Authority Having Jurisdiction

[heath harry]

I received the following statement from a client and question if it is actually possible for somebody to have jurisdiction over their own plant? If the following statement is true, would they not have to at least have certified inspector?


"It is now prudent to state exactly what the NEC is and what it is not. The NEC is article 70 of the NFPA (National Fire Protection Agency). The entire mission of the NFPA is to reduce the worldwide burden of fire and other hazards on the quality of life by providing and advocating scientifically based consensus codes and standards, research, training and education. The NFPA is an independent, nonprofit organization. The NEC (NFPA 70) focuses on the proper installation of electrical systems and equipment to protect people and property from the potential dangers of electricity. Neither the NFPA nor the NEC is a governmental body.

It is left to the State whether to form a licensing body, which would then review the latest NEC and adopt or reject those portions it saw fit for the state. Colorado is an example of a State with a statewide licensing body. Where a State does not have such a statewide licensing division such as Texas, it is then left to the local governing body, which has the right whether to adopt or reject portions of the NEC. For example, the City of Houston?s Electrical Board meets every three years when a revised NEC is published and decides what portions of the NEC to change, adopt or exclude and then revises its masters electrical licensing exam. The city controls installation of its electrical system by issuing permits that may only be obtained by its licensed master electricians.
The authority having jurisdiction over A XXX COMPANY would first fall to that municipality in which the plant resides. If that municipality does not have a code enforcement division, it would then fall under any county enforcement division. If there is no county enforcement division, then XXX COMPANY is considered the governing authority except where the providing utility company has authority for what it considers safe interconnection of its system to the customers system.


Since the primary reason for not installing a field mounted disconnect for the crane rails is safety, XXX COMPANY has the authority, responsibility and obligation to make this decision."

 

[charlie]

Re: Authority Having Jurisdiction

Better check with the state building commission to see what, if any, laws do cover that plant. Indiana is a "home rule" state and if a plant is inside a county that does not have an AHJ, then the state will take on that responsibility.

The criteria would be different for the type of occupancy, and size of the plant. I suspect someone does care about this plant. I also suspect that they really do not care about whether or not a field mounted disconnect for the crane is installed.

 

[lrollo]

Re: Authority Having Jurisdiction

I, at one time, did a house in Tennessee when I lived there. Code read there would be a recepticle at the end of an island in the kitchen. The home owner didnt want it there. The home owner went before the electrical board and the interpretation they set forth was that he owned the home and was going to live there, he was the authority having jurisdiction. I interpret the code as pretty much the same way, as long as the changes are equal to or greater than what is set forth by the NEC and not in violation of any state, county, or city codes, there should be no problem. This is my personal opinion and may or may not reflect anyone elses opinion.

[ August 12, 2003, 07:50 PM: Message edited by: lrollo ]

 

[heath harry]

Re: Authority Having Jurisdiction

Charlie,

I suspect someone does care about this plant as well. Regardless whether they do or do not care about whether a field mounted disconnect for the crane is installed. It is part of the engineering code of ethics to design to code. If something happened and they (OSHA, etc.) ask why there is not local disconnect installed, my company and I could be held liable. As an engineer I cannot knowingly disregard the code. If we show a disconnect on drawings and a client decides not to install it they then take the liability.

 

[charlie]

Re: Authority Having Jurisdiction

Originally posted by heath harry:
As an engineer I cannot knowingly disregard the code. If we show a disconnect on drawings and a client decides not to install it they then take the liability.

Great comment.

 

[charlie b]

Re: Authority Having Jurisdiction

First Point: A ?Standard? is a set of guidelines. A ?Code? is a standard that has been enacted into law by a governmental body. Therefore, the ?C? word in ?NEC? is a bit of a presumption. Each new edition of the National Electric ?Code? does not, in fact, become ?code,? until the first jurisdiction within the entire US enacts it into its own laws.

Second Point: The NEC purpose for existence is to safeguard the health and safety of the public. The NSPE?s Code of Ethics for Engineers (http://www.nspe.org/ethics/codeofethics2003.pdf) assigns us that same duty. However, if an industrial facility is not accessible to the ?public,? then a violation of the NEC does not place the public at risk. It might place the employees at risk, and OSHA might have something to say about that. But for this reason, it does not seem strange to me that a specific plant might be an AHJ unto itself. I believe this notion is the basis of electric utilities often being their own AHJ ? the public cannot have access to the utility?s stations and substations.

Third Point: I agree with Health Harry: If the installer (with or without the owner?s concurrence) builds something that differs from the plans and thereby creates a code violation, then I am obligated to inform the owner. Depending on the nature of the violation, I may also be obliged to inform other authorities (such as the department in charge of licensing the contractor).

Last Point (to directly answer the original question): No, there is no requirement that the plant owner employ a certified inspector (unless the local codes include such a requirement).

 

[stuartw]

Re: Authority Having Jurisdiction

I found a site with information summarizing OSHA's take on crane disconnects. I don't know how to properly paste a link so you'll have to cut and paste.

http://www.ehoist.com/services/osha_hoist_answers1.asp#19

While the owner may be the AHJ, to deviate from a recognized standard for the sole reason of cheaper installed cost will not work with OSHA. All of the major plants I've worked in (paper and chemical) had local lockable disconnects for cranes and hoists. This sounds more like a steel mill and I've never seen how they're normally set up. We have a crane inspection company check the cranes each year and that is 1 of the items on their checklist.