Engineers who cleared the Pyne Gould building after September's earthquake have told the Canterbury Earthquakes Royal Commission they would not have done anything differently.
The building collapsed in February's 6.3 magnitude quake, killing 18 people.
The lawyer for the families of those who died, Marcus Elliott, asked on Wednesday whether the inspections following the September 2010 quake, which were largely visual assessments, were thorough.
He also questioned whether they drew attention to three reports, produced before the quakes, which said the building was potentially quake-prone.
Engineer Mark Whiteside from Holmes Consulting said the reports were not looked at because the type of inspection being done did not demand it.
Mr Whiteside said the reports would not have helped his investigation, which aimed to find out whether the building had become less safe after the September quake, not how strong it was beforehand.
Another engineer, Alistair Boys, said the assessments provided him with enough information to give the building a green sticker and, with the benefit of hindsight, he would not change his decision.
"The damage evident did not lead me to the conclusion that I needed to look any harder at it," he said.
Mr Boys said the words "safe to occupy", printed on the green stickers, could have been accompanied by further notes explaining the limitations of the assessments that were done.
