Section 880.65 Approval of Inspection Agencies

Section

880.65  Approval of  Inspection Agencies

a)         Initial

Approval Procedures

1)         Application

Requirements.  An inspection agency seeking approval shall submit a written

application to the Department that shall include the following items:

A)        The original

articles of incorporation of the agency and all subsequent amendments to those

articles, as filed in the state of incorporation.

B)        The

bylaws of the organization, if any.

C)        The

names, addresses, and business interests of all members of the board of

directors and of management personnel.

D)        Certification

by the agency that:

i)          Its

board of directors and technical personnel can exercise independence of

judgment;

ii)         Its

activities will result in no financial benefit to the agency via stock ownership,

or other financial interests in any producer, supplier, or vendor of products

involved, other than through standard published fees for services rendered.

E)        Names,

years of experience, state in which professionally registered, and other

qualifications of the directors of inspection programs.

F)         Names

and years of experience of employees practicing in the following disciplines:

architecture, structural engineering, mechanical engineering, electrical

engineering, fire protection, and other branches of professional engineering;

the states in which each is registered; and the services each performs.

G)        An

organizational chart showing management and supervisory persons, including the

number of licensed graduate engineers and architects and the names of all

consulting licensed engineers or architects, designating which are full-time

and which are part-time.  The personnel requirements of the American Society

for Testing and Materials (ASTM E-54), Criteria for Agencies in System Analysis

and Compliance Assurance for Manufactured Buildings, shall be met

ersons, including the

number of licensed graduate engineers and architects and the names of all

consulting licensed engineers or architects, designating which are full-time

and which are part-time.  The personnel requirements of the American Society

for Testing and Materials (ASTM E-54), Criteria for Agencies in System Analysis

and Compliance Assurance for Manufactured Buildings, shall be met.

H)        Number

and location of factory inspectors, supervisors, and other technicians,

including evaluators of factory inspectors and the qualifications of each

specialized group, including records of work experience, licenses held, and

other pertinent qualifications.  Descriptions shall be included of the type of

work each group and each technician is expected to perform.

I)         Statement

from the agency to assure that all inspectors, evaluators, and other

technicians are properly trained to do each job assigned to them.

J)         An

outline of the general procedures for supervision of inspectors and evaluators,

including checking and evaluation of their work.

K)        Names

of all engineers, technicians, and other personnel who will perform services

for the organization but who are not employees of the organization, and the

supervisory and other relationships that each will have to the agency.

L)        A list

of the types of products, components, equipment, structures, and other items

that the organization has evaluated, tested, or inspected, and the number of

years of experience the organization has had with each.

M)       A list

of the types of codes, standards, specifications, and requirements with which

the organization has had experience in providing inspection or testing

services, and the number of years of experience with each.

N)        Description

of the recordkeeping system the agency proposes to use, with particular regard

to availability of records to the Department and the capacity to send reports

to the Department

pes of codes, standards, specifications, and requirements with which

the organization has had experience in providing inspection or testing

services, and the number of years of experience with each.

N)        Description

of the recordkeeping system the agency proposes to use, with particular regard

to availability of records to the Department and the capacity to send reports

to the Department.

O)        Description

of the frequency with which the agency performs inspections or evaluations.

P)         List

of the states in which the agency is now approved to inspect or evaluate

modular dwellings, mobile structures or building components for compliance with

approved building systems.

2)         Incomplete

or incorrect applications will not be accepted for processing and will be

returned to the applicant within 30 days after receipt by the Department, with

a written explanation of the reasons why the application was not acceptable to

the Department.  Applications can be resubmitted with necessary corrections.

3)         Complete

applications will be accepted for processing and the applicant will be notified

in writing of that acceptance within 30 days after the date the application is

received by the Department.

A)        The

Department shall conduct an evaluation either at the agency's office or at a

manufacturing facility within 30 days after the application is determined to be

in compliance with this Part, but prior to the issuance of the initial

approval.

B)        The

Department shall approve inspection agencies that meet the requirements of this

subsection (a) and that the Department finds qualified to perform the functions

proposed to be delegated to them.

C)        In the

event the evaluation of the agency's office or factory finds those facilities

to be inadequate to meet the requirements of this Part, the Department shall

return the complete application to the applicant with a written explanation of

the reasons for disapproval

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subsection (a) and that the Department finds qualified to perform the functions

proposed to be delegated to them.

C)        In the

event the evaluation of the agency's office or factory finds those facilities

to be inadequate to meet the requirements of this Part, the Department shall

return the complete application to the applicant with a written explanation of

the reasons for disapproval.

4)         Approved

inspection agencies shall be notified by the Department in writing.  The

approval letter will state the specific functions that the applicant has been

approved to perform.  The initial approval shall expire December 31 of the year

following the date of the approval letter.

b)         Annual

Approval of Inspection Agencies

1)         The

Department shall conduct an annual evaluation of each approved inspection

agency for the purpose of evaluating the performance of each agency in

monitoring the manufacturer's compliance assurance program.

2)         These

evaluations may be conducted at any reasonable time, with or without prior

notice, at either the inspection agency's office or at a manufacturer's place

of business.

3)         Each

evaluation shall investigate:

A)        The

adequacy of all engineering evaluations of plans, specifications and test

results;

B)        Testing and analysis of

compliance assurance programs;

C)        Procedures

used by the agency in the monitoring activity, including personnel selection,

training, supervision, reporting accuracy, use of approved documents,

evaluation of reports, decision criteria, and all other activities that measure

the effectiveness of the manufacturer's program.

4)         A

report of evaluation results will be compiled and maintained by the

Department.  A copy of the report will be sent to the inspection agency, along

with notification of any deficiencies determined during the evaluation and the

means and time frame for correction of the deficiencies

ion criteria, and all other activities that measure

the effectiveness of the manufacturer's program.

4)         A

report of evaluation results will be compiled and maintained by the

Department.  A copy of the report will be sent to the inspection agency, along

with notification of any deficiencies determined during the evaluation and the

means and time frame for correction of the deficiencies.

5)         If

deemed necessary by the Department, an agency's approval may be suspended or

revoked as provided in subsection (c).

c)         Suspension

and Revocation

1)         Grounds

A)        The

Department may suspend or revoke its approval of any inspection agency if the

approval was issued on the basis of incorrect information or issued in

violation of the Act or this Part.

B)        If the

Department determines that the inspection agency has failed to perform its

functions properly, the Department shall notify the agency and arrange for an

informal presentation of views.  If an informal presentation of views fails to

achieve resolution, the Department shall notify the agency in writing of its

intent to suspend or revoke the approval.

2)         Procedures

in Event of Suspension or Revocation

A)        General.

If the Department suspends or revokes the approval of an  inspection agency,

the manufacturers being evaluated by the agencies shall be given notice in

writing after the disposition of any appeal of the suspension or revocation.

B)        Temporary

Arrangement to Continue Manufacturing.  After the suspension or revocation of

any inspection agency, the Department, upon the request of any manufacturer

affected, shall establish a temporary arrangement by which the manufacturer can

continue to manufacture, sell, lease, deliver and install modular dwellings and

mobile structures in accordance with the Act and this Part until the suspension

or revocation is removed or arrangements are completed to utilize another

approved inspection agency.