What about tattoos, beards or piercings?
If the tattoos don’t have offensive language, tattoos, beards and piercings are totally fine.
Is there a dress code for inspectors?
We just ask for clean clothes that are representative of the professional role. And in response to a related question, bib overalls are ok to wear while working.
What's a typical day for a building inspector?
- You’ll get a list of inspections to make your route as efficient as possible.
- You must make sure all prerequisites are in place.
- You’ll be on your own, working on inspections all day.
- Inspectors are mobile and do not typically come to the office in the morning or at the end of the day.