Special Inspections
If you have been developing for a few years in Philadelphia it's likely that you’ve come across Special Inspections. Many people, whether novice or experienced know exactly what Special Inspections are and how they affect your project. In this blog post, we are going to cover everything you need to know about Special Inspections, including Special Inspectors and Special Inspection Agencies.
As you probably know, City Inspectors are responsible for conducting inspections on every project. They perform inspections on a range of construction techniques, from plumbing to insulation to final building inspections. However, due to budget or expertise constraints, City Inspectors do not do it all.
Just like Electrical Inspections - where L&I requires that an Electrical Inspection Agency perform the inspection - Special Inspections must be performed by a certified third party. Special Inspections require a higher level of expertise and education than City inspectors carry. There are a variety of special inspection types, with the most common being listed below.
Post-Installed Concrete Anchors
Structural Masonry
Existing Site Soil Conditions
Structural Stability
Excavation and Filling
Comprehensive list located on this document.
Special Inspectors in Philadelphia need to meet different requirements for each inspection category. These requirements can be found in the City’s Special Inspection Publication. Typically, the following are required:
Professional Engineer or Engineer in Training with 2 years experience.
Pass industry specific exams. In some cases, more than one exam is required.
Current certification from industry regulatory organization.
Once an individual meets the relevant requirements, they can then apply for a Special Inspector license in Philadelphia. This license is specific to the inspection types that they qualify for, and does not grant the ability to inspect all categories. With this license, L&I will accept their verdict on the outcome of the inspection categories that they are licensed in.
However, Special Inspectors cannot work individually; they must be employed by a Special Inspection Agency. Special Inspection Agencies are specifically licensed businesses in Philadelphia which provides supervision and accountability for the Special Inspectors which it employs. There are criteria which must be met to obtain a Special Inspection Agency. Namely, there must be a supervisor who is a registered PA Design Professional. Engineers-in-training do not qualify.
Your design professional should communicate whether you will need Special Inspections. Once they do, it will be up to you, your project manager, or your expediter to either retain or refer you to a Special Inspector. This will cause an increase in the documents required to obtain the Building Permit. Special Inspectors usually know the drill, and will provide you with the appropriate documentation.
After permit issuance, the GC will need to communicate with the Special Inspector regarding the frequency and scope of the inspections. After performing an inspection, they will provide the documents that verify that the inspection took place and whether it passed. Those documents must be uploaded to eClipse in order to complete the permit.
Kosten Expediting specializes in project that require Special Inspections. We also have a network of Special Inspectors, which we can recommend to you based on your specific needs. If you want to remove the hassle of obtaining permits yourself, let us know!
Until next time,
Ian Kosten
