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June 20, 2006
The Florida East Coast Chapter
Associated General Contractors of America, Inc.,
Announces
New Permitting & Plans Review Service Center For Its Members
The Florida East Coast Chapter Associated General Contractors of America, Inc., and CAPRI Engineering join forces next month to provide members with faster plans review and inspection services as an alternative to municipal services. As of July 17th, the new Service Center, located at the AGC at 2617 North Australian Avenue, West Palm Beach, will expedite reviews and inspections in order to keep projects on time and in budget while helping alleviate continued frustration caused by municipal delays and unpredictability. CAPRI Engineering, the largest provider of private plans review and inspections services in Florida, will staff the new venture, providing backup emergency services as well for participating members.
“The new Center will free up municipal resources for more important services and add benefit to the AGC membership with special rates for much needed services they can control on an as needed basis,” says CAPRI Engineering’s CEO Gary H. Elzweig who co-authored Florida Statute §553.791 with the AGC. Known as the Private Provider Law enacted in 2002, Florida Statute §553.791, authorizes contractors the right to select private providers in lieu of municipal personnel and services for plans review and building code inspections. Municipalities continue to receive their full permitting fees while contractors pay for private providers.
Roland Holt, Regional Vice President of CAPRI Engineering and former Palm Beach County Building Official explains, “In jurisdictions where significant growth is being experienced, local building inspectors and plan examiners have workloads that make thorough inspections and reviews nearly impossible. The private provider system can take a significant load off the municipal building department which will result in an improved process for both the public and private side.” Holt further explains that in high growth areas where there is a very active construction market, building departments can become inundated with plan reviews and field inspections. “The private provider system can play a key role in meeting this high demand and is a wonderful opportunity for the public and private sector to partner for the greater good of the industry it serves”, he says.
Andrea Serraes, President of the AGC and owner of Serraes Construction agrees, “Building departments are under extreme pressure to perform but don't have the same resources the private sector does to hire more plan reviewers as needed. The collaboration between the AGC and Capri Engineering fills a need for both industry and government and provides a significant economic efficiency solution.”
AGC Past Chairman Kent Leighton of Leighton McGinn comments, “The increased construction activity we have all witnessed in Florida plus the hurricane related rebuilding/repair work has put an unimaginable strain on our industry. Since all work must start with a permit followed by inspections the Governmental agencies responsible for these tasks have been overwhelmed and unable to provide the quality services required by our Clients. I’m very excited to have such convenient access to CAPRI Engineering, the premier provider of Private Provider Services. This alternative method for reviewing construction plans, obtaining building permits and receiving on site inspection services from a Private Provider will ultimately benefit our entire industry.”
Serraes adds, “The unpredictable length of the permitting process has caused problems on all levels of the construction industry from financing and new construction to renovation projects. The outsourcing of permitting reviews and inspections are needed, especially in the current economic climate of ever increasing prices of materials and labor.”
Holt says the new Center provides additional benefits for Florida East Coast Chapter AGC members. “As part of the service, CAPRI Engineering will also provide members with Quality Control, currently excluded from Florida Building Code. CAPRI specifically folds in quality and training guidance to minimize repetition of any observed code discrepancies while government inspections are limited to only basic safety and minimum code requirements.” Holt says that most contractors don’t mind paying a little extra for the private provider service because they feel it is a wise, value added business investment for getting their quality projects done on time, without unnecessary delays that compromise their commitment to their clients.
Continues Leighton, “It is the goal of the AGC and CAPRI to offer the Private Provider Services in order to expedite the entire Permit and Inspection process for Builders and Owners. This efficiency will ultimately compress the overall constructing schedule leading to timely occupancy and improved cash flow for everyone involved in the process from Subcontractors to the ultimate Users of the buildings. Our company has used CAPRI for the Plan Review and Permitting Services for a large project and can attest that the process has exceeded our expectations.”
Don McIntosh, of CAPRI Engineering, will head up the full staff of licensed plans examiners and inspectors now ready and able to respond to the needs of Florida East Coast AGC members. CAPRI Engineering will also provide members with a full range of other services upon request including Threshold Inspections as required by state law on larger buildings, Condo Defect Mitigation to minimize performance problems in condo buildings, Quality Assurance to improve new homeowner satisfaction for high volume builders as well as basic Geotechnical Investigation of soils and Construction Materials Testing required by building codes.
According to Ms. Michelle R. Anaya, Executive Director of Florida East Coast Chapter of the Association of General Contractors, “Our partnership arrangement with CAPRI Engineering is a direct benefit to our Association because it provides quality priority services to our members from a convenient location as well as more exposure and new revenues streams for the Association. This program will set the trend with other associations in how they assist their membership in meeting the demands of today's construction market.”
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