Permitting Process: Why do we keep repeating the same mistakes?

In the construction world today there are literally tens of thousands of pages of codes and standards applicable to almost any construction project, large or small. Design professionals do everything in their power to prepare designs that meet all of the requirements of the national, state and local codes and standards; however, it is simply not possible to know them all, let alone properly apply them all. Sometimes architects and engineers miss things that are either buried in the thousands of pages of applicable codes or are a result of local amendments to the nationally standardized codes.  In addition, sometimes the applicable codes and standards have conflicting information on how systems are to be designed. Sorting through all of this information has become a full-time tedious job.

Once the design professionals are satisfied that they have properly addressed all of the code related issues in their design, they issue what is typically called a “Permit Set”.  Preferably, this Permit Set is issued before the “Bid Set” is completed and ready for contractor bidding. Often, particularly on smaller projects, the Permit Set and the Bid Set are issued simultaneously as a single set of documents. In this case, the set is issued to both the Authority Having Jurisdiction (AHJ) and to the bidding contractors at the same time. Combining the Bid Set and the Permit Set in this manner will often lead to unnecessary revisions in the form of addendums or worse, change orders to the owner, if the bids have already been received by the time the permit review comments are received. For this reason, it is always preferable to issue the Permit Set first, and only issue the Bid Set once any permit review comments have been received and incorporated.

Due to the compressed timelines on many projects, it may not be possible to wait for the permit review comments to come back before issuing the Bid Set. When that is the case, the owner should be prepared for the inevitable changes that will occur as the AHJ reviews the Permit Set for compliance with the locally enforced code provisions.

Permit reviews of the architectural and engineering drawings by the AHJ are a necessary and important part of the design and construction cycle. As noted above, it is not humanly possible to know all of the codes and properly apply them to every situation. This is where the value of the permit review process comes in. The permit review provides another set of eyes (or more accurately multiple sets of eyes) looking for potential conflicts with the local codes and standards.  Permit review comments are generated by the AHJ and sent to the design professionals for evaluation and incorporation to the project before the project is “permitted” to be built by the installing contractors. Sometimes this review process can go around and around several times before all review comments have been properly addressed and the AHJ issues the Building Permit.

While this process can be painstaking and often tends to be long and drawn out, it is critically important to ensure the quality and safety of the completed project. Often owners consider permit review comments as “mistakes” made by the design professionals, and on some level they are mistakes however unavoidable as they might be. Permit review comments often also lead to delays in the start of construction, especially when multiple rounds of plan submissions and review comments are involved.  All of which further irritates owners and other stakeholders in the completed project.  This process tends to drive a wedge between the design professionals and the owners at a critical stage of the design and construction process.  All in all, permit review comments and the entire process are a necessary evil that everyone would like to avoid.

So what can be done to streamline the permitting process? 

For one, early communications with the AHJ can aid in a smoother permitting process. Pre-submittal meetings with the AHJs can alert the design professionals to particular issues before the Permit Set is officially submitted.  Local amendments are highlighted and the AHJs are alerted to any special requirements of the project, which may require compromises or deviations from the standard codes. 

If variances are warranted, they can be established while the design of the building is still underway, in lieu of after the fact, when they become time critical and will likely cause delays.

Another way to streamline the process is to utilize “over the counter” or “expedited” review processes when available.  There is usually an additional cost associated with these types of reviews; however they can greatly speed the issuance of the permit, sometimes as quick as “same day”.   During an expedited review process, the design professionals sit down with the local plan reviewers to review the drawings and make corrections on the spot, rather than going through multiple rounds of submittals.   While in-person permit review meetings cost the owner money, both in terms of additional fees from the jurisdiction and the cost of the design professionals’ time, the reduced time to receive the permit is often worth it.  Not all jurisdictions offer expedited review process; however, it is gaining steam across the country as a fast and efficient way to bring drawings into compliance and ready for permit.  It is truly a win-win for both the AHJ and the owner to sit down and hash it out all in the span of a single day.

Lastly, one of the most powerful means of reducing permitting time is to not ever make the same mistake twice.  Progressive, well integrated, and data focused firms maintain extensive databases of past review comments and use that data to anticipate and avoid permit review comments in the first place. If you know a particular jurisdiction always requires a certain feature or enhancement, past experience can help you avoid permit review comments on future projects.  Unfortunately, too many firms are siloed and do not share this critical information between their design teams, or simply do not keep track of permit review comments so that they can be shared and avoided in the future. 

Schnackel Engineers maintains a highly sophisticated database of all code review comments and inspection comments received on every project. When a new project is first set up, a checklist all applicable permit review or inspection comments are automatically retrieved from all applicable jurisdictions to the zip code of the new project. The system not only retrieves the comments, it retrieves all of the information associated with the comments, including the date, the jurisdiction, the reviewer, and exactly how the comment was successfully resolved. This is powerful information in the hands of our design teams to incorporate those requirements into the drawings before they are sent in for review. The results of this preemptive code review approach have dramatically reduced both the number of comments received and the time to resolve them to obtain permits. Often, there are no new comments received based on our past experience in jurisdiction, resulting in markedly quicker permitting.  The current Schnackel Engineers database contains over 51,000 comments, ensuring we never repeat those “mistakes” again.

Conclusion

The permitting process can be a complex and time-consuming one, but there are steps that can be taken to streamline it. Early communications with the AHJ, utilizing expedited review processes, and learning from past mistakes can all help to reduce the time it takes to obtain a permit.

If you are ready to cut your permitting time dramatically and get your project into construction quicker, contact Schnackel Engineers today. We are the MEP/FP/IT partner you can trust to get you there.