An agency seeking council approval as a third party inspection agency shall submit a written application to the commissioner. The application will indicate the agency name, address, and telephone number of each office through which third party inspections will be coordinated. The application will include the following information:

1. (1) an organizational chart showing the names of managerial and technical personnel responsible for in-plant and on-site construction inspections;

2. (2) a resume for each person listed in the organizational chart indicating academic and professional qualifications, experience in related areas, and specific duties within the agency. Certification expiration dates must also be submitted. The minimum personnel requirements and qualifications are as follows. An agency seeking council approval as a third party inspection agency shall submit a written application to the commissioner. The application will indicate the agency name, address, and telephone number of each office through which third party inspections will be coordinated. The application will include the following information:

   1. (A) The manager or chief executive officer shall have a minimum of five years experience in building code enforcement or compliance control of building systems, a minimum of one year experience in responsible technical project planning and management, and registration as a professional engineer or architect in the State of Texas. (note: the applicant's registration number must be included on the resume).

   2. (B) The supervisor of inspections shall have a high school diploma or equivalent; a minimum of five years experience as an inspector in manufactured buildings or related compliance control or equivalent; and certification as:

      1. (i) a combination dwelling inspector as granted by ICBO; or
      2. (ii) a one and two family dwelling inspector as granted by either SBCCI or ICBO, or a one and two family dwelling combination inspector as granted by BOCA; or
      3. (iii) a building inspector, mechanical inspector, electrical inspector, and plumbing inspector (the applicant must have certifications in all four areas) as granted by either SBCCI, ICBO, or BOCA. The certifications in the four areas of inspection are not required to be from the same certification agency. For example, an applicant may be certified as a Building Inspector and a Mechanical Inspector by SBCCI and certified as an Electrical Inspector and a Plumbing Inspector by ICBO; or
      4. (iv) a combination commercial inspector as granted by BOCA.

   3. (C) The inspector shall have a high school diploma or equivalent; a minimum of one year experience in building code enforcement, compliance control inspection, or building experience; and certification as:

      1. (i) a combination dwelling inspector as granted by ICBO; or
      2. (ii) a one and two family dwelling inspector as granted by either SBCCI or ICBO, or as a one and two family dwelling combination inspector as granted by BOCA; or
      3. (iii) a building inspector, mechanical inspector, electrical inspector, and plumbing inspector as granted by either SBCCI, ICBO, or BOCA. The certifications in each of the four areas of inspection are not required to be from the same certification agency. Additionally, one inspector is not required to have certifications in all four areas of inspection. However, all four areas of certification must be represented unless the agency employs inspectors who are certified in accordance with clauses (i) and (ii) of this subparagraph. For example, the agency may employ one inspector certified as a building inspector by SBCCI, one certified as a mechanical inspector by ICBO, one certified as an electrical inspector by ICBO, and one certified as a plumbing inspector by SBCCI. Each inspector may only inspect in the area for which they are certified, i.e., a mechanical inspector inspects mechanical, an electrical inspector inspects electrical, etc; or
      4. (iv) a combination commercial inspector as granted by BOCA.
   4. (D) In lieu of a registration number issued by the Texas State Board of Registration for Professional Engineers, an applicant currently registered in some other state and applying for registration in Texas under the provisions of the Texas Engineering Practice Act, §20(a) and (b), may satisfy the requirement by providing a copy of an application for registration and a letter from the board acknowledging receipt and authorizing interim practice;
3. (3) complete documentation to substantiate the agency's ability to perform in-plant and on-site construction inspections and follow-up inspections to determine the compliance of a building manufacturer with the standards and rules. The application will include a formal description of the agency's supervision and training program for inspectors, performance records of manufacturers, examples of inspection reports, agreements or contracts with manufacturers, and any other pertinent information;

4. (4) a properly notarized statement of certification signed by the agency manager or chief executive officer that:

   1. (A) its board of directors, as a body, and its managerial and inspection personnel, as individuals, are free to exercise independence of judgment in the performance of their duties within the agency;
   2. (B) its activities pursuant to the discharge of responsibilities as a third party inspection agency will not result in financial benefit to the agency via stock ownership or other financial interests in any producer, supplier, or vendor of products involved, other than through standard fees for services rendered;
   3. (C) the agency will consistently and uniformly implement the policies and determinations of the council with regard to interpretations of the standards and rules;
   4. (D) the agency will not provide design services or prepare compliance control manuals for manufacturers for whom it acts as a third party inspection agency;
   5. (E) all information contained in the application for approval as a third party inspection agency is true, timely, and correct; and
   6. (F) all future changes will be immediately communicated to the department;
5. (5) a list of states in which the agency is currently approved to provide product certification or validation or third party inspection services and a complete description of each system and program involved.

Source Note:The provisions of this §70.23 adopted to be effective April 13, 1990, 15 TexReg 1787; amended to be effective March 16, 1998, 23 TexReg 1305; amended to be effective December 20, 2000, 25 TexReg 12385.