Evaluators say county's building department is improving
More than two years after Beaufort County's Building Codes Department came under fire for overlooking defective roof supports in almost 700 Sun City Hilton Head homes, the department is turning itself around, according to an organization evaluating it...County Administrator Gary Kubic brought in IAS in late 2007 to review the building department after news surfaced several months earlier that trusses -- wooden frames that support the roof and secure it to the home's walls -- were defective. The trusses weren't fastened together securely enough with metal plates and nails or they had too few wooden cross beams to provide adequate bracing. Such defects could have allowed the roofs to fly off in extreme winds, experts said.

Evaluators say county's building department is improving
By FITZ McADEN
October 9, 2009

More than two years after Beaufort County's Building Codes Department came under fire for overlooking defective roof supports in almost 700 Sun City Hilton Head homes, the department is turning itself around, according to an organization evaluating it.

"The evaluation is still going on," said Richard Archer, program manager for International Accreditation Services. "They're working on various issues but they're making very good progress."

International Accreditation Services (IAS) evaluates various kinds of organizations -- including laboratories, inspection agencies and building departments like Beaufort County's. Based in Whittier, Calif., IAS describes itself a "non-profit, public benefit corporation."

County Administrator Gary Kubic brought in IAS in late 2007 to review the building department after news surfaced several months earlier that trusses -- wooden frames that support the roof and secure it to the home's walls -- were defective. The trusses weren't fastened together securely enough with metal plates and nails or they had too few wooden cross beams to provide adequate bracing. Such defects could have allowed the roofs to fly off in extreme winds, experts said.

Inspectors from the county's building department had missed such problems during checks they made when the homes were being built. As a result, the county spent $150,000 to bring in an outside inspection team to check 2,749 homes where problems were suspected. Of those, 668 homes needed repairs. Trusses in some of the homes were missing 50 or more fasteners to hold the trusses together; lumber needed to brace trusses was missing from 136 homes.

Kubic acknowledged at the time that the episode had tarnished the building department's reputation. To restore it, he brought in IAS.

"We deal with life safety issues," said IAS's Archer. "We and the county want to make sure they're protecting the public interest."

In its most recent review of the building department, done last month, IAS evaluators commented that the department "has taken appropriate measures to train inspection personnel to identify improperly installed wood trusses and require corrective action...." Inspectors were given "focused training " on how trusses should be properly installed, IAS' report said.

Aside from the truss problem, IAS evaluated the building department on 111 other criteria. The department was found to be in compliance with 77 of IAS's standards, but "corrective action" was still needed on 24, according to the evaluation.

That's more than IAS typically finds in other building departments, where the number of "corrective actions" needed has ranged from four to 12.

Some of the problems that IAS turned up in Beaufort County's building department were house-keeping matters, but others were substantive. For example:

• Two of the three employees who inspect plans for homes lack the proper certification.

• The building department does not have a schedule for appraising its employees, nor do appraisals include performance goals.

• There are no policies and procedures specifying how new employees are trained, nor is training documented.

• Although employees sign statements saying that they are aware of the county's conflict-of-interest regulations, "there is no evidence that department employees have received training" on conflict of interest issues.

• Audits to determine whether the building department is adhering to policies and procedures are not conducted.

IAS reviewers interviewed employees and supervisors in the building department and also spent time with them in the field, Archer said. Contractors and homebuilders were interviewed to get their impressions of the building department. The evaluation is expected to cost the county about $15,000, county officials said.

"Our program is very thorough," Archer said. Evaluating a building department typically takes 9 to 14 months, but in Beaufort County's case it's expected to take more than two years.

One reason it took so long is that the building department spent nine months gathering some of the data IAS requested.

Still, Archer said, "they have been immensely cooperative."

He said he expects the building department to earn it accreditation soon. "It will speak well of the county and the department," he said. "Accreditation isn't something we give lightly."

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