DSA 101 July 2010 Plan Approval Process for the Career Technical Education Facilities Program (CTE)

2 DSA Organization  DSA Headquarters located in Sacramento  Four DSA Regional Offices serve the State  San Francisco Bay Area  Sacramento  Los Angeles  San Diego

3 DSA Offices and the Regions They Serve

4  DSA Headquarters  Statewide programs - Inspector Certification - Academy (code and plan review training classes) - Material Test Laboratory Approval  Code Development - accessibility, structural safety, green/sustainability  Policies and Code Interpretations - Interpretations of Regulations (IR) - Policies (PL), Bulletins (BU), Procedures DSA Organization – Roles & Responsibilities

5  DSA Regional Offices  Project plan review and approval  Construction oversight - project inspector approval  Project close-out and certification  Pre-submittal (design phase) meetings - review access, fire, structural and project schedule DSA Organization – Roles & Responsibilities

6  Construction of any new school building  Construction of any addition to a school building  Alterations to existing school buildings and facilities if the project cost exceeds $35,623 (amount adjusted annually per IR A-10)  See “publications” page at - DSA IR A-10 Projects Exempt from DSA Approvalwww.dsa.dgs.ca.gov Projects Required to be DSA Approved

7 Applicable Laws and Regulations  Statutes – Ed. Code Sec (Field Act – K-12)  Govt. Code Sec (Accessibility)  Regulations – Title 24 Parts 1-12  Part 1 – Administrative Code  Part 2 - Building Code  Parts 3, 4, 5, 6 – Electrical, Mechanical, Plumbing & Energy Efficiency Codes  Part 9 - Fire Code

8 Scope of DSA Review  DSA reviews construction documents for compliance with building regulations for:  Structural Safety (SS)  Fire & Life Safety (FLS)  Accessibility (AC)  Energy Efficiency (High Performance Incentive Grant Program)  Construction documents must show ALL work (including mechanical, electrical, and plumbing design)

9 DSA’s Website —  Project Status – “TRACKER” - see “Tools & Applications” webpage  Project Submittal Guidelines - see “Submit Plans” webpage  DSA Publications (policies, IRs, procedures, bulletins) - see “Publications” webpage  Forms (DSA-1 Application, DSA-3 submittal checklist) - see “Forms” webpage  Headquarters and Regional Office Contact information - see “Contact Us” on the “About DSA” webpage

10  Highly Recommended (not required)  Contact Regional Office early in schematic design to schedule preliminary review mtg. - contact Regional Manager or Supervising Engineer - School district representative should attend  Identify design problems prior to completion of plans (i.e. geohazard report requirements)  Establish project schedule and timeframe goals for plan review and approval - See webpage “DSA Tools & Applications” - Plan Review Time Estimate Information Plan Approval Process STEP 1 Preliminary Review for CTE Projects

11  Complete plans & specifications (3 sets)  Geologic Hazards Report & Soils Report - CGS approval of the report is required prior to DSA stamp-out - Refer to DSA IR A-4  Structural Calculations  Site drawing signed by local fire authority approving fire access, gates, fire flow, and hydrants  Site plan to show “Path of Travel” for site and building accessibility Plan Approval Process STEP 2 Submitting Plans to DSA

12  Energy compliance documentation (2008 efficiency stds)  Fire sprinkler design documents (if bldg has fire sprinklers) - Refer to DSA Policy 10-01, no deferred submittals effective  DSA Application Form (DSA-1)  DSA-3 Submittal Checklist  DSA-10 Project Funding Status Inquiry  Fees - based on estimated construction cost - refer to “Fees” on the “Submit Plans” webpage  Intake Meeting with DSA can be arranged at client’s request Plan Approval Process STEP 2 Submitting Plans to DSA (continued)

13  DSA intake architect verifies that the submittal is complete  DSA Application number assigned by DSA  District and Architect notified by “Notice of Progress” indicating: 1. Project’s Application number 2. Anticipated date review will start 3. Referral to TRACKER (on website) for monitoring project status Plan Approval Process STEP 3 DSA Intake Review

14  Plans are reviewed in order received, based on priority rating from DSA-10 form See Bulletin Plan Review Assignment Priority Categories  3 concurrent reviews are conducted: (4 reviews if high performance energy review is reqd.) 1. Structural - Structural Engineer 2. Fire & Life Safety - FLS Officer 3. Accessibility - Access Architect  Plans reviewed by first available plan reviewer (for all three disciplines) Plan Approval Process STEP 4 Plan Review

15  Each of three “checksets” (SS, FLS, AC) returned to Architect when completed  “TRACKER” indicates status of each review (SS, FLS, AC) including when review is complete and returned to the Architect Plan Approval Process STEP 5 Reviewed Plans Returned to Architect

16  Architect coordinates Design Professional Team review of DSA comments  Design Professional Team makes needed revisions to plans and supporting documents  Architect schedules a “backcheck” appointment at DSA Regional Office Plan Approval Process STEP 6 Design Team Review of Checkset

17  Architect and consultants bring corrected drawings, specifications, and checksets to backcheck appointment  Architect and engineers must provide experienced staff at the backcheck appointment  DSA staff reviews corrected drawings & specs with 3 checksets with the architect & engineers Plan Approval Process STEP 7 Backcheck / Stamp-out of Plans & Specs

18  When backcheck is done, SS, FLS, AC initial & date DSA Identification Stamp Plan Approval Process STEP 8 Stamping Plans & Specs

19  DSA scans a record set of plans and specifications and returns original documents to the architect  DSA issues an Approval Letter to the School District via  The date of the Approval Letter is the official DSA plan approval date. Plan Approval Process STEP 9 Approving Plans & Specs

20  Contact DSA early in the design process to discuss project schedule and approval date goals  Use preliminary review meetings during the design phase to verify technical and DSA process requirements  Submit and obtain CGS approval of the geohazards report early in the design process  Maintain scheduled milestone date for intake (submittal of complete plans for review) to maintain schedule for return of checksets and stamp-out Recommendations for CTE Projects