What is a 3rd Party Program?
Benefits of the Program
The program covers buildings or components that are of "closed construction" only, meaning that these buildings or components cannot be inspected at the installation site without disassembly, damage, or destruction.
Regulating the construction of mass-produced (industrialized) buildings to ensure their safety and soundness presents problems beyond the normal scope of local building inspection regulation. Local regulation programs are generally designed to cover only structures that are conventionally built (piece-by-piece) at the construction site.
Industrialized Building Manufacturers also face unique problems. There is simply no satisfactory way for these manufacturers to have buildings inspected by every local building code enforcement authority that receives these buildings in its jurisdiction. The number of code interpretations and the cost of inspector transportation would preclude a viable factory inspection program by each local government.
The 3rd party inspection program provides a mechanism whereby local building inspection departments can be assured that quality buildings are being installed in their jurisdiction. It also provides a cost-effective mechanism whereby manufacturers can have their buildings inspected during the manufacturing process.
How the Program Operates
The program operates by rules that have been adopted.
Manufacturers are required to obtain state approval for their manufacturing systems and quality control procedures. Field inspection of these systems and procedures, along with inspection of industrialized buildings during manufacture, is accomplished by the department through an inspection system that utilizes independent private engineers and construction experts.
All state-approved industrialized buildings must be manufactured to meet the Local and State Codes. Such buildings will have a department insignia indicating their compliance with the state's construction standards. An approved building is deemed to comply with all local ordinances and laws relating to its construction.
Local governments retain control over all matters relating to a building's installation at a site, including subdivision controls, zoning, grading, foundation installations, and utility hookups.
As an industrialized building manufacturer, our inspection process is simplified with our 3rd party agency that can verify we are in full compliance with specific local and state building codes. The 3rdparty agency reviews our drawings, inspects the building during construction, and applies a state label signifying compliance when complete so the client can get their Certificate of Occupancy commonly known as C of O when the building arrives.