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# Inspection Questionnaires That Fit Your Ship

*October 2026*

Every internal audit and inspection in ZeeBORN is built around a questionnaire. In March we described the basics — structured chapters and topics with scoring, observations created from photos, and follow-up tasks with due dates and responsible roles ([read the article](safetyreports.md)). Since then, the questionnaire has become considerably more capable: in how it adapts to the actual vessel, how findings are highlighted, and where it can be filled in.

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## Repeatable Sections: One Template, Every Tank

Ships are not all the same. A tanker with eight cargo tanks and two slop tanks needs ten tank inspections; a bulk carrier needs one per hold. Instead of maintaining a separate questionnaire for every ship, a chapter can be defined once as a **repeatable section**. On board, the inspector simply adds one section per tank, hold, crane or lifeboat — each with its own answers, photos and findings, and each scored on its own.

Questions can also carry **sub-questions**, such as a main question on ballast water management with follow-up fields for the last sample date and certificate validity.

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## Findings at a Glance

- **Flagged items** highlight topics that need special attention. The report lists them on a dedicated overview page, together with the actions assigned to them.
- **Previous inspection:** the report can reference the last inspection of the vessel — selected from ZeeBORN or entered manually.

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## Three Ways to Work on a Questionnaire

The same questionnaire can be completed in three ways — whichever suits the situation:

- **In the ZeeBORN desktop application** — the full workspace in the office or on board.
- **In the ZeeBORN web app** — in any browser, on a laptop, tablet or phone: answer topics, add observations and attach photos, without installing anything.
- **Offline** — as a single file that runs in any browser and needs neither an installation nor a connection.

When exporting an offline copy, you choose whether the questionnaire stays **editable** in the meantime (recommended) or is **locked** until the copy returns. If it stays editable, office and inspector keep working in parallel. On import, ZeeBORN merges both versions; where the same entry was changed on both sides, it shows both and asks which one to keep. Nothing is overwritten without you seeing it.

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*Questions about inspection questionnaires in ZeeBORN? [Get in touch](mailto:support@zeeborn.net) — we'd be happy to walk you through it.*

*Copyright 2026 ZeeBORN GmbH — www.zeeborn.net*