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How about, 3a, To insure compliance with all requirements of
M.G.L. 142 and 248 C.M.R. the Inspector shall inspect, all
work where a permit is required, all the permit related
plumbing and gas fitting work, and all portions of existing
systems that may be directly affected by the plumbing or gas
fitting work outlined in the related Permit Application. Got
that one. 10.04,2, Inspections of the Plumbing System, An
inspection is required for all plumbing work pursuant to 248
C.M.R., I knew that. Want some more. 10.04,2,b, Final Test
and Inspection, Within 5 days after the plumbing work is
sufficiently advanced so that basic principle No. 6 in 248
C.M.R. 10.02,6, is satisfied the plumber who performed the
work or the Permit Holder shall notify the Inspector. And
one more, Rule #13, should a licensed plumber or gas fitter
holding a gas permit for installation of gas work, turn on
gas to such work without first notifying the Inspector, he
may not be granted any further gas permits upon discretion
of the Inspector.
Are we now convinced that
inspections are mandatory? I sure hope so. But for many it
really doesn’t seem to matter. Ask any inspector
constantly shuffling piles of what I call dead permits. How
inspectors handle these permits vary widely. Some will claim
the permit is invalid after 90 days. However the code only
addresses permits for which the work is not started within
90 days. Most of the jobs in question have been completed.
Then again how would the inspector know? Some Inspectors
will speak to the local plumbers when they file for new
permits, reminding them they have outstanding permits. In
the past I have sent out lists of outstanding permits to
plumbers reminding them to clear them up, even though it is
not the inspectors job or responsibility. I have gone as far
as taking a habitual offender in front of the Board. This
did work at first, but did not last long, soon permits
started to pile up again and again. There certainly is no
uniformity when it comes to enforcing these
violations.
So what can and should be
done about this problem? First plumbers must change the way
they handle inspections. For companies that have plumbers
working for them, the inspection must be part of the
plumbers’ responsibility. Get your plumbers a directory of
Inspectors; surely they all have cell phones. The plumber
must call the inspector directly when or before their work
is ready for inspection, and I emphasize their work. It is
incredible to me when I meet the boss or owner of the
company on the job for an inspection. In many cases they
have never even been on the job site, and know nothing about
the plumbing or gas system installed by the plumber on the
job. I would ask a question, the reply “I don’t know”,
well you look like a fool. Even worse is when they have the
secretary call for an inspection, that’s brilliant.
Then there are the companies
that use elderly plumbers to stand inspections, why? Well it’s
because apprentices performed all of the work. The real
professionals give their plumbers an inspection sheet, the
Inspector will sign. The plumber will bring it back to their
office for a record, proving the job was inspected. But that’s
just the real professionals. And for the one man shops, try
taking the permitting and inspection process more seriously.
Get some organization going, it’s not brain surgery. Now
don’t get me wrong there are many excellent plumbers that
fi le for permits before the work starts, call and make
appointments directly with the inspector, always be ready
with a test on the system, and always call for final
inspections.
But as we all know, we do
not live in a perfect world. Jobs get delayed, plans change,
contractors go broke, homeowners go broke - everything can’t
always go the right way, especially in the contracting
business. All Inspectors understand this, as well they
should. So for a plumber or company to have a few
outstanding permits may be understandable. However for a
single company to allegedly have over three thousand (3000)
outstanding permits across the State is a blatant disregard
not only for the permitting process but for the entire
plumbing industry. And what should the State do about it?
Exactly what their supposed to - take action against the
responsible plumber. In the long term, change must come from
education and uniform enforcement. More emphasis on basic
issues like permitting, inspections, and licensure must be
taught at both the apprentice courses, and continuing
education. Simple code changes like making it mandatory for
the performing licensed plumber to be responsible for
calling for inspections.
This will not only shift
more responsibility it will help eliminate the practice of
apprentice plumbers running jobs, then going to lunch when
it’s time for an inspection. Finally their must be new
penalties created for not calling for inspections. Not
issuing any further permits is not realistic and does not
work. We need something that all Inspectors can easily
enforce, which is much easier said than done.? For
questions, comments, and past articles, please visit,
www.plumbingcodearticles. com.
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