State of New Jersey Special Inspections 1

[mark1234]

Has the requirements for special inspections in NJ changed recently? Specifically, are PE's not considered certified to perform these inspections without additional certification? Residential and commercial structures including the concrete, steel, one pass welds, etc.

Thanks



MDJ

http://www.windspeedbyzip.com

http://www.groundsnowbyzip.com

 

[swivel63]

is there a special inspector license? florida has one and it has it's own requirements to become a special inspector.

 

[mark1234]

There is a special inspector license. I think anyone with a couple years of related experience can take a test online and become certified.

I thought a PE was considered qualified without this additional license.

MDJ

http://www.windspeedbyzip.com

http://www.groundsnowbyzip.com

 

[swivel63]

i'm not sure how it works in NJ, but in florida you have to be a PE just to be an SI. and you have to have like 3 years of inspection experience as an agent of an SI to apply to be one.

 

[cap4000]

Check out this link and specifically pg 8 of 11. I am a NJPE and lately I having been doing all my own special inspections in particular for soils and foundations.

http://www.nj.gov/dca/codes/licensingunit/pdf/spec_insp_r.pdf

 

[hogan666]

Here is a link to the NJ requirements for special inspection. Most will require that you demonstrate competence to the building official.

http://www2.iccsafe.org/states/newjersey/NJ_Building/PDFs/NJ_Bldg_Chapter17.pdf

 

[mark1234]

Cap4000,

It looks like a PE is "qualified" as a special inspector of specific field. However, it seems as if an application must be filed to get "certified".

A township asked for SI certifications for a particular job. The client asked me to do the inspections and I said I would and a sealed report would be issued. The town insisted on the SI "certification" so I just told the client to hire someone else with the cert.

MDJ

http://www.windspeedbyzip.com

http://www.groundsnowbyzip.com

 

[msucog]

in GA, a PE can perform the SI as long as they are qualified in the field. being both a PE and SI in multiple fields, i recommend becoming certified as a SI. there are a lot of things you don't learn in text books or your everyday experience as an engineer. if you have practical field experience, it should be much easier to pass the exams. but if you got a stamp, "technically" you could sign off on most everything at least here in GA. again, i recommend getting certified through ICC even if you have PE.

 

[mark1234]

msucog,

I agree with you that alot can be learned by hands on experience.

In NJ I thought the same as in GA, if you are qualified in the field then your stamp was enough to issue the report. I've been providing inspection reports for years and never a problem before.

I guess my remaining question is did NJ recently require PE's to file for SI certification?




MDJ

http://www.windspeedbyzip.com

http://www.groundsnowbyzip.com

 

[Ron]

swivel63...in order to be a Special Inspector in Florida, you have you have to be a PE or an Architect and have design experience in certain building types known as "Threshold Buildings". I'm not sure how an Architect can qualify, but at least it's open to them...probably a political concession. Any graduate of an accredited engineering program can serve as a field delegate (as can certain other qualified individuals), but cannot necessarily qualify to hold the SI designation, which is a license endorsement to your PE license.

This is not to be confused with the ICC designation of Special Inspector which does not require that you be an engineer, but it does require other qualifications such as ASNT Level II for nondestructive testing, ASCET Technician Certification, AWS CWI, etc.

 

[msucog]

here ya go...i thought there would be something similar to GA

http://www.state.nj.us/dca/codes/bulletins_ftos/list_of_bulletins_ftos/b_03_5.pdf

sounds like to me that it's okay for either a special inspector or special inspection agency to do the inspection. either way, it's up to the code official to accept/reject. if the permit is approved with the schedule of special inspections listing either you or your firm, then it should be okay. if there's any doubt, check with the code official. i'm quite certain that a PE stamp will suffice to satisfy the code official.

 

[samdamon]

Mark- What authority asked you for the SI cert? I have found in NJ that special inspection requirements are not typically enforced by the towns or requested by clients, despite the requirements of the code. Perhaps that is going to change now.

 

[mark1234]

msucog,

Thanks for the link.

I'm not 100% sure if there is a miscommunication between my client and the building dept or if the township is actually not accepting a sealed report for this inspection without SI certification.

The town is in Middlesex county.

MDJ

http://www.windspeedbyzip.com

http://www.groundsnowbyzip.com

 

[msucog]

here is my take on SI: it is required by IBC. therefore if IBC is referenced in the contract documents, it must be performed unless otherwise approved by the EOR or contract adminiastrator (after given "okay" by BO). otherwise, you are putting yourself at risk of litigation. ASCE recently sent out a case study regarding an architect that did not "require" or follow through with SI. a precast panel failed during installation/lifting due to incorrect rebar placement, subsequently killed a worker and the architect was crucified (technically it's partially their responsibility to implement SI's). following the philosophy of "it's not required" does not relieve the liability if it is part of the contract documents. most states that have adopted IBc (which is most states) have incorporated the codes in to state law...thereby incorporating SI in to state law.

i've said it before and i'll say it again...we are just starting to see how lawyers and SI's co-exist. from my contracting and engineering experience, SI's are insurance for the owner, design team and contractor...as well as the general public. so it only makes sense to require/perform them. i suggest that any of you that believe otherwise go to work on a construction site for a few weeks...the things you see when no one is looking will blow your mind. SI's will not resolve all such issues but it at least gets things pointed in the right direction.

i'll gladly post the ASCE post if anyone is interested.

 

[Ron]

msucog...that's exactly how the Florida law came into being. An engineer was practicing outside his expertise, deficiently designed a 10 story condo. Contractor compounded his mistakes...it fell during construction killing 10 or 12 people. That was in 1982 or so. They instituted the law to inspect buildings of a certain level, because construction can be pretty crappy at times.

I've spent a lot of my career in field, inspecting construction. Amazing what you see sometimes!

Hasn't stopped all the problems...we are now investigating the failure of a parking garage that collapsed during construction....the special inspector highlighted some significant issues and was ignored by the Engineer of Record and the contractor....collapsed during a concrete placement and killed 1 person.

 

[hokie66]

Bear with me, as I haven't practiced in the US in a number of years. Is a special inspector supposed to only focus on whether or not the construction is in accordance with the design, or is he supposed to know enough to recognize when a gross design error has been made?

 

[Ron]

hokie66...he is only responsible to check the construction against the design. He is not responsible to check the design.

 

[hokie66]

In that case, and if the special inspector is the only inspector, I think there is a flaw in the philosophy. If an experienced engineer, whether the designer or not, inspects the element under construction, he can serve as the last line of defence against a gross design error being built into a structure. It may not happen very often, but I know of several cases where the final on site inspection by a senior structural engineer identified a defect that would have caused the structure to fail.

 

[msucog]

nothing restricts the design engineer from performing the inspections or providing additional inspections. i think a lot of folks would agree that some design engineers do not spend enough time on the job site. i personally welcome them...their on the hook for the design so it's great to see them walking around and pointing out any field issues that they would like fixed. with the SI program, it does require that "someone" inspect that almost everything is in place per the plans at the time of the inspection. i have seen projects where the SI does their thing, the county inspector behind them and the design engineer behind that. with the SI, at least the owner has a pair of eyes on site...most of the time, the contractor will do better work and not try to cover up "as much stuff" just knowing that the testing firm is on site (notice i said as much).

and by the way, i've seen the design engineer inspect a retaining wall before the forms were closed up. he gave the thumbs up and left (because all that was left was to set the bolts in place after the wall is closed up). the wall was closed up and anchor bolts began to be set. the bolts had some 4"x4" plates on the bottom and the vertical rebar (8-#6 or #7) was to come up and hook above the plates. well the dimensions of the pilaster were very tight (too tight) so that everything had to be exactly perfect for it to fit right. instead of pointing out that the dimensions were too tight for everything to fit, the foreman pulled out the torches, cut the hooks off about a foot or so below the plates, installed the bolts and called for concrete. and there ya go...

 

[swivel63]

i've been the inspector that found something that could have caused a collapse (3 #6 bottom steel in lieu of 6 #9 bottom) on a previous project. the inspector IMO, (threshold inspector in florida) should be an engineer, because most non engineers won't understand why there big bars bottom in the middle and big bars top at the ends. or why there are big bars at the ends on walls as opposed to in the middle. but most of the time that's not the case. and most contractors/owners don't want to spend the money on an experienced engineer to do inspections if they don't have to. guess this is why our contract docs need to be right.

msucog, i practice in georgia now and have performed special inspections on concrete and wood construction, but as far as i know there isn't a special inspector license like there is in florida is there? or is it an ICC thing?