Operations Policy And Procedure Notices #01/98

DATE:

February 10, 1998

SUBJECT:

Completion Fee and Inspection Appointment Procedure For Electrical Certification

Effective:

February 17, 1998

Purpose:

Scheduling of appointments for electrical inspections with the Bureau of Electrical Control.

Reference(s):

This directive is pursuant to rule "Payment of fees for Certificate of Electrical Inspection" Title 1, RCNY 35-02 and supplement (B).

Specifics:

The following procedure clarifies the scheduling of appointments for electrical inspections with the Bureau of Electrical Control and any subsequent postponement or debiting of completion fees to the accounts of electrical firms. Any application filed prior to the effective date will be subject only to the scheduling provisions of this PPN.

I FILING PROCEDURES

COMPLETION DATE

A) As presently required, a start date and a completion date must be clearly indicated on all applications for Certificate of Electrical Inspection. In the event the start date is either missing or illegible, the Department will assign a start date effective on the day the application was received by the Department. When the required completion date is either missing or illegible, the Department will assign a completion date effective forty-five (45) days after the noted start date.

B) The completion date indicated by the licensee of record must be consistent with the proposed scope of work. If upon review of an application, the completion date does not appear to be consistent with the proposed scope of work, the Department will assign a completion date effective forty-five (45) days after the start date and the licensee will be so notified. Appeals to reconsider an assigned completion date must be submitted promptly and supported by appropriate documentation.

C) Prior approval from the Director of the Bureau of Electrical Control must be granted before any change to a completion date can be made. To request a change of a completion date, the licensee must submit a "Request for Completion Date Change" form to the Director. This form must be received by the Director's Office at least three business days before the completion date of issue. Note- Only one completion date change will be permitted per application.

APPLICATION CANCELLATION

In the event that a licensee no longer wishes to take responsibility for the scope of work relating to a submitted application, the licensee must cancel the application in order to avoid a completion fee debit against the account of the involved firm. In order to cancel an application, the licensee must submit an " Application Cancellation Notice" form to the Director of the Bureau of Electrical Control, at least three business days before the completion date indicated on the application of issue.
Note - If a temporary certificate has already been issued and the related work energized, no cancellation will be accepted. The licensee of record will be held responsible for the scope of work resulting in the energizing of the subject meter(s). This form is intended to be used when no work has commenced. If work has commenced the licensee must request an inspection for work completed and will be charged the fee associated with the work performed.

II SCHEDULING OF APPOINTMENTS

When the licensee of record or his/her authorized representative schedules an appointment for inspection by the Department on or before the thirtieth (30th) day following the identified completion date, the respective completion fee will not be charged to the account of the licensee's firm until an initial inspection attempt has been made. If, however, the licensee of record fails to schedule such appointment for electrical inspection, the Department will debit the appropriate completion fee amount to the account of the licensee firm after the thirtieth (30^th) day following the identified completion date.

Note - The scheduling of an appointment, not the actual inspection, must occur prior to the conclusion of the 30-day period in order to stay the completion fee. The Department reserves the right to perform unsolicited inspections at any time. In such instances, if the inspection result is other than "certified", the licensee's account will not be debited with a completion fee. The conditions stated above however, will still apply.

RESIDENTIAL

A) Appointments for inspection involving residential buildings must be scheduled by phone through the chief electrical inspector's office of the respective borough. The licensee or representative, at the time of request, must identify him/her self by name and personal identification number (PIN#). Requests to schedule inspection appointments by individuals without PIN #'s or by property owners will only be accepted if made at least 31 days after an application's identified completion date.

B) Upon assignment of an inspection date and time, the licensee or representative will also be provided with a confirmation number as verification of having scheduled an appointment for electrical inspection. The confirmation number is unique to a single scheduled appointment and will be derived from a scheduling log maintained by each borough's chief electrical inspector's office. A call to schedule an appointment made more than 30 days after the identified completion date will not effect the debiting of the completion fee.

COMMERCIAL

A) Inspection requests involving commercial buildings must be made by fax to the chief electrical inspector's office of the respective borough, using a properly completed "Commercial Inspection Request Form". Upon receipt by the Department, an inspection date will be scheduled and a confirmation number faxed to the licensee, confirming that an inspection had been scheduled.

Note- The confirmation number is only a verification of the scheduling of an inspection by the Department, not a guarantee of completion fee postponement. Confirmation numbers will only be faxed to a known fax number for the licensee of record. It will be the responsibility of the licensee to notify the Department immediately if an inspection confirmation number was received for a job not familiar to that licensee.

III RESCHEDULING OR CANCELLATION OF APPOINTMENTS

A) In the event that a licensee needs to reschedule an appointment, the licensee must notify the appropriate chief electrical inspector's office of the schedule change at least two full business days before the scheduled appointment date. At this time, a new appointment date and confirmation number must be obtained in order to avoid a completion fee debit against the licensee firm's account.

Note - Justification for the rescheduling of an appointment will be required and must be consistent with the new appointment date requested by the licensee. Only one rescheduling of an appointment, at the request of the licensee, will be permitted per application.

B) In the event that the Department must cancel a scheduled appointment, the respective licensee of record will be notified and an alternate date identified. Once a new appointment date is scheduled, a new confirmation number will be provided and the fee will continue to be stayed.

IV EXPANDED SCOPE OF WORK

A) In the event that the scope of work for a particular application changes during the course of the job's progress; it will be the responsibility of the licensee to notify the Bureau of Electrical Control's central office in writing of the nature and extent of the change before the completion date of record. If the Department performs an inspection and the scope of work is found to have changed substantially without the Department having received prior written notice, a violation will be issued against the owner for un-filed work. If, however, the Department receives notification of a change in scope of work prior to the completion date, the change will be up-dated on the EICS computer system and added to the application of record.

Note- Any reported change in scope of work must be relevant to scope of work described on the original application of record. A change in scope that is beyond that of the application of record must be filed under a new application.