NFPA 170 & 3 Dimensional Drawing

[Dormer1975]

I'm hoping someone has run into this issue and can provide some guidance on how to proceed. A brand new fire marshal that has taken over a major county in which we work is steadfastly enforcing NFPA 170 - Standard for Fire Safety and Emergency Symbols. Specifically, Chapter 7 that addresses Symbols for use in Water Supply, Extinguishing, and Sprinkler System Drawings and Insurance Diagrams. NFPA 170 uses 2 dimensional symbols and we design with AutoSPRINK, a 3 dimensional design software. This fire marshal has failed to approve several drawings thus far because our symbols do not match NFPA 170 because our symbols are 3D. How do I make a 3D Dry Valve look like the 2D symbol in NFPA 170? If we have to do all this additional 2D drawing, it adds extra unnecessary labor that we'd have to charge our client for. NFPA 170 seems to be in need of updating to accommodate 3D design. Has anyone else run into this? If so, what did you do?

 

[cdafd]

1. So has the ahj adopted NFPA 170?

2. Or another way has the ahj through ordinance for plan submittal require to meet/ use NFPA 170?

Just questioning how they legally enforce the requirement???

 

[cdafd]

Or 1.4 Equivalency??


Can you also submit a sheet showing the symbols used by 170 and the symbol you use for the same item???

Maybe that will make him happy???

Surprised no other company has challenged it?

Have you talked to other companies, that have submitted to this ahj? To see what they did

 

[skdesigner]

I've run into it before. Sometimes AHJ's, sometimes pushy, know-it-all clients. I've found it takes less time to sketch out the linework and give them the simplistic symbols than it does to go back and forth with emails and phone calls while your current client is asking 'why can't you get these drawings approved?!?'. Once you've got each symbol drawn once, it's more or less just a matter of copy/pasting around the plan. Even with the biggest drawing, what are we talking, 15 or 20 minutes extra?

It's a pain in the ass, and for me, a complete joke. You've invested so much money into hardware/software to have the ability to draw incredibly realistic models and full 3D details, but you're forced to sit there and sketch simple 2D linework. Like buying a Ferrari to deliver pizzas.

Most of these types of people just have a need to be right, and be seen as the smartest person in the room. Every minute I waste responding to them is a minute I'm not doing billable work. If I ever feel the need to send some impassioned argument, I'll just get ChatGPT to do it for me.

 

[cdafd]

What is bad sometimes the plan reviewer requires some of this stuff,,, then spends time looking it up in the book, because they do not know what it means, even though they required it.

Sometimes a simple call from the ahj, asking what a symbol is, makes more sense.