Introduction: Issue: Analysis/Conclusion:

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1 Special Inspection Requirements for Buildings Falling under the Jurisdiction of the California Division of the State Architect and the 2007 California Building Code Released May 7, 2008 Introduction: WTCA has developed this Technical Note to provide a clear perspective on truss plant quality assurance and third party inspections as they relate to the requirements of the CBC and the California Division of the State Architect (DSA) amendments in Chapter 17A. This Technical Note also describes how structural building component third party inspections relate to Chapter 17A special inspection requirements and the fabricator approval concept. The analysis is based on the 2006 edition of the IBC, ANSI/TPI (TPI 1) 1 and the 2007 CBC, including Chapter 17A amendments by the Division of the State Architect. Note that the information provided here, where referencing Chapter 17A of the CBC, only applies to those projects governed by the DSA (i.e., California Public Schools, K-12, Community Colleges and state essential services buildings). Issue: WTCA has been involved in several markets and with several members of the code compliance/ inspection community regarding confusion over exactly how the 2007 California Building Code (CBC) requirements from Chapter 17 (Structural Tests and Special Inspection) are applied to the structural building components industry. The confusion stems from an interpretation of how in-plant manufacturing quality control (QC) relates to fabricator approval (Section ) and the third party inspection process, which the structural building components industry uses as the means to comply with building code inspection requirements. The (CBC), Chapter 17A introduces special inspection requirements for trusses not found elsewhere in the code. These requirements are very specific and are reversal of the provisions found elsewhere in the code. This Technical Note will walk the user through the process and clarify the issue. Analysis/Conclusion: The manufacture of metal plate connected wood trusses in accordance with TPI 1, and its third party inspection process comply with the requirements of the CBC. There are many third party inspection agencies that are accredited by the International Accreditation Service (IAS) 2 which is a subsidiary of to the International Code Council (ICC) to perform unannounced visits to plants and inspect and audit the plants based on the criteria contained in TPI 1. Special inspections of trusses are not normally required by the IBC or the CBC (See WTCA s Tech Note entitled International Building Code/International Residential CodeInspection & Quality Assurance Requirements for Metal Plate Connected Wood Trusses). However within the CBC, projects falling under the jurisdiction of the DSA are required to have in-plant special inspections. These inspections require the presence of a DSA approved special inspector 1 ANSI/TPI (TPI 1) is the National Design Standard for Metal Plate Connected Wood Trusses and has been adopted as a referenced standard in Chapter 35 of the 2006 edition of the International Building Code (IBC). 2 Prepared with assistance from the California Engineered Structural Components Association. a local chapter of SBCA. View all SBCA Tech Notes at SBCA 6300 Enterprise Lane Madison, WI / / (fax)

2 in the manufacturing plant during fabrication of the trusses to be used in the specific DSA project. The special inspector is required inspect each truss, mark each inspected truss with his stamp and furnish a verified report to the project design professional and the DSA. So who is this special inspector and what must the component manufacturer do to comply with the requirements of the DSA? The special inspector, as mentioned earlier, must be an approved DSA inspector. Approval is obtained by submitting an Inspector s Qualification Form (Form DSA-5) to the DSA. The qualifications of the special inspector are few. They are: He/she must have a minimum of 3 years experience performing quality control as the QC manager of a truss manufacturer, or as an independent auditor of an IAS certified inspection agency. Must be at least 25 years of age. The special inspector must be paid for by the school district. The manufacturer s regular third party inspection agency could provide this service provided the special inspection is not paid for by the manufacturer or any other contractor on the project, the inspector is on-site during the fabrication of the trusses to be used in the specific DSA project and the inspector is approved by the DSA. Accreditation of the inspectors employer is not required, only the inspector must be qualified and approved as shown above. SBCA Tech Notes Page 2

3 Additional Background and Analysis Appendix The issue of inspections within the IBC and the CBC can be confusing. Part of this confusion comes from the fact that the building code refers to several different types of inspections and the code language is not always clear as to which inspection it is referring to. In addition, the building code refers to a fabricator approval process as a method to gain exemption from some of these inspection requirements. Understanding these different inspection types and the fabricator approval process allows the user to better grasp the intent of the code. There are three general categories of inspections required by the code that relate to the manufacture of trusses. The first, building inspections are those inspections that are done on the job site and usually performed by the local building inspector. These are the inspections most people are familiar with and are often referred to as the framing inspection. The building official (authority having jurisdiction (AHJ)) is responsible for all the required inspections of buildings or this role can be delegated to approved agencies or individuals. 2003/2006 IBC Required inspections. The building official, upon notification, shall make the inspections set forth in Sections through IBC Frame inspection. Framing inspections shall be made after the roof deck or sheathing, all framing, fireblocking and bracing are in place Special inspections. For special inspections, see Section IBC 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. This inspection of the structural framing for each building includes inspection of the trusses. These inspections are to assure conformance with the code and the construction documents and are performed at the construction site. The 2007 CBC, Section gives authority to The Division of the State Architect Structural Safety (DSA-SS) to promulgate building standards and administrative regulations as well as observe construction making them the authority having jurisdiction for the projects they oversee CBC Application The Division of the State Architect Structural Safety (DSA-SS) is authorized by law to promulgate building standards and administrative regulations for application to public elementary and secondary schools, community colleges and state- owned or state-leased essential services buildings. Enforcing agency The Division of the State Architect Structural Safety (DSA-SS) has been delegated the responsibility and authority by the Department of General Services to review and approve the design and observe the construction of public elementary and secondary schools, community colleges and stateowned or state-leased essential services buildings. The above sections from the IBC charge the building official with the responsibility of inspecting various aspects of construction; and Section specifically addresses the framing inspection. These sections are only adopted in the CBC (Appendix Chapter 1) for projects involving the Office of the State Fire Marshall and are not applicable to DSA projects except where those projects also fall under the jurisdiction of the State Fire Marshall. Instruction on what observations the DSA-SS is required to make are not specified within the CBC. Next, are third party inspections which are part of the quality control process and provide for periodic inspection of the manufacturing operation. These inspectors are employed by agencies that are set up to provide this service to the manufacturers in concert with the manufacturers quality control process. These inspectors arrive at the manufacturer s plant unannounced to carry out their inspection. The SBCA Tech Notes Page 3

4 purpose of these inspections is to insure that the manufacturer is following the requirements of the standard that they are building to; thereby assuring a certain level of quality control. For the purpose herein, these third party inspections do not refer to any on site inspections that may be requested per Section , but only to in shop inspections Other inspections. In addition to the inspections specified above, the building official is authorized to make or require other inspections of any construction work to ascertain compliance with the provisions of this code and other laws that are enforced by the department of building safety. The CBC uses referenced codes and standards to provide specific information that would be impossible to fully include in the building code without making it unwieldy. The intent of the building code is to move toward referencing ANSI-based consensus codes and standards for all material interests, trusses included. The following is the implementing language in the CBC for the use of the metal plate connected truss referenced standard, TPI CBC, Appendix, Chapter Referenced codes and standards. The codes and standards referenced in this code shall be considered part of the requirements of this code to the prescribed extent of each such reference. Where differences occur between provisions of this code and referenced codes and standards, the provisions of this code shall apply CBC Metal-plate-connected trusses. the design, manufacture and quality assurance of metal-plate-connected wood trusses shall be in accordance with TPI 1 Chapter 35 of the CBC provides a list of the standards referenced by these sections. TPI 1 is a Chapter 35 listed standard and is the design and quality control standard that is used by the structural building components industry with respect to truss manufacturing. Chapter 3 (Quality Criteria for the Manufacture of Metal Plate Connected Wood Trusses) of TPI implements the in-plant quality control process and third party inspections as follows: ANSI/TPI Section 3.1 GENERAL Chapter 3 is the quality standard for the manufacturing processes of metal plate connected wood trusses, and shall be used in conjunction with a manufacturing quality assurance procedure and a truss design. These provisions shall be included in the quality assurance program of each Truss Manufacturer Truss Manufacturers and inspection agencies shall establish methods that document the application of these quality assurance procedures throughout the manufacturing process. The Truss Manufacturers' methods shall be subject to periodic audit for compliance with the requirements of this standard by an approved inspection agency, where required by local authorities having jurisdiction, or other means. 3.2 IN-PLANT QUALITY ASSURANCE An in-plant quality control manual shall be maintained for each truss manufacturing facility, which will include the requirements for daily quality control and any audits that will be performed. Finally, the in-plant inspection process has been clarified in the 2007 edition of TPI 1. This language shows that the third party inspection process fulfills any requirement for in plant truss quality inspections (with the exception of DSA specific jobs). The specific language that will be referenced by the 2009 editions of both the IBC and IRC is: ANSI/TPI Sections & In-Plant Truss Inspections. Truss inspections, as required by the Jurisdiction, shall be performed at the manufacturer's facility using the manufacturer's In-Plant Quality Assurance Program (see Section 3.2) monitored by an inspection agency approved by the Jurisdiction, and SBCA Tech Notes Page 4

5 shall satisfy any quality control/quality assurance requirements for the Trusses, and shall satisfy any designated in-plant special inspection requirements for the Trusses. The third party inspection process as outlined in TPI 1 complies with all the quality assurance inspection requirements defined within the IBC and CBC except for DSA-SS amended Chapter 17A special inspections. This is the third inspection type. The special inspector is responsible for the oversight of a specific job as it is manufactured. Per CBC, Section 1704A.2.1, his responsibility is to insure that each element of a given job is manufactured to a minimum standard and that the fabricator maintains detailed fabrication and quality control procedures that provide a basis for the fabricator s ability to conform to approved construction documents and referenced standards. He is usually employed by the building owner as part of the project or an authority having jurisdiction. For DSA projects, he must be a DSA certified special inspector. The code language from the CBC, Chapter 17A is shown below. This language only applies to projects where the DSA-SS is the authority having jurisdiction. It is clear from these sections, that a special inspector is required to be in the plant at the time of the fabrication of the trusses for the specific project. He is to verify the quality control procedures of the fabricator and inspect the final product. Each inspected truss must be stamped by the inspector. Finally, because the AHJ is ultimately responsible for all project inspections (see Section 109 above), the special inspector must file a report with the AHJ showing compliance with the code. 1704A.1 General. Where application is made for construction as described in this section, the owner shall employ one or more special inspectors to provide inspections during construction on the types of work listed under Section 1704 A A.2.1 Fabrication and implementation procedures. The special inspector shall verify that the fabricator maintains detailed fabrication and quality control procedures that provide a basis for inspection control of the workmanship and the fabricator s ability to conform to approved construction documents and referenced standards. The special inspector shall review the procedures for completeness and adequacy relative to the code requirements for the fabricator s scope of work. Exception: Special inspections as required by Section 1704 A. 2 shall not be required where the fabricator is approved in accordance with Section 1704 A. 2.2 except as required by Sections 1704A A.6.2 Wood structural elements and assemblies. Special inspection of wood structural elements and assemblies is required, as specified in this section, to ensure conformance with approved drawings and specifications and applicable standards 1704A Manufactured open web trusses. The manufacture of open web trusses shall be continuously inspected by a qualified special inspector approved by the enforcement agency. The special inspector shall verify that proper quality control procedures and tests have been employed for all materials and the manufacturing process, and shall perform visual inspection of the finished product. Each inspected truss shall be stamped with an identification mark by the special inspector. Title 24, Part I, Section 4-333(c) (c) Special inspection. Special inspection by inspectors specially approved by DSA may be required on masonry construction, glued-laminated lumber fabrication, wood framing using timber connectors, manufactured trusses, epoxy repair of wood or concrete, concrete batching, shotcrete application, prestressed concrete member fabrication or post-tensioning operations, structural steel fabrication, highstrength steel bolt installations, shop and field welding, pile driving, electrical, and mechanical work. SBCA Tech Notes Page 5

6 A special inspector may be required to be approved by DSA for an individual project. Application for approval of a special inspector shall be made on an Inspector s Qualification Form (Form DSA-5) and submitted to DSA for review. A special inspector shall not be less than 25 years of age, shall have had at least three years experience in construction work or inspection responsibilities on one or more projects similar to the project for which the inspector is applying, shall have a thorough knowledge of the building materials of his or her specialty, and shall be able to read and interpret plans and specifications. DSA may require evidence of the proposed inspector s knowledge and experience by successful completion of a written and/or oral examination by the applicant before approval is granted. DSA may charge a fee to administer such examinations. DSA will maintain a list of special inspectors who have successfully completed an examination by DSA, and continued eligibility to remain on that list will be dependent on demonstrated acceptable performance of duties assigned. The project inspector may perform special inspections if the project inspector has been specially approved by DSA for such purpose and has the time available to complete the special inspections in addition to project inspection work. The detailed inspection of all work covered by this section is the responsibility of the project inspector when special inspection is not provided (see Section 4-342). Where responsibility for observation of construction for mechanical work and electrical work is not delegated to professional engineers registered in these particular branches of engineering [see Section (b)], special mechanical and electrical inspection shall be provided. DSA may require special inspection for any shop fabrication procedures that preclude the complete inspection of the work after assembly. DSA may require special inspection at the site in addition to those listed above if found necessary because of the special use of material or methods of construction. Approved special inspectors shall submit in a timely manner verified reports as required by Section for the special work covered. Special inspectors shall periodically submit reports of inspections to DSA, the design professional in general responsible charge of observation, the structural engineer and the project inspector. Construction work that the special inspector finds not to be in compliance with the approved plans and specifications, and which is not immediately corrected upon notifying the contractor, shall be reported immediately to the project inspector, DSA, the architect and the structural engineer. The costs of all special inspection required by this subsection shall be paid for by the school board, but if so specified in the contract documents the amount paid may be collected from the contractor by the school board. For more information: Prepared with assistance from the California Engineered Structural Components Association. a local chapter of SBCA. View all SBCA Tech Notes at SBCA Tech Notes Page 6