Best Practices for Project Management, Design, and Construction of ...

• To act as a board of appeals with regard to any actions taken by OSHPD related to
hospital facilities and any other action taken by the OSHPD FDD; including SB 90 appeals
and disciplinary action taken against an IOR. The hearing process is a formal action of the
state of California and the outcome is binding.
If the appellant has been adversely affected by the decision of the HBSB, the appellant may
further appeal the issue for resolution by the California Building Standards Commission (Health &
Safety Code Section 18945).
Considerations for Appeals
Applicants have an undisputed right to appeal without retaliation. Before engaging in appeals, the
hospital owner should consider the following points:
• Ensure that your professional design consultant or contractor has a winning argument.
Codes can be open to interpretation and OSHPD’s orientation of interpretation is toward
the greatest degree of safety. Be ready to show that the code unambiguously allows the
design being proposed and that the application of code does not reduce safety.
• Ensure that your project can endure the time it takes to appeal a comment. The informal
CPR process is intended to be fairly quick, whereas the formal HBSB process can take up
to a year for resolution. Projects in the plan review stage can often pursue the CPR
process but may be set back substantially by an HBSB appeal. Costly delays in
construction may occur from even the simple steps of the CPR process.
Construction Phase
Best Practice 19: Hire an IOR appropriate for the project
The California Building Standards Administrative Code requires that all hospital construction be
observed continuously by an OSHPD-certified IOR. The IOR is selected and hired by the hospital
owner.
An OSHPD-certified IOR is required to perform inspection of all alterations, modifications, and
additions to existing hospital buildings and new hospital facility construction. OSHPD certifies
inspectors for three levels of inspection defined as follows:
• Class A IORs may inspect all phases of construction, including architectural, mechanical,
electrical, fire and life safety, and structural elements. Note that this class includes major
structural construction.
• Class B IORs may inspect only the following phases of construction: architectural,
mechanical, electrical, fire and life safety, and anchorage of nonstructural elements.
• Class C IORs may inspect only specific disciplines of construction defined in regulations.
(OSHPD Best Practices) Page 104 DRAFT FINAL, Sept. 2011