What Will We discuss? Development Services A review from 2011 to present Brief introduction of the 2012 IBC Chp.17 changes and our adopted local amend

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1 City of San Antonio: Special Inspections Program, Policies, and Procedures SEAoT State Conference 2012 Mike Shannon, PE, CBO Assistant Director, COSA DSD Ramiro Carrillo Building Inspection Supervisor, COSA DSD

2 What Will We discuss? Development Services A review from 2011 to present Brief introduction of the 2012 IBC Chp.17 changes and our adopted local amendments The difference between the inspections identified in IBC Section 110 and the IBC Section 1705 Inspections Submitting Engineered Letters for City review and approval Special Inspection Reviews (SIR s)

3 Organization Chart

4 Development Services Mission Statement Partnering with our community to build and maintain a safer San Antonio Goals and Objectives: 1) Improve cycle time for permits, inspections, and investigations 2) Ensure consistency and quality of inspections 3) Maintain i a customer service philosophy h of facilitation

5 International Accreditation Services (IAS) Two years ago, the department went through the accreditation process with the goal of working to be the best department in the nation This is the highest honor a building inspections department can achieve The Development Services Department is now 1 of only 13 in the world to have such a designation The City of San Antonio is the largest city to achieve IAS Accreditation

6 Insurance Services Office (ISO) ISO is an independent statistical, rating, and advisory organization that serves the insurance industry, and manages the Building Code Effectiveness Grading Schedule (BCEGS) program ISO field representatives visited DSD in December of 2010, and collected and analyzed data In Texas, the highest rating that can be achieved is a Class 2 The City of San Antonio s Development Services Dept was granted a Class 2 for commercial construction, and a Class 2 for residential construction

7 Newly Adopted Codes On December 1, 2011, City Council adopted the latest editions of the building codes DSD had a very open process with 21 advertised Code Review Committee meetings, and public hearings before each of the 4 appellate boards. On March 1, 2012, all the new codes went into effect and are listed below IBC, 2012 IRC, 2012 IFC, 2012 IEBC, 2012 IFGC, 2012 IPC, 2012 IMC, 2011 NEC

8 Let s Talk Code Chapter 1 - Compliance Letters Section 110: Required Inspections (Foundation EoR, Frame EoR, Insulation, Fire Blocking, Fire & Smoke Penetrations, Energy Efficiency, Final) Other Inspections Inspection Agencies Authorizations ti (The Building Official will accept letters from Texas Registered Design Professionals) Chapter 17 Special Inspection Letters Section refers to Special Inspections - see Section 1705

9 Section 110 Inspections and Observation Letters Foundation and Frame observation reports Section Inspection Agencies The building official is authorized to accept reports of approved inspection agencies, provided such agencies satisfy the requirements as to qualifications and reliability The building official accepts reports from registered design professionals for compliance with this section of the code

10 Section 110 continued DSD requires structural letters of observations to be submitted for review and recording prior to the release of the TOPS. (Temporary on Permanent Set). Having these documents submitted in advance assists in eliminating any delay to the issuance of the TCO or C of O DSD provides their customers with a sample of an engineer s observation letter that is acceptable for compliance with this section. The letter was developed and reviewed in partnership with our local PEPP/AIA members

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12 Special Inspections The Process The Determination of Required Special Inspections Submitted by the RDPiRC with the plans at the permit application stage List of Required Special Inspections Submitted to the owner and RDPiRC by the special inspector Letter of Non Compliance Submitted to the RDPiRC, contractor, t and Building Official from the special inspector during gp phases of construction

13 Section The Process Special Inspection Reviews (SIR s) These are unscheduled, d unannounced visits it by city building inspectors during a project The building inspector checks the log sheets on-site, usually in the job trailer, to verify special inspections are on-going and the log sheets are up to date based on the current phase of the project The GC is required to have the log sheet available for the special inspector to sign in and out at each inspection Failure to provide the log sheets could lead to the project being issued a STOP WORK order by the Chief Building Inspector

14 Additional Responsibilities of the General Contractor The general contractor is required to provide the special inspector adequate notice so the inspector has time to become familiar with the project The general contractor is required to provide the special inspector access to the approved plans The general contractor is required to provide the special inspector access to the required inspections prior to cover up

15 Section The Process Continued Final Report of Special Inspections Submitted to the owner, contractor, and Building Official at completion of the project and prior to the issuance of the Certificate of Occupancy or Temporary C of O The RDPiRC s Final Report must match that of the Determination Letter(re:applicable/not app)

16 Key City Amendments and Special Inspection Documents Special inspections Special inspector qualifications Report requirement Fabricator approval.

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23 What if a Project is Less than 5,000 Sq. Ft? An RDPiRC is not required for projects that t do not require them to be designed or sealed by a registered design professional in the State of Texas

24 What if it is a Design Build Project? 1)The RDPiRC must be identified for the project as a requirement of Chp.17 of the IBC.. The RDPiRC may be the RDPiRC of the project hired by the design team, however,, the special inspectors/agency must be hired separately by the owner.

25 Design Build Continued 2)The owner may choose to hire a 3 rd party design professional registered in the State of Texas solely for the responsibility of special inspections. In this case, the RDPiRC may employ the special inspectors/agency

26 Design Build Continued 3)In no case shall the special inspector/agency be employed by the contractor of the project Independence. An approved agency shall be objective, competent and independent from the contractor responsible for the work being inspected. The agency shall also disclose possible conflicts of interest so that objectivity can be confirmed.

27 Who Determines if the ProjectisofaMinor of Nature? The building official will make the determination after carefully reviewing i the intended d scope of work for the project and plans Exception # 2 of the IBC eliminates the special inspection requirement for projects where a design professional is not required It is understood that these smaller type of projects can be prescriptively designed

28 2012 IBC Additional Chp.17 Code Requirement Fire-Resistant Penetrations and Joints. Change Summary: Where penetration firestop systems and fire-resistant resistant joint systems are used in high-rise buildings and those buildings assigned to Risk Categories III and IV, it is now mandatory that they be inspected by an approved inspection agency as a part of the special inspection process

29 Top Turn Down Items The special inspections noted on the Final Report differ from the determination ti letter (as far as applicable versus non-applicable) The design professional on the final report is different from the design professional on the determination letter The structural observation letter is missing i the address of the project, permit number or building number The structural observation letter is not specific to the portion of the area viewed and extent of the structural observation

30 Submittal All letters for commercial projects are to be submitted to the Office of the Chief Building Inspector Our office is located at 1901 S. Alamo, 2 nd Floor, receptionist area The letter will be date and time stamped and entered for a review The Chief Building Inspector has five business days to review and approve the letter and enter it into our Hansen database system If the letter is denied, the Chief Building Inspector will immediately notify the EoR or RDPiRC of the denial

31 Acceptable Methods For Submittal ed, hand delivered originals or copies are all acceptable methods The letters must have the design professional s s seal,and and they must be signed

32 Information Locate the Resources tab Scroll to Information Bulletins to locate IB 132 for Special Insp. Scroll to Current Codes to locate the adopted amendments to the 2012 codes Current 2012 Codes IBC,IEBC,IRC,IFC,IMC, IFGC,IPC, and 2011 NEC, 2009 IECC

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38 Contacts Michael Shannon, P.E., CBO Assistant Director Field Services Development Services (210) Mike Constantino Development Services Manager Commercial Inspections (210) Ramiro Carrillo Building Inspection Supervisor (210)

39 Questions? Always feel free to contact us to discuss an issue or concern Keep up with the latest information from DSD on our website If you want to have the Chief Inspector pre-review review a draft letter by , forward them to the following address: ramiro.carrillo@sanantonio.gov

40 Have a Great Day!