7-153 Changes to the Approved Work

1. Changes in the work. Work shall be executed in substantial conformance with the construction documents approved by the Office. Changes in the work shall be made by amended construction documents approved by the Office. Changes in the work include, but are not limited to, the following: Correction of errors in design and/or construction to bring the construction documents and/or construction into compliance with applicable codes; change(s) in the scope of the work; and additional work required because of discovered conditions. Only changes that materially alter the work shall be submitted to the Office for review and approval as amended construction documents.

   1. Amended construction documents. Changes or alterations of the approved construction documents shall be made by means of amended construction documents. Amended construction documents shall be submitted with a form provided by the Office and shall state the reason for the change, and show the estimated or actual addition to or deduction from the current, estimated or actual, contract amount. The form shall be signed by the architect or engineer, or delegated architect or engineer as allowed by Section 7-115, and shall be accompanied by supplementary construction documents, when necessary. The construction documents shall be stamped and signed pursuant to Section 7-115. All changes shall be clearly described. Two copies of the form and construction documents shall be submitted for review and approval by the Office. All amended construction documents shall be approved by the Office prior to installation of the work.
   2. Emergencies. Emergency changes in the work relating to the safety of persons at the construction site may be made immediately. Such emergency changes shall be documented by subsequent amended construction documents and may require modification to comply with these regulations.

2. Changes that do not materially alter the work. The following types of changes in the work do not materially alter the work and do not require the submission of amended construction documents to the Office:

   1. Clarification and interpretation of plans and specifications by the responsible design professional.

      Note: If calculations by the structural engineer in responsible charge, or by the delegated structural engineer, are necessary to determine structural or nonstructural adequacy, an amended construction document submittal must be made to the Office for review.

   2. Construction means and methods, such as construction sequencing, coordination of the work, and methods of assembly/construction. Construction means and methods do not include work that would require Alternate Method of Compliance or an Alternate Means of Protection.

      Note: Temporary construction, such as temporary exiting, temporary air handlers, temporary bulk oxygen tanks, or temporary shoring supporting an occupied building under Office jurisdiction are not considered means and methods and thus would require a separate permit or the submittal of an amended construction document to the Office for review.

   3. Substitution of equipment, products, or materials. The equipment, product or material substituted must be code compliant; perform the same function as the equipment, product, or material that it is replacing; must not increase the mechanical or electrical loads to the building systems; must not increase loads to lateral or gravity load-bearing structural frame members; and must meet the design requirements for the project.

      Note: Changing from one kind of equipment, product or material to another, such as changing from drilled-in concrete anchors to concrete screw anchors or changing the top-of-wall fire-resistive material/design are not considered substitutions and require the submittal of an amended construction document to the Office for review. If calculations by a structural engineer are necessary to determine structural or nonstructural adequacy, an amended construction document must be submitted to the Office for review.

   4. New details that are based on other approved details, in whole or in part, including referenced standards or preapproved details. Reference to the approved details must be shown.

   5. Final routing configurations of ducts, conduits, pipes, etc., where these are shown diagrammatically on the approved plans.

      Note: Submittal of an amended construction document will be required when additional fire/smoke dampers, non pre-approved seismic fittings, or specially engineered braces or hangers are necessary to accommodate the final configuration or routing.

   6. Dimensional changes to rooms that do not affect code required minimum dimensions, fixed dimensions, minimum room or space requirements and required clearances.

      Note: Applicable code sections and minimum dimension and space requirements must be shown on plans for confirmation by Office field staff.

   7. Relocation of doors, windows, electrical switches and outlets, plumbing fixtures, etc., that do not require additional changes to the work to make the relocation code compliant.

   8. Relocation or reconfiguration of cabinetry that does not affect code required minimum dimensions and clearances, minimum room or space requirements, or minimum storage requirements. Such cabinetry reconfiguration shall not increase loads to supporting members, such as wall studs and ceiling framing.

      Note: Applicable code sections and minimum dimensions and space requirements must be shown on plans for confirmation by Office field staff.

   If the architect or engineer in responsible charge of a project determines that changes to the approved construction documents are necessary that do not materially alter the work, all such changes shall be stamped and signed by the appropriate design professional(s) pursuant to Section 7-115. All changes in the work are subject to concurrence of the Office field staff as to whether or not the change materially alters the work.

3. Code compliance. Changes in the work that do not require amended construction documents shall not be deemed to grant authorization for any work to be done in violation of the provisions of any applicable code.

4. Changes in scope. Amended construction documents that change the scope of the original project shall be required to be submitted as a separate project.

   Exception: At the discretion of the Office, changes in scope may be submitted as amended construction documents. The Office may require the documents to be reviewed as an examination subject to fees required by Section 7-133(q)(3).

5. Documentation of changes. The architect or engineer in responsible charge shall maintain a log of all changes to the work of construction. The log shall indicate whether the Office has made a determination as to whether each change materially alters the work, the date such determination was made, and the name of the Office staff who made the determination. The log shall be maintained on the project site as part of the inspector's field records.

Authority: Health and Safety Code Sections 18929 and 129675-130070.

Reference: Health and Safety Code Sections 129850.

HISTORY:

1. (OSHPD 2/95) Regular order by the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development to amend Section 7-153. Filed with the secretary of state on August 14, 1996, becomes effective September 13, 1996. Approved by the California Building Standards Commission on March 19, 1996.
2. (OSHPD 7/96) 1996 Annual Code Adoption Cycle will amend Section 7-153, of Part 1, Title 24, C.C.R. Filed with the secretary of state on February 19, 1997; effective March 21, 1997. Approved by the California Building Standards Commission on February 6, 1997.