INNOVATION-May-June-2020

P R O F E S S I O N A L P R A C T I C E

NEW PRACTICE ADVISORIES AND GUIDELINES PROVIDE PROFESSIONAL GUIDANCE FOR REGISTRANTS Engineers and Geoscientists BC recently issued two practice advisories, titled Structural Assessments of Exterior Means JOINT PRACTICE GUIDELINES: PROFESSIONAL DESIGN AND FIELD REVIEW BY SUPPORTING REGISTERED PROFESSIONALS Engineers and Geoscientists BC and the Architectural

of Egress and Engineering Modifications to Fire-Tested and Listed Assemblies , and Joint Professional Practice Guidelines titled Professional Design and Field Review by Supporting Registered Professionals . All practice advisories and guidelines can be found at egbc.ca/guidelines. PRACTICE ADVISORY: STRUCTURAL ASSESSMENTS OF EXTERIOR MEANS OF EGRESS Effective June 25, 2020, all structures providing exterior means of egress for applicable buildings, as defined in the City of Vancouver Fire By-law, including their guards, handrails, and connection to the buildings, must be inspected for structural integrity by a registered professional with appropriate experience, at least every five years. Property owners and managers must engage structural engineers to provide the inspection services. Registrants wishing to undertake such work must act in accordance with the standard of practice described in this practice advisory. Full details and the current standard of practice, including professional experience requirements, assessment process, reporting and tagging requirements, and definitions of follow-up structural work, are described in the practice advisory. PRACTICE ADVISORY: ENGINEERING MODIFICATIONS TO FIRE-TESTED AND LISTED ASSEMBLIES For both new and existing construction, the British Columbia Building Code and the Vancouver Building By-law mandate that some structural elements be designed and constructed to a minimum fire-resistance rating. Similarly, fire-related separations or assemblies are also required between areas of different uses and occupancies. CAN/ULC-S101 Standard Methods of Fire Endurance Tests of Building Construction and Materials tests fire-related assemblies and assigns an hourly fire-resistant rating based on time to failure. The preparation of technical documents relating to fire protection applications in buildings, dealing with modifications to fire-tested and listed assemblies, or dealing with the development of new assemblies not specifically listed, all fall under the practice of professional engineering as defined in the Engineers and Geoscientists Act . Therefore, those documents must be sealed by a professional engineer. Full details, requirements, and the current standard of practice, are described in detail in the practice advisory.

Institute of BC (AIBC) have jointly prepared the Professional Practice Guidelines: Professional Design and Field Review by Supporting Registered Professionals . These guidelines apply to architects and professional engineers providing professional services in a supporting role on a building project. These guidelines are a guide to the recommended use of two intraprofessional forms to help appropriately record professional responsibility and assurance: ∙ Model Schedule S-B: Assurance of Professional Design and Commitment for Field Review by Supporting Registered Professional, and; ∙ Model Schedule S-C: Assurance of These guidelines replace the document previously known as Practice Note 16: Professional Design and Field Review by Supporting Registered Professionals. These and other practice advisories and resources are available at egbc.ca/guidelines . To contact an Engineers and Geoscientists BC practice advisor, email practiceadvisor@egbc.ca , or call 1.888.430.8035 or 604.430.8035. Professional Field Review and Compliance by Supporting Registered Professional.

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