I'd like to basically second what Ron wrote earlier. But even from "your side of the counter", you have to appreciate that after a few years in the biz, some of us have developed a sense of what is and then again what is definitely NOT a teachable moment. Several years ago I got a call from a plans reviewer - I cannot even remember the jurisdiction but it was an out of town project for us and I'd never submitted to this FD. This fine fellow was beside himself and wanted to talk to whomever prepared the calculations for this project. I don't remember if it was me or a subordinate but I took the call. He wanted to know if I was the license holder - I was not. He wanted to know if we had an FPE or NICET IV on staff - we did not. I asked him what his issue was and he told me that he was contemplating a complaint to the state license board because we clearly had no idea how to calculate a sprinkler system. Understand that these were software-generated worksheets he was looking at.
His issue was that the end sprinkler required 18.3psi and we were only flowing 21.something at the second, and only 27.something at the third on the lines, and so on. Any idiot should know that we'd need at least 54.9 (18.3 x 3) at the third sprinkler in order to meet the demand established at the end sprinkler. I tried to explain to him how it worked and then it occurred to me that the unthinkable had happened: I was at a complete loss for words. I did not have (at that time at least) the communication or technical skills to explain it to him. But beyond that, he was "that guy" that threw out his encyclopedia because he already knew everything. The harder I pressed to explain hydraulics to him, the angrier he became and then he told me that he had heard enough. If someone as dimwitted as me was the design manager of a contractor that would submit such rubbish, he knew we'd never obtain his approval and the conversation was officially a waste of his time. We hung up, I redialed the front line of his fire prevention bureau and requested to leave a message for either the Fire Marshal for the Chief Officer in charge of prevention. I ratted the guy out, I was promised a different reviewer and we got great service after that. But I also received a call from the guy outside of work telling me what an a-hole I was for not having the nads to settle my issues with him personally like a man. Sometimes, you have to make a judgment call to stay in a resolution-based state. Or have Ken Wagoner call them on your behalf - that's often entertaining, at least. Steve L. -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Smith, Steven D. (CSFD) Sent: Friday, October 14, 2011 6:47 AM To: [email protected]; [email protected] Subject: RE: How would you address this? Quite honestly, I'm a bit disappointed with some of the responses from the "SME's" with this forum. It's easy to poke fun at someone behind closed doors. My guess is that most if not everyone here didn't know much more than this inspector when they first started in the business. I sure didn't. Being an AHJ myself, I would personally appreciate it if a knowledgeable contractor were to approach me with a different way of thinking. This is a prime opportunity to create a relationship with the inspector that may help you out in the future. Showing that the contractor cares about doing the job right and showing how that's done could go a long way. Then maybe a follow up phone call to his supervisor, not to get the inspector in trouble, but to inform the supervisor of what transpired and how it was resolved. Granted, you may have to gauge how the inspector would receive all of this and base your actions on that. As I mentioned, this could be a great opportunity to show how professional you are and the quality of your work. Especially if sprinkler companies and AHJ's alike wish to install more of these systems in homes. Unfortunately there are far too many contractors out there that aren't professional and have poor quality that will make it easy for decision makers to keep sprinklers out of homes. Just my 1/2 cent. Steve Smith Colorado Springs Fire Department -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Travis Mack, SET Sent: Thursday, October 13, 2011 4:44 PM To: [email protected] Subject: How would you address this? This was a first for me to day. During an inspection of a residential system today, the AHJ inspector would put a dot on the floor and run his tape in a circle at the spacing limit of the heads. He would not sign off on the system because the heads were 8' off of each wall, but with the radius, that leaves a "dry" spot in the corner of the room. He did the same thing in rooms with multiple heads. The heads were 16' apart. There were 4 heads in this room. He would draw circles on the floor of an 8' radius. Since there was not overlap of his circles, he would not pass the system today. Has anyone ever encountered this? How did you address it? This is a new inspector and he admits that fire sprinklers are not his specialty, but he has to do this job. -- Please feel free to call if you have any questions or comments. Sincerely, Travis Mack, SET MFP Design, LLC 2508 E Lodgepole Drive Gilbert, AZ 85298 Office (480) 505-9271 Fax (866) 430-6107 _______________________________________________ Sprinklerforum mailing list [email protected] http://fireball.firesprinkler.org/mailman/listinfo/sprinklerforum _______________________________________________ Sprinklerforum mailing list [email protected] http://fireball.firesprinkler.org/mailman/listinfo/sprinklerforum _______________________________________________ Sprinklerforum mailing list [email protected] http://fireball.firesprinkler.org/mailman/listinfo/sprinklerforum
