Florida Statutes 553.37 – Rules; inspections; and insignia
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(1) The Florida Building Commission shall adopt within the Florida Building Code requirements for construction or modification of manufactured buildings and building modules, to address:
(a) Submittal to and approval by the department of manufacturers’ drawings and specifications, including any amendments.
Terms Used In Florida Statutes 553.37
- Approved: means conforming to the requirements of the Florida Building Code. See Florida Statutes 553.36
- Approved inspection agency: means an organization determined by the department to be especially qualified by reason of facilities, personnel, experience, and demonstrated reliability to investigate, test, and evaluate manufactured building units or systems or the component parts thereof, together with the plans, specifications, and quality control procedures to ensure that such units, systems, or component parts are in full compliance with the Florida Building Code and to label such units complying with those standards. See Florida Statutes 553.36
- Department: means the Department of Business and Professional Regulation. See Florida Statutes 553.36
- Insignia: means an approved device or seal issued by the department to indicate compliance with the standards and rules established pursuant to this part. See Florida Statutes 553.36
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- Local government: means any municipality, county, district, or combination thereof comprising a governmental unit. See Florida Statutes 553.36
- Manufacture: means the process of making, fabricating, constructing, forming, or assembling a product from raw, unfinished, semifinished, or finished materials. See Florida Statutes 553.36
- Module: means a separately transported three-dimensional component of a manufactured building which contains all or a portion of structural systems, electrical systems, plumbing systems, mechanical systems, fire systems, and thermal systems. See Florida Statutes 553.36
- Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
- System: means structural, plumbing, mechanical, heating, electrical, or ventilating elements, materials, or components combined for use in a building. See Florida Statutes 553.36
(b) Submittal to and approval by the department of manufacturers’ internal quality control procedures and manuals, including any amendments.
(c) Inspection criteria, which shall require the approved inspection agency to:
1. Observe the first building built, or with regard to components, observe the first unit assembled, after certification of the manufacturer, from start to finish, inspecting all subsystems: electrical, plumbing, structural, mechanical, or thermal.
2. Continue observation of the manufacturing process until the approved inspection agency determines that the manufacturer’s quality control program, in conjunction with the application of the plans approved by the approved inspection agency, will result in a building and components that meet or exceed the applicable Florida Building Code requirements.
3. Thereafter, inspect each module produced during at least one point of the manufacturing process and inspect at least 75 percent of the subsystems of each module: electrical, plumbing, structural, mechanical, or thermal.
4. With respect to components, inspect at least 75 percent of the manufactured building components and at least 20 percent of the storage sheds that are not designed for human habitation and that have a floor area of 720 square feet or less.
(2) The department shall adopt rules to address:
(a) Procedures and qualifications for approval of third-party plan review and inspection agencies and of those who perform inspections and plan reviews.
(b) Investigation of consumer complaints of noncompliance of manufactured buildings with the Florida Building Code and the Florida Fire Prevention Code.
(c) Issuance, cancellation, and revocation of any insignia issued by the department and procedures for auditing and accounting for disposition of them.
(d) Monitoring the manufacturers’, inspection agencies’, and plan review agencies’ compliance with this part and the Florida Building Code. Monitoring may include, but is not limited to, performing audits of plans, inspections of manufacturing facilities and observation of the manufacturing and inspection process, and onsite inspections of buildings.
(e) The performance by the department and its designees and contractors of any other functions required by this part.
(3) After the effective date of the Florida Building Code, no manufactured building, except as provided in subsection (12), may be installed in this state unless it is approved and bears the insignia of approval of the department and a manufacturer’s data plate. Approvals issued by the department under the provisions of the prior part shall be deemed to comply with the requirements of this part.
(4) All manufactured buildings issued and bearing insignia of approval pursuant to subsection (3) shall be deemed to comply with the Florida Building Code and are exempt from local amendments enacted by any local government.
(5) No manufactured building bearing department insignia of approval pursuant to subsection (3) shall be in any way modified prior to installation, except in conformance with the Florida Building Code.
(6) Manufactured buildings which have been issued and bear the insignia of approval pursuant to this part upon manufacture or first sale shall not require an additional approval or insignia by a local government in which they are subsequently sold or installed. Buildings or structures that meet the definition of “open construction” are subject to permitting by the local jurisdiction and are not required to bear insignia.
(7) If the department determines that the standards for construction and inspection of manufactured buildings prescribed by statute or rule of another state are at least equal to the Florida Building Code and that such standards are actually enforced by such other state, it may provide by rule that the manufactured building which has been inspected and approved by such other state shall be deemed to have been approved by the department and shall authorize the affixing of the appropriate insignia of approval.
(8) The department, by rule, shall establish a schedule of fees to pay the cost of the administration and enforcement of this part. The rule may provide for manufacturers to pay fees to the administrator directly via the Building Code Information System.
(9) The department may delegate its enforcement authority to a state department having building construction responsibilities or a local government and may enter into contracts for the performance of its administrative duties under this part. The department may delegate its plan review and inspection authority to one or more of the following in any combination:
(a) A state department having building construction responsibilities;
(b) A local government;
(c) An approved inspection agency;
(d) An approved plan review agency; or
(e) An agency of another state.
(10) The department shall develop an insignia to be affixed to all newly constructed buildings by the manufacturer or the inspection agency prior to the building leaving the plant. The department may charge a fee for issuing such insignias. Such insignias shall bear the department’s name, the state seal, an identification number unique to that insignia, and such other information as the department may require by rule.
(11) The department shall by rule develop minimum criteria for manufacturer’s data that must be affixed to all newly constructed buildings by the manufacturer prior to the building leaving the plant.
(12) Custom or one-of-a-kind prototype manufactured buildings are not required to have state approval, but must be in compliance with all local requirements of the governmental agency having jurisdiction at the installation site.