From:
Fred Hopengarten K1VR 781/259-0088
Six Willarch Road
Lincoln, MA 01773-5105
permanent e-mail address: fhopengarten@mba1972.hbs.edu
if sending attachments: k1vr@gis.net
On Tue, 19 Oct 1999 09:00:08 -0500 "Kris Mraz, N5KM"
<mraz@aud.alcatel.com> writes:
>He said I should be able to get one from the manufacturer. The thing
>that makes it require a seal is that its over 40 ft. tall. According
>to city ordinance any antenna/tower structure over 40ft. requires a
>permit. All permits require a seal.
K1VR:
I am a lawyer, but I am not your lawyer. This is not legal advice, even
though it bears a strong resemblance.
Welcome to the world of seals. There are "wet" seals (where the seal is
applied to your drawing), and "dry" seals (where you submit a copy of a
drawing which had a wet seal, once). Obviously, a "dry" seal is cheaper
(the price of a photocopy), as no liability attaches.
In addition, there is the question of whether or not your building
inspector cares to note the specialty of the P.E., and whether the P.E.'s
seal indicates the specialty, and whether the specialty is relevant.
Finally, there are "in-state" and "out-of-state" seals. What does that
mean?
Let me speak from my Massachusetts experience. Often an ordinance is
vaguely written. For example: "Applicant shall submit a sealed drawing
showing . . ." or "Applicant shall submit a drawing bearing the seal of a
registered professional engineer showing..." This clearly means that a
stamp must be on the drawing.
But, for example, there are engineers who have taken and passed the
examination to become a registered professional engineer ("P.E." or
"R.P.E.") in electrical engineering. They are qualified in electrical
engineering. They have not qualified in mechanical engineering. But this
doesn't end the discussion. Asume that the seal notes the specialty. In
my view, a P.E. in electrical engineering could easily certify that a
HyTower will perform safely as a free-standing antenna. To the casual
observer, looking only for a seal of any kind, that may be enough.
Many P.E.'s have seals which do not indicate the specialty. Few building
inspectors, especially those looking at an antenna (as opposed, for
instance, to a high rise building) will inquire behind the seal. One
strategy: The P.E. could write you a letter saying what he is
certifying, and seal the drawing. The applicant might submit only the
drawing.
Some states have broad laws. A P.E. may take the exam, practice in one
field, but have broad "sealing" rights. This is akin to the fact that an
M.D. may theoretically treat any disease, even though she is qualified
only in a specialty. For example, my wife is a board-certified and
wonderful psychiatrist (M.D.), with a Ph.D.from Yale in pharmacology.
She is great at working with modern psychotropic medications. But God
help the patient if she were ever to perform surgery. Yet her license
does not prevent it. Similarly, a lawyer may tackle any legal problem,
once he has passed the bar exam. I like to think I am a good lawyer, with
a reasonable understanding of business too. But God the client l if I
were ever to do any criminal defense work.
Thus, broad qualification is not uncommon. The burden is on the
professional to limit his own exposure to risk of malpractice. Yet you
may find an individual with a seal, from your state or elsewhere, who
will seal your drawings to end this non-sensical requirement (which was
drafted without understanding of the issues involved in antennas).
Finally, there is the question of whether or not your building inspector
will require a seal from a P.E. licensed by your own state. It turns out
that engineering is way ahead of law and medicine in this regard. As
best I understand the Massachusetts statute, a Professional Engineer need
only register with Massachusetts if he regularly practices here, or
maintains an office. This is not true of doctors and lawyers, who must be
locally licensed first. (Well, lawyers can practice within a state if the
state work is ancillary to a project involving federal law, but that's
another story.)
So there you have it. Bottom line: Make the Building Inspector your
friend. He has within his power the ability to make it hard for you to
meet the requirements of the building code (by requiring, worst case, a
wet seal from an in-state specialist), or to make it easier for you to
meet those requirements (by accepting , best case, a dry seal from an out
of state P.E. who is not necessarily a mechanical engineer).
I hope you've enjoyed this discourse on seals, the product of some hard
knocks learning. I claim no expertise on the subject, and welcome
criticisms of this discussion because I have nothing to lose. I am not
your lawyer and this has not been legal advice! Good luck.
-- Fred K1VR
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