Special Inspection

[jimzpe]

I am the SER on a project currently being constructed. The Architect basically abandoned the job a few months ago for unknown reasons. One item I'm concerned with is the specified (by myself) special inspection of masonry. At the onset of construction this requirement has been ignored by the general contractor, masonry sub and the architect for the age old reason - "We've never done that before". I'm still doing my periodic observations and writing / distributing the observation reports per contract with the Architect (unpaid of course) - each time making referance to this issue. The Architect (having bailed out) doesn't respond at all and construction continues. What's next - ?? - There's no code enforcement group involved due to location.

 

[sundale]

I have a very similar situation going on myself, regarding no shop drawings and no special inspection of structural steel. I wrote a stern yet polite "Come to Jesus" letter to the Owner and received a very nasty letter in return. I asked our liability insurer for some help/guidance and their lawyer basically reworded all the points I made previously in my letter and wrote me a new letter.

Cover your @ss in as many ways as possible is about all you can do. Talk to your liability insurer. You have done the standard of care as the SER but want enough ADDITIONAL ammunition if the thing ever goes to litigation or if the public is harmed due to lack of the required inspections. Write a stern professional letter to the owner (and maybe carbon copy their lending institution) with delivery confirmation.

You may also wish to consider termination of your services if you are not being paid for the Construction Administration. Non-payment is a material breach of contract and is usually deemed good grounds for termination of contractual obligations.

 

[JAE]

Well, your presence on the site can constitute Special Inspections if you follow through with what specifically is required for that job.

 

[gtaw]

Many states have a Department of Public Safety. The State Building Official is typically part of that department and may have jurisdiction for the type of problem you cite.

That being said, I went to our "building Official" once and was politely told "not that many buildings actually fall down." This being the state that had the Hartford Civic Center collapse, the Mianus River Bridge collapse, and La Ambiance collapse. I like to say that Connecticut has the best "full scale destructive testing program in the United States".

The architect on your project may have run into some of the problems you are encountering and decided it was in his best interest to get out of the picture ASAP.

No inspector (or engineer)can do his job properly without the support of the owner, engineer, and officials charged with enforcing the applicable building codes.

I am happy to say the incident I mentioned is not the typical response I get from my clients.


Best regards - Al

 

[VTPE]

If you are using the IBC, section 1704 requires the statement of special inspections be submitted prior to receiveing a permit. Further, if you used the CASE documents for the Special INspections in the Contract Documents, the final report will be required for the Certificate of Occupancy. The owner bought the Project Manual as part of the Contract Documents, it does not matter if they do not want Special Inspections, they are the law. They also are probably not part of the Contractors or Architects expence, so their input is not relevant. Insist on the inspections and remind the owner it is your legal responsibility to have them prior to signing off on occupancy. You may never work for that owner again, not that you would anyway, but you fulfilled your obligation to the public.

 

[archeng59]

the code states that the owner or the design professional acting as the owner's representative is required to hire the special inspector. I believe this should happen prior to submitting for the building permit, but could happen afterward as long as the building officials are notified who the SI will be. Apparently the architect is no longer acting as the owner's rep. in my opinion, you are not the owner's rep by default. you should not become the SI by default due to the owner not hiring the SI. special inspection of the masonry involves alot of time at the site observing placement of reinforcing, grouting cells, testing mortar. you are not responsible for donating that time to the project and set a bad precedent for doing so. contact the owner and building official. let them decide what to do and if it involves you, you should be compensated for the additional services.

 

[boffintech]

Am on a job right now with the exact same problem. I arrived at the site to do the first masonry inspection and found that masonry had been in progress for 3 weeks. I found numerous deficiencies, wrote a scathing report, and called the SER before even leaving the site.

The SER has informed the contractor that he has to hire an independent testing lab to
1) verify the placement of resteel with a pacometer
2) chip out sections to verify size and lap length of vertical bars
3) obtain cores to verify grout strength

The contractor just about came unglued. Hey what can I say. The Special Insp program requires the contractor to notify the SI that when work will start. If the contractor fails to notify the SI that he needs inspections, its on him not me.

 

[JAE]

The SER has informed the contractor that he has to hire an independent testing lab

Special Inspectors must be hired by the Owner.

 

[JedClampett]

I've run into situations similar to this, except the Owner eventually said they would do the Special Inspection.
The sad fact is, in areas without a code enforcement entity, you're pretty much left leaving a paper trail with letters. You can't, as the Engineer of Record, make an owner do the Special Inspection or hire someone to do it.

 

[jimzpe]

Thanks for the ideas and support. Even when we've all been in business for years, think we've seen it all, here comes a new twist. I'm going to continue to observe periodically, write reports and take lots of photos for myself to cover my hind end if needed. Luckily the project is close so I can "swing by" while doing other things to minimize my losses.

 

[cedent]

I'm late reading this post, but I had a comment to add.

I read many of you questioning whether jimzpe should or could take on the responsibility of performing the special inspections himself.

I have been told that special inspections (or any 'inspection') are not part of what our insurance considers the standard scope of work for new construction projects. This means that if we were to perform an 'inspection' we would have to have a seperate contract with the owner in order to be covered.

I could be wrong (or mistating the situation), b/c I have heard this information second hand. I am trying to learn more about the insurance/liablity side of the business.

 

[EBF]

I would suggest that in your observation reports you add a disclaimer stating that your site visits are for general observations and do NOT constitute special inspection.

 

[archeng59]

I have a statement in my fee letters and contracts with architects that special inspections are not part of my engineering services for the structural design phase of the project.