Relationship of Automated Compliance Checking and Automation Maturity to Permit Accuracy in Municipal Building Approvals

Abstract

Municipal building approvals serve as a critical regulatory mechanism to ensure safety, structural integrity, and sustainability in urban environments. However, traditional manual review processes are increasingly characterized by delays, high error rates, and subjective interpretations. This study investigates the factors explaining permit accuracy by focusing on the dual concepts of automated compliance checking and municipal automation maturity. We establish a comprehensive conceptual framework that details how the integration of rule-based automated engines and the overarching technical and institutional readiness of local authorities influence the consistency and precision of issued building permits. Using quantitative and qualitative data from thirty-five municipal authorities, we operationalize automation maturity across technical, structural, and human capability dimensions. The empirical results demonstrate that automated compliance checking significantly reduces code omission errors, but its efficacy is heavily bounded by the municipality's automation maturity level. Municipalities operating at advanced maturity stages achieve superior compliance checking speed and show a marked reduction in post-occupancy structural and safety discrepancies. These findings emphasize that technological adoption alone is insufficient; successful implementation requires a holistic alignment of organizational workflows, staff training, and data standardization practices.