Product Approval POC
Minutes
August 21, 2006
8:00 A.M.-12:00 P.M.
Don Shula Hotel
6842 Main Street
Miami Lakes , FL 33314
1 (800) 247-4852
The Electrical TAC and The Product Approval POC had concurrent meeting. There was no quorum present from the POC. The Electrical TAC had a quorum. Electrical TAC:
Ed Carson, Mike McCombs, Leonard Devine, Oriol T. Haage, Dwight Wilkes, Tarry Baker. Product Approval POC: Ed Carson, Herminio Gonzalez, and Do Kim. Staff present were Mo Madani, Joe Bigelow
Manufactured Buildings Program Issues – Electrical TAC concurrent meeting
GFCI Sheds
SITUATION: Mr. Kevin Crowley, Esq. representing the Florida Portable Building Manufacturers Association, has requested an exemption to the NEC to install non-GFCI outlets in sheds and defer the protection required in s. 210.8 (A)(2) NEC, to a site requirement, with a statement on the plans to the effect: " Electrical power to this shed must be installed in accordance with methods consistent with the National Electrical Code, Article 210.8 "
Action: The committee discussed the issue at hand and no action was taken. However, the general consensus of the committee was in support of the staff recommendation.
RECOMMENDATION : (1) Manufactured storage sheds should comply with the NEC and require GFCI protection before leaving the factory, and not defer this requirement to the owner. (2) Additionally, changes should be made to Rule 9B-1 FAC to prohibit certain items from deferment to site installed, albeit, already implied, but not so stated in rule. Supplemental to that change would be to list specific items allowed to be deferred to site installed, e.g., HVAC, foundation, gable end siding, etc., and/or prohibit all others.
1. The agenda was approved as amended. The minutes were approved as is.
Attendees: Ed Carson, Nan Dean, Herminio Gonzalez, Do Kim, and Christ Sanidas.
2. Amendment to the agenda: Update on the Prototype Buildings Program:
In this report Bill York stated that he is no longer an ARA employee but a subcontractor and advisor for the company. The new ARA contract manager is Mr. Frank Lavelle.
Bill York presentation regarding Indian River County Building Department: How the Florida Prototype Building Program (FPBP) is saving time and money for Building Departments and Builders. The presentation also stated that new residential customers and other new users have utilized the program.
3. Product Approval Program Issues.
Issue 1. Cat-5 Net, Non - Impact
Wind Abatement & Hold-Down System , FL6498. The product has been approved by the Commission. However, there is a concern from our staff that approval of this product is in conflict with the Commission action on DCA05-DEC-284 – Fastnet
Committee Action: The Committee recommendation is to have the applicant withdraw his application. Staff will archive the FL number. If the applicant by some means chooses not to withdraw, revocation process will start.
Issue 2. Application deadlines and Arnold & Associates product approval deadlines
Committee Action:
A. Product Approval Schedule Issue – Staff was seeking to move the product approval deadlines back three (3) days. Concerns from manufacturers were that this deadline shift would go unnoticed and cause problems. Manufacturers download and rely heavily on the Product Approval deadline schedule. The final recommendation was to set the deadline back three days at the start of next year.
B. In the interim, it was decided that A&A would provide the committee with hard copies of the report at the meeting and will bring the final report to be loaded into the stand alone laptop for projection and consideration by the committee. This means that staff will not be required to make the file electronically available through the servers or to the public before the meeting .
Issue 3. Self Affirmation of FL2192-R1
Report on this technical issue from Ted Berman, Arnold & Associates
Self Affirmation – $50 fee- If standard and the code is the same from one code version to the other, applications can be self affirmed. This process issues an email message to A&A for review of the application.
Ÿ In this case, FL 2192 R1 there is a problem with the NOA.
Ÿ Establish procedure for when a reviewer discovers a gross error, A&A will contact the applicant
• Committee Action For Self Affirmation – Application will remain in “Approved” status, notification is sent to manufacturer that we have approved their self affirmation but the original approval has specific deficiencies which need to be corrected. In addition we need to advise the manufacturer that they need to revise the application to make the necessary corrections by the second validation date from the time the notification from the administrator was received otherwise staff would recommend to the Commission at the next meeting that the product be revoked.
• Committee Action for All other Applications – For revisions and normal applications, if there are deficiencies that are noticed in the application, the application will remain approved. We will advise the manufacturer that they need to revise the application to make necessary corrections. Otherwise staff will recommend at the next Commission meeting that the product be revoked.
Issue 4. Discussion of Declaratory Statement DCA06-DEC-179 by Michael Morris, CEO, of Roll-A-Cover, International. Committee members were in agreement with staff analysis.
Issue 5. Discussion of Joaquim Medeiros email. No determination was needed.
4. A&A Report
A&A provided a report with recommendations on products and one entity, Certified Testing Laboratories, for consideration.
The administrator raised an issue with regard to loss of quality assurance. The committee recommended the manufacturer at least one year quality assurance agreement with the entity.
Staff raised issues with regard to products recommended for approval and the committee decided that a discussion of the issues needed to be addressed at the October meeting. The issues are as follows:
1. Staff raised concern that products meeting the HVHZ are being approved for use in the non-HVHZ without any substantiating documentation demonstrating compliance with the non-HVHZ portions of the Florida Building Code.
2. Discussed the equivalency of standards and how they should be used in relation to the base standard in the Florida Building Code.
7. Action needed by the Commission:
1. Action on item 3, issue 1.
2. Action on item 3, issue 2.
3. Action on item 3, issue 3.
4. Recommend that the products reviewed for approval, conditional approval, deferral, and denial be approved.
5. Recommend that entities reviewed for approval be approved
8. Adjourned at 12:05 P.M.