Updated Backcheck Procedure Announcement
Through our experience with the recent COVID-19 pandemic we at DSA have learned how to work remotely when necessary, and how to do many tasks electronically in both the actual and virtual world. Many of our ways of doing business in the past have had to be modernized in order to technologically keep pace with the private sector to maintain workflow. Fortuitously, prior to the onset of the pandemic DSA was well prepared having recently made the transition to Electronic Plan Review (EPR) . Although EPR was still in its infancy at the onset of the pandemic, DSA had procedures and the Bluebeam platform in place which allowed us to continue working. And with the addition of Microsoft Teams, we had the ability to meet and collaborate on projects online- regardless of location. We were also able to observe how our processes worked, and how we might be able to streamline those processes to make a better experience for both our clients and our staff members, using those available tools.
In support of the above mentioned, on May 4, 2023, DSA will be rolling out a new internal procedure that will help streamline the back check portion of the plan review process. For submitting design professionals, you will see little change as this mainly affects how DSA internally handles the response to plan review comments. The back check will be split into two phases; 1) a desk review of corrections and the replies to plan review comments; and 2) an in-person backcheck meeting at the DSA Regional Office if needed.
When the design professional is ready to schedule a backcheck, they will contact their DSA lead plan reviewer to set up the back check. The design professional will submit their updated documents and our lead plan reviewer will verify back check readiness. If ready for back check, the reviewer(s) will provide a desk review. The desk review shall be an independent DSA review without design professional involvement. If all comments have been fully addressed and the documents are deemed complete and code compliant, the plan review concludes with approval and there is no need to move to phase 2. If, however, there are remaining items to be addressed, an in-person back check appointment will be scheduled to fully resolve any outstanding issues.
The design professional will need to fully describe how they resolved each plan review comment. This is done by providing a reply to each comment in Bluebeam Sessions. The reply will need to be clear and complete, so that the plan reviewer can complete the back check without the design professional being present. Examples of replies are as follows: see added detail 11 on S2.1, calculations revised to include snow load, adjusted footing size see sheet S3, added truncated domes at drive aisle see A3.4, etc... Projects submitted for back check without adequate description of how each comment was addressed will be returned as not ready for back check. This will delay the process. Accordingly, please make sure that replies describe how each comment was sufficiently addressed.
As stated above, if all plan review comments have been sufficiently addressed, the documents are complete and code compliant, approval will be granted at the conclusion of the desk review. If there are remaining issues, Phase 2 of the back check will be coordinated with the lead plan reviewer. Phase 2 back check will require the design team to travel to the DSA regional office to complete the in-person back check appointment and resolve all remaining issues and gain project approval.
DSA strives to make our processes more efficient for the benefit of our clients and team members. To that end, we value any and all feedback that you may have and encourage you to comment on how we may improve our portion of the process.
Thank you,
DSA Management
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