AEC definitions
A plans examiner reviews construction documents for the authority having jurisdiction before a permit is issued. They check the drawings and calculations against the adopted codes and write comments. A building inspector visits the site later to see whether the work matches the approved permit set. The two jobs are not the same.
Definition
In plan-check jurisdictions the examiner may be called a plan checker. They do not design the fix and they do not seal the drawings. The architect or engineer of record answers the comments and revises the sheets. The examiner clears items on backcheck. Some cities use contract reviewers. Those reviewers act with the city's authority for the scope they were given. A comment is a permit item, not a suggestion from a coordination meeting.
In depth
Code compliance of the documents in front of them: occupancy, type of construction, egress, fire ratings, structural criteria, energy, accessibility, as the local amendments require. They are not pricing the job and not coordinating the architect's consultants for them.
A comment should cite a section. A preference without a section is fair to question, in the response, politely.
The examiner approves a set. The inspector looks at the building. If the field differs from the approved set, the inspector can stop the work even though plan check was closed.
Deferred submittals approved later still pass an examiner or a specialist reviewer before the related inspection.
The design professional responds with the sheet that changed and the reason. The examiner should not have to hunt.
Argue a misapplied section with the section in the answer, not with a phone call that is not written down.
Some jurisdictions certify private plans examiners. Their comments have the force the statute gives them.
They are still not the contractor's constructability reviewer.
Examples
The plans examiner cites stair width on sheet A-201. The architect revises the run and clouds it. Backcheck clears the item.
The building inspector finds a rated wall built differently from the permitted detail. Plan check having closed does not waive the inspection.
A contract reviewer reviews structural calculations under a city checklist and returns them to the same comment log.
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