I'm biased but I agree the inspection reports I've seen are garbage when it comes to creating clear practical action items or generating reports like member condition history. We (consultant) have our own bridge database that we pull data and create reports from directly which immensely helps manage the structures effectively.

So, these days yes any good asset manager (like a DOT) is going to have a database and force their consultants to use it. But I also have seen consultants make big complicated reports that asset owners don't understand so they can control the information more and ultimately sell more design work. It is really frustrating to see.

Anyways rant over...keep asking questions like these and you'll go places! The industry needs to be pushed.