Audit: Seismic regulator must improve building plan oversight

Story by Corey G. Johnson

The office that oversees the seismic safety of California's public schools can't show that it has approved all building plan changes, heightening the risk that some schools don't meet standards and are unsafe, according to a state auditor's report.

The Division of the State Architect is required to review all school building plans to ensure earthquake standards are met. But a review by the California State Auditor's office found thatchanges in plans frequently aren't approved and that the regulatory office lacks processes to track the alterations.

The report urges regulators to improve their handling of school "change documents" to lessen the possibility of contractors erecting an unsafe building. The report states:

Regulations require that the school districts design professionals submit plan changes to the division for review and approval before undertaking related construction.

However, several holes in the plan change process create a situation where the division cannot demonstrate that it has approved all plan changes before the start of related construction, risking construction that does not meet building standards and that may be unsafe.

In fact, the divisions Project Certification Guide states that there have been many instances where the field change process was not followed and change orders did not receive division approval, yet construction was completed.

In a letter to the auditor, Fred Klass, director of the Department of General Services, pledged that new rules would be implemented by the end of the year that would assure "all relevant plan changes are received, reviewed, approved and documented by the division." The general services department is the parent body of the state architect's office.

California law requires the state architect's office to enforce the Field Act seismic regulations for schools that were enacted nearly 80 years ago. The law is considered a gold standard of construction, and it requires oversight from state regulators to ensure professional engineering and quality control from the early design phase to the first day of classes.

The Field Act grants these regulators "the police power of the state" over the construction of public schools.

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Audit: Seismic regulator must improve building plan oversight