Commercial jobs are required to have approved plans on job site.

As a matter of practice and soon to be as a matter of procedure for compliance with International Building, Plumbing, Gas and Mechanical Codes, the approved stamped plans for any commercial project, reviewed and approved through the plans review process, should be kept available on the job site at all times during construction of the building. This practice achieves several objectives.

First, this provides a plan at the site which has been reviewed and approved by the building department and by which the building may be constructed.

Second, it avoids confusion by providing a single reference drawing on the site. It is not uncommon to have several copies of the plan floating around the job site that are used by the various tradesmen working on the project. It is also not uncommon for each of these plans to be different in some detail from the others. Providing the approved plans on the job site provides a single reference by which all persons associated with the project can at any time determine the appropriate and approved manner in which to construct the building.

Third, the job of the inspector is to inspect the project in accordance with the approved plans. The inspector is allowed a certain amount of discretion in allowing minor deviations from the approved plans, however any substantial changes from what is shown on the approved plans should dictate a delay in approval until the revision to the project can be resubmitted to the plans review department for review and approval. Any revision to the approved plans should be stamped as revised, approved and attached to the approved job set with appropriate deletions from the original set to indicate the details that have been changed.

The inspectors from this office have been instructed to ask for the approved plans at the time of any called inspection. Please assist us in this matter by making it a practice to keep a copy of the approved stamped plans on the job site at all times.

Information for plan requirements can be found in our Construction Guide.