Does your City or State require that their electrical inspector be "licensed, certified, qualified, or are they otherwise appointed?"

Does your City or State employ combination inspectors who inspect all installations of building, electrical, plumbing, and mechanical work on residential, commercial, or industrial locations?

Are you interested in becoming certified as an electrical inspector nationwide?

My area has different requirements based on the townships. Some use outside agencies, others use their own employees.
I have been interested in becoming certified as an electrical inspector at some level.
I have noticed on this board what appear to be classifications (E1?).
Could you discuss this please?

[This message has been edited by Redsy (edited 08-29-2002).]

Redsy:

Look over on http://www.iaei.org for more information related to 2A, 2B, and 2C electrical inspector certifications. They will also send you the bulletin of information with sample questions. I beliieve that E1 is the classification for a Connecticut Master?

Joe,

Well you know a lot about me. In NJ the electrical inspector has to pass the 2A, 2B and take some class room training in a college and he has to have some field experience to be an ICS inspector. 5 years to be qualified for ICS license and 10 years for HHS and you need to pass the 2C part of the test. Then to top it off we need some more class room training to get a subcode officals license. We also need to go to classes every 3 years to renew our licenses.

Caper

Joe,

Here in the Mountain State, it depends a lot on where you live.

Rural areas in the Allegheney Energy service area- service inspection only, performed by an inspection agency. Rest of the rural area gets no inspection.

Cities- some larger ones require inspection, usually performed by a multi-hat inspector. Otherwise, inspections are the same as rural areas.

WV has passed a law requireing certification, but it has not been implemented as yet. Unfortunately, the legislature gave enforcement to the State Fire Marshal, the agency that has already fouled up the electrician licensing. I believe that IAEI certification will satisfy the state requirements.

Tom

Caper:

It's about 12 years since we used Prodigy, and when about ten of the electrical bulletin board members there took the IAEI tests.

I think all of them, including you, passed.

Do you remember their names, and handles?

Also, please explain what HHS and ICS mean?

Tom:

Do the 3rd party inspection agencies work in certain areas only, or are they hired by the City or State?

Do they compete with each other?

Does one agency call out different code violations, and other's something else?

For example, the weep hole in the bottom of a panelboard cabinet, do they allow the GEC to pass through that hole with no connection to the enclosure, like you'd have if you used a knockout an a proper fitting?

Is this a job offer Joe?

Sparky:

No, it was not a job offer.

Becoming certified could lead to a good job though, in fact the IAEI certification process, now over 25 years old, is the best way that I know of to ensure that the AHJ is not some political hack with no experience at all.

I asked that question to see if there were any who wanted to take on the challange.

I took my tests along with Joe Roohan (Former LA County Chief Electrical Inspector, Deceased) back in December 1979

We both passed all three of the IAEI tests, and they were not easy!



[This message has been edited by Joe Tedesco (edited 08-29-2002).]

I have taken & passed the 'Electrical Inspector General' IAEI 7-8 yrs ago. It was comprable to my masters.

I think there is a misunderstanding that it automatically makes you an inspector...not so.


State inspectors here, many knowledgable people, just too da** few of them. I believe that they had all achieved an NFPA level credential recently, but i'm not sure what...

[quote]Becoming certified could lead to a good job though, in fact the IAEI certification process, now over 25 years old, is the best way that I know of to ensure that the AHJ is not some political hack with no experience at all.[quote/]

Joe I am certified 2A/2B/Master plan on working on 2C, but even with certifications, in the area I live becoming an Inspector would really by a major pay cut. A very good friend of mine is an inspector (2A/2B/2C)in the area I live, and the trouble he seems to be put through for performing his job is much more than I would want. Certifying inspectors I believe is useful, and needed. But more important is removing the politics from the position, also if there is a national code, then how about a national certification for electrician? Company's performing electrical service should be Accountable for holding a standard for continuing the education for the electricians they employee. In relation too producing a national code would it be in the best interest to produce a national education program in teaching the national code? All electricians should be taught the same way. There seems to be to many respected teachers and book writer that are educating in different methods, and different interpretations.
Just a thought, Thanks

I'll 2nd that aphares.

quick, how many trade related orginizations can you think of?...... then how many would advocate said concept....

Last week, I removed the cover from an (inspected and passed) subpanel and, although the neutrals (there's that word again) and grounds were separated, the bonding strip was not connected from the ground bus to the can.
This was from a local inspection agency, not the usual township appointee.

Joe,

Here in NJ there use to be three levels of inspectors:
RCS meant residential/commercial specialist
ICS meant Industrial/commercial specialist
HHS meant Hazardous/High rise specialist

The electrical and plumbing inspectors only have ICS and HHS. Fire and building inspectors still have RCS licenses. An inspector would first get an RCS license, then the ICS then the HHS. Depending on what level of license you have it determines the level of plan review that you can do. It also classifies the town as per a class I town. a Class II or a Class III town. If all of your inspectors have a HHS licensene then the town is considered a Class I town. That means we do any and all plan review and inspection. If your town has even one inspector who has a ICS lic. then that town would be a Class II town. They would do all the inspections but the could not do plan review on High rises or buildings with hazardous areas. The last would be a class III town. This town at least one inspectr only has a RCS lic. and in this town they would do all the inspections but could only do plan review on 1 & 2 family dwellings and certain size businesses.

Caper

Electrical Inspections are a Vital Public Safety Function

The following six-point position statement was issued by the "Inspection Initiative," an industry coalition supporting qualified electrical inspections.

Inspections Can Save Lives and Property:

Inspections by qualified electrical inspectors reduce the potential for fire and shock hazards due to incorrectly installed electrical products and systems covered by the National Electrical Code®, save lives, and reduce property damage that may result from unsafe electrical inspections.

Inspections Confirm that Qualified Installers are on the Job:

Electrical inspections protect against untrained or careless installers.

Too often, unqualified installers perform unsafe electrical installations, and may also use products that don't meet national safety requirements or local laws and codes.

Inspections Mean Compliance with Laws:

Most states and localities require electrical installations to comply with the National Electrical Code®, to protect public safety. Electrical inspections help confirm that electrical wiring and systems are installed "according to Code."

No Public Funding:

Government funding isn't needed to pay for proper and thorough electrical inspections. The cost of inspections is usually covered by fees paid directly by builders and contractors. This vital public safety function doesn't have to cost taxpayers or cash-strapped governments a dime!

Inspections Check for Safe Products:

Most states and localities require electrical products to be "Listed" by recognized product safety certification organizations. Electrical inspections help confirm that properly certified products meeting U.S. safety standards are installed.

Inspections Can Help Lower Insurance Premiums:

Property insurance premiums are generally lower in areas with strong building codes enforced by professional inspectors. That's because qualified electrical inspections help protect lives and property.

Reuse and reprint of this six-point position statement are encouraged.

Joe,

As for our little group of "Secret Society" from the days of Prodigy, I can remember some of the feloows who took the test and passed. Some of their handles were:
The Wiz- Ed Schick
The Sheriff- Wally Harris
Pooh Bah- Rich Lintz
Ninja- Alan Mallinger
D.P. - Greg Fretwell

There were others like, Teacher, Politrician, Lone Ranger, Bullwinkle, Whale, House mouse, E.T.

Most of these guys were electricians, or electrical engineers, And Rich worked for the power company.

Caper

Joe,

The third party inspectors are hired by the homeowner or electrical contractor. Since there is virtually no requirement for inspection, they usually inspect in small towns and rural areas in the Allegheney service area.

I guess since they are all "for profit" organizations, they are in competition with eachother.

I would hope that most of them enforce the rules the same way, without trying to make new code. But, being individuals, each has his own axe to grind (mine is making sure the grounding system is correctly installed).

Unfortunately, some of the inspectors are more interested in the fee than the total compliance of the installation., but that is another story.

Tom

Some well thought out answers, thanks.

How much time should it take to inspect the rough wiring in a 2000 sq. ft. single family dwelling.

How many electrical inspections, during a normal 8 hour day, can an electrical inspector make in a city with a population of 100,000.

Joe,

The time required to do a rough inspection would depend on who you are dealing with and what you see in the first couple of minutes.

Dealing with a highly qualified contractor should get you out of there in 15 to 30 minutes. Dealing with a DIY installation, I'd say one hour minimum.

The more I see wrong, the longer & harder I look, but you eventually reach the point where there are no new violations, just repeats of ones you've already found.

As far as your inspector in the 100,000 population town is concerned, with travel & paperwork, six inspections would probably be the maximum, but I'd bet that 4 would be the maximum on many days. Also, these inspections would involve more than lick 'em & stick 'em with the "I was there" sticker.

Tom

Tom:

I was in Virginia about 10 years ago presenting a seminar to the inspection department in Chesterfield County, and some of the inspectors there say they made as many as 40 or more inspections per day.

That may be possible, if you count multifamily dwelling units and multiple meters, etc., so they add up.

I agree with you, that 4-6 inspections on large jobs, like malls, high rise, and industrial sites will take the time needed. The best bet is when you are sure about the work of the installers.

I can tell a short story here, I found a GEC stubbed into each end of an existing conduit for about two feet, and when I pulled it out of each end --- the guy almost fainted!




[This message has been edited by Joe Tedesco (edited 08-30-2002).]