INNOVATION March-April 2014

prac t i ce ma t ter s

Report Finds Unsafe Bridges on Forest Roads APEGBC and the Association of BC Forest Professionals (ABCFP) are concerned about the findings of the Forest Practices Board (FPB), which recently released a report on the planning, design and construction of forest bridges. The report is the result of an investigation that examined whether forest bridges are meeting the legislated requirements and conforming to standards of professional practice. After investigating 216 bridges constructed throughout the Province in the last three years, the report indicates that there are numerous non- compliances with legislation and over two dozen bridges that may not be safe for industrial use. As the independent regulators of professional forestry and professional engineering through the administration of the Foresters Act and Engineers and Geoscientists Act respectively, both APEGBC and ABCFP expect develop- ment projects to be conducted safely, professionally and sustainably. The two organizations responded publicly in a news release on March 5. The FPB report identified that though both APEGBC and ABCFP have provided professional practice guidelines ( Guidelines for Professional Services in the Forest Sector—Crossings ) for bridge planning, design and construction to their members, not all licensees and professionals are following the guidelines. These guidelines were published in 2005 and revised in 2008.

In the coming weeks APEGBC and ABCFP will be actively determining the facts involving professional practice or unsafe conditions that may have contributed to the problem bridge structures identified by the FPB. Where appropriate, APEGBC and ABCFP will follow up with their respective enforcement and discipline systems. In addition, the professions will update the current professional practice guidelines, identify the necessary skills and competencies required for this work, and undertake specialized professional development with members in this area of practice. For professional practice inquiries, contact Peter Mitchell, P.Eng., FEC, FGC (Hon), APEGBC Director, Professional Practice, Standards and Development, at 604.412.4853 or mitchell@apeg.bc.ca.

Sequencing and Dating of Letters of Assurance Gilbert Laroque, CD, P.Eng., LLB; Associate Director, Professional Practice The Letters of Assurance provided in Division C, Part 2 of the BC Building Code and the Vancouver Building Bylaw are legal accountability documents intended to clearly identify the roles and responsibilities of the key stakeholders in a building construc- tion project. Uniform, mandatory Letters of Assurance have been included as Schedules in the Building Code since December 1992. In addition to ascertaining the division of responsibilities between engineers and architects, the Letters of Assurance guarantee that a building has been designed and constructed in compliance with the requirement of the applicable building code, and that the required professional obligations have been fulfilled. Confirming these assur- ances is the function of Schedule C-A—Assurance of Coordination of Professional Field Review and Schedule C-B—Assurance of Professional Field Review and Compliance. For each building project, Schedule C-A and Schedules C-B (at the rate of one Schedule C-B for each previously submitted

Schedule B) must be submitted by the applicable professionals after completion of the project but before an occupancy permit is issued or a final inspection is made by the authority having juris- diction. Since the authorities having jurisdiction usually require Schedules A and B prior to issuing a building permit and any work commencing, it logically follows that the issuance of Schedules C-A and C-B cannot precede the issuance of a building permit. As their name implies, Letters of Assurance are a professional declaration. They are not just a clerical exercise. While it may seem administratively expeditious to seal and date Schedules C-A and C-B in advance of project completion, such practice is inappropriate. In particular, the sequencing of Schedule C-A and C-B must reflect the chronology of a building project and be issued and dated to indicate that the work was performed and the associated professional services provided after the required building permit were in place.

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