The
Petitioner: Richard S. Barrow;
PE, SI
Liebl &
Barrow Engineering, Inc
Petitioner seeks
clarification of the following question:
Question: Can a building department or
building official require the Special Inspector’s duly Authorized
Representative, to be licensed or certified under Part XII of Chapter 468 which
is in excess of the requirements of the duly Authorized Representative as
described in Section FS 533.79(5), FS 471, and FAC 64G15-35.004 for items to be
inspected as part of a structural inspection plan issued in accordance with FS
533.79(5)?
Background:
Situation:
Liebl
& Barrow Engineering, Inc (“the Petitioner”) has been providing structural
engineering and construction inspection services since the company was founded
in 1998. Liebl & Barrow Engineering,
Inc, has worked in over 2,500 projects in its almost 20 years of
existence. The two principals of the
company are both active Professional Engineers (PE) and Special Inspectors
(SI). The company President, Richard S.
Barrow, has been practicing engineering for over 30 ears (FL PE #49231, SE
#2015) and the Vice-President, Brian O. Liebl, has been practicing engineering
for over 37 years (FL #43087, SI #1087).
Liebl & Barrow Engineering Inc is hoping to provide threshold
inspections for an arts center that is in schematic design. That center is to have over 8,000 sf of
assembly occupancy and an occupant content over 1400 which qualifies this
structure as a “threshold building” per Section 553.71, Florida Statutes. A structural inspection plan will be
provided by the Engineer of Record in accordance with Section 553.79(5), Florida Statutes. Our intent is to use engineers who have
graduated from a four-year engineering education program in civil or structural
engineering as Authorized Representatives for that project.
As
a company that provides threshold inspections for many projects, Liebl &
Barrow Engineering, Inc. is seeking clarification regarding Section 110.8.6 of the Florida Building Code – 6th
Edition (2017) (Section 110.8.6”) as it pertains to threshold inspections. The Petitioner seeks a uniform interpretation
as to whether the intent of Section 110.8.6 is to restrict the qualifications
required of the Special Inspector’s Duly Authorized Representatives to less
than those enumerated in Section 61G15-35.004(2), Florida Administrative Code (“61G-35-.004”). Specifically, [the petitioner] believes
Authorized Representatives are considered qualified if they meet at least one
of the following qualifications:
61G15-35.004 – Common Requirements to
All Engineers Providing Threshold Building Inspections Services as Special
Inspectors.
(2) Special Inspectors utilizing
Authorized Representatives shall ensure the Authorized Representative is
qualified by education, licensure, or training
to perform the duties assigned by the Special Inspector. Effective January 1, 2017, those
qualifications shall include:
(a)
Licensure
as a professional engineer or architect, or
(b)
Graduation
form a four-year engineering education program in civil, structural or
architectural engineering, or
(c)
Possession
of a professional Architecture degree, or
(d)
Registration
as a building inspector or general contractor, or
(e)
Four
years of Threshold Building inspection training on non-Threshold Buildings performed
under the supervision of a Special Inspector who was in responsible charge of
the trainee’s work, or
(f)
Possess
certification(s) in the following area(s)…..(abbreviated text, qualifications
in subsection (f) are not relevant to this declaration).
Petitioner
believes that a proper interpretation of Section 110.8.6 does not limit or
restrict Authorized Representatives of the Special Inspector to only Special
Inspectors (SI) or building inspectors licensed under Part XII of Chapter 468, Florida Statutes unless that is a
requirement in the structural inspection plan prepared in accordance with
Section 553.79(5)(a), Florida Statutes (“Section 553.79(5)(a)”)
Section
118.8.6 of the Florida Building Code states:
110.8.6 The building
department may allow a special inspector to conduct the minimum structural
inspection of threshold buildings required by this code, Section 553.73 Florida Statutes, without duplicative
inspection by the building department.
The building official is responsible for ensuring that any person
conducting inspections is qualified as a building inspector under Chapter 471
or 481, Florida Statutes, are in
addition to the minimum inspections required by this code.
The
Petitioner feels their contentions are upheld by the following sources, which
accompany this petition:
1)
Declaratory
Statement DS2016-092and the Florida Building Commission’s interpretation in
their 2017 agenda and minutes for January 2017.
2)
“Latest
Revision to F.A.C. 61G15-35 Defines Qualifications for Threshold Building Inspectors
and Authorized Representatives to have qualifications in excess of those
required by Section 553.79(5), Florida
Statutes, Chapter 471, Florida
Statutes and Chapter 61G15-35.004, Florida
Administrative Code for items to be inspected as part of the structural
plan.
Florida Statutes
553.79 Permits; applications; issuance;
inspections.—
(5)(a) The
enforcing agency shall require a special inspector to perform structural inspections on a threshold
building pursuant to a structural inspection plan prepared by the engineer or
architect of record. The structural
inspection plan must be submitted to and approved by the enforcing agency
before the issuance of a building permit for the construction of a threshold
building. The purpose of the structural inspection plan is to provide specific
inspection procedures and schedules so that the building can be adequately
inspected for compliance with the permitted documents. The special inspector
may not serve as a surrogate in carrying out the responsibilities of the
building official, the architect, or the engineer of record. The contractor’s
contractual or statutory obligations are not relieved by any action of the
special inspector. The special inspector shall determine that a professional
engineer who specializes in shoring design has inspected the shoring and
reshoring for conformance with the shoring and reshoring plans submitted to the
enforcing agency. A fee simple title owner of a building, which does not meet
the minimum size, height, occupancy, occupancy classification, or
number-of-stories criteria which would result in classification as a threshold
building
under s. 553.71(12), may designate such building as a threshold building, subject
to more than the minimum number of inspections required by the Florida Building
Code.
(b) The fee owner
of a threshold building shall select and pay all costs of employing a special
inspector, but the special inspector shall be responsible to the enforcement
agency. The inspector shall be a person certified, licensed, or registered
under chapter 471 as an engineer or under chapter 481 as an architect.
(c) The architect or engineer of record may act as the
special inspector provided she or he is on the Board of Professional Engineers’
or the Board of Architecture and Interior Design’s list of persons qualified to be special
inspectors. School boards may utilize employees as special inspectors provided
such employees are on one of the professional licensing board’s list of persons
qualified to be special inspectors.
(d) The licensed architect or registered engineer
serving as the special inspector shall be permitted to send her or his duly
authorized representative to the job site to perform the necessary inspections
provided all required written reports are prepared by and bear the seal of the
special inspector and are submitted to the
enforcement agency.
Staff Analysis:
Question:
Petitioner
is seeking clarification regarding Section 110.8.6 of the Florida Building Code
– 6th Edition (2017) as it pertains to threshold inspections.
Can
a building department or building official require the Special Inspector’s duly
Authorized Representative, to be licensed or certified under Part XII of
Chapter 468 which is in excess of the requirements of the duly Authorized
Representative as described in Section FS 533.79(5), FS 471, and FAC
64G15-35.004 for items to be inspected as part of a structural inspection plan
issued in accordance with FS 533.79(5)?
Answer:
Option
#1/Petitioner: Petitioner respectfully believes the answer
to the question outlined above is “NO”.
Option #2/Staff:
The provisions of section 110.8.6,
Florida Building Code, Building, 6th Edition (2017), apply only to the
inspection of the minimum structural requirements of the Florida Building Code;
accordingly, they do not apply to the inspections required by section
553.79(5), Florida Statutes.