Appendix A revisions
A-2.2.7. - Professional Design and Review. This Section provides for the use of what are generally called Letters of Assurance. The letters themselves, known as Schedules A, B, C-A and C-B and located at the end of Division C, are intended to put on paper the responsibilities of the owner and the various registered professionals in a construction project. The Letters of Assurance do not impose any additional responsibilities on the registered professionals nor are they intended to alter the roles and responsibilities of the authorities having jurisdiction.
The Schedules have been very carefully scrutinized by the Province of British Columbia, Union of BC Municipalities, Building Officials’ Association of British Columbia, Architectural Institute of British Columbia, Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of British Columbia and their respective legal counsel. The precise wording in the letters is extremely critical and must not be modified. Any notations on these Schedules which are absolutely necessary to suit a particular project must be clearly and legibly marked in ink on the copies.
It is typical that the registered professional responsible for the design is also responsible for the field review. There are instances where this is not the case and having a different registered professional doing the field reviews is unavoidable. Schedule C-B requires that the registered professional who provides the field review provide assurance that the building as finally constructed is in substantial conformance with the Code. In the event that another registered professional is to provide field review, the field reviewer takes on the responsibility to confirm that the construction substantially complies with the plans and supporting documents that were submitted for the building permit. The responsibility for code compliance of the design remains with the original registered professional who undertook the design. In this event, the Schedule C-B must be modified by the field reviewer by crossing out and initialling Clause (b)(i) and providing the effective transition date.
Note that Schedules A, B, C-A & C-B, as required by Subsection 2.2.7., must be signed, sealed and submitted to the authority having jurisdiction, as applicable for each specific project. Conditional or qualified Schedules are not typically acceptable. Any fire and life safety issue relative to the Schedule B disciplines is to be remedied before the Schedules C-A / C-B are released, not accommodated by conditions or qualifications placed on the Schedule or by any attached document. See the Guide to Letters of Assurance, available from the Building and Safety Standards Branch Web site, for more details.
A-2.2.7.1.(1)(c) - (i) Structural Components. The reference to “structural components of buildings that fall within the scope of Part 4” includes the situation where a building is classified under Part 9 due to its size and occupancy but also contains some structural components (such as beams supporting concentrated loads) which must be designed under Part 4. In this situation only Schedules B and C-B for the structural components are required. Schedule A and Schedules B, C-A and C-B relating to non-structural components are not required.
A-2.2.7.2.(1)(a) - Coordinating Registered Professional. The coordinating registered professional is responsible to ascertain that all Code related aspects which are relevant to the project are clearly identified by each of the registered professionals in the collection of Schedules B. If a registered professional of record has crossed out any item on their Schedule B, the coordinating registered professional must confirm this item is not applicable to the project or resolve the issue with the registered professional of record.
A-2.2.7.2.(1)(b) - Schedule B. The purpose of Schedule B is to clearly identify the appropriate registered professional of record who has the overall responsibility in each discipline for compliance with the various code-related aspects of the project. Detailed design of certain building components may be undertaken by other registered professionals. The registered professional of record is responsible for monitoring the design work and field review of the other registered professionals within their discipline for components listed in Schedule B. In the event that the other registered professionals provide design and field review, the registered professional of record must be satisfied that such design and field reviews have been performed and is responsible for Schedule C-B.
A-2.2.7.2.(2) - Schedule C-A. Schedule C-A provides confirmation that the coordinating registered professional has completed the obligation to coordinate the various registered professionals engaged in the project. It also confirms that the testing of the interrelated fire and life safety systems, such as fire alarms and sprinklers, has been completed and the systems function as intended.
[the remainder of Appendix A is unchanged from BCBC 2006.]
