Inspector

An inspector has a very important job. Inspectors are our safeguards — they check things and verify whether others are doing their work correctly. This does not necessarily imply distrust. But if you have never thought about why inspectors exist, let me offer one reason through an example.

When an advertisement is published, there are many people behind it. And yet, despite all those people being involved, errors still make it to the end — as when a soft drink company printed the wrong prize on its bottle caps, or when a fast food restaurant ran a promotion it could not fulfill. The point is this: when you are working on something closely, you become blind to certain issues. You might catch them later if you step away for a while — but that is exactly why other people should check your work. A fresh pair of eyes can spot what you missed.

This reduces errors. But even when many people are involved, the same blind spot can affect the whole group — and an outsider becomes invaluable precisely because they do not share it. That is one reason for the inspector's role, beyond mere distrust. There are many good reasons for the work they do.