Quarterly Update :: Issue 14


Quarterly Update :: Issue 14 :: Spring 2007

	Issue 14 Spring2007		Washington State Department of Labor and Industries





	www.LNI.wa.gov Apprenticeship \| Boilers/Pressure Vessels \| Contractor Compliance/FAS/Plumbing Electrical \| Elevators \| Prevailing Wage \| Workplace Rights \| Events, Workshops & Rules


	Patrick Woods Assistant Director, Specialty Compliance Services		*Message from Patrick Woods* Thank you for reading the Specialty Compliance Services Quarterly Update for spring 2007. There are many exciting things to report to you in this issue. Here are a few highlights: Electrical fee reduction continues I’m pleased to report that temporary fee reductions of about 5 percent for electrical permits will continue until Dec. 31, 2008. These fee reductions first became effective on Jan 1. 2007. We continue to monitor the electrical fund balance to ensure there is no negative impact from the fee reductions. Meeting the needs of a growing factory-assembled-structures industry Transform LLC, a maker of modular homes and modular commercial structures, opened a new $12 million manufacturing plant in Burlington in March 2007. The plant will have the capacity to produce more than 1,000 factory-built housing units a year and will eventually employ more than 100 full-time workers. Because all factory-assembled structures must be inspected and approved by L&I to ensure that the structures are of high quality and safe for consumers, the anticipated production rate at the Transform factory, along with general growth in the industry, posed a potential problem because all our existing compliance staff are fully occupied with existing inspection demands. As a result, we went to the Legislature and secured funding for three new staff positions to ensure timely inspections, productivity and consumer protection. In addition, a new plan reviewer position was added in the Factory Assembled Structures Program during the biennial budget process. We’re pleased to welcome Transform LLC to Washington. L&I and Employment Security join forces to promote "Teens Safe at Work" This spring, L&I and the Employment Security Department formed a partnership to encourage agricultural employers to consider hiring teens and to promote safe jobs for teens. An intense effort in Central Washington included job fairs, employer workshops, high school events, and a radio campaign. More than 300 teens and parents came to a Wenatchee Youth Job Fair to meet employers and learn about teen worker safety. The current campaign is part of L&I's ongoing efforts to protect youth at work and will continue with the increased employment of teens throughout the summer. L&I boiler chief completes nuclear inspection course Linda Williamson, Chief Boiler Inspector for Washington State, recently completed a course to become certified to perform nuclear-related inspections. The course covered all phases of nuclear facilities, as well as handling, disposal and transporting of nuclear waste. Inspectors came from U.S., Canada, China, Japan, Russia, Belgium and Germany to take this course. These 37 participants made it the largest class since the nuclear industry peaked in the early 1980s. Currently, there are 23 new permits for nuclear reactors pending in the U.S. Thanks! Patrick Woods

	Apprenticeship
		Apprenticeship is formalized, industry-driven training. Each year, about 14,000 people participate in apprenticeship programs, which last between one to six years. L&I has 265 registered programs in the state, with more than 661 occupations. Elizabeth Smith, Apprenticeship Program Manager

New Apprenticeship Program compliance specialist in Tumwater

We would like to welcome Bill Chrisman to the position of apprenticeship compliance specialist in the Tumwater office. He will focus on conducting investigations across the state regarding apprenticeship complaints, appeals and incidents of apprenticeship program non-compliance. Bill will be a key partner with L&I’s Prevailing Wage Program and will review and ensure that apprenticeship requirements are being met on public works jobs, e.g., registered with L&I, working in the correct journey-level/apprentice ratios, etc.

Bill, who completed an apprenticeship in foundry mold-making, has been with the L&I Apprenticeship Program since 1983. His knowledge and experience will be an asset to the operation of the program.



	Bill Chrisman, Apprenticeship Program Compliance specialist.

Helping veterans get into apprenticeship programs

Last year, a new law mandated the Washington State Apprenticeship and Training Council to lead an outreach effort for veterans about the value of apprenticeship. Washington state ranks 12th in the nation for population of veterans. Helping veterans find registered apprenticeship opportunities is an excellent way to honor their commitment to our nation and guide them toward high-skill, high-wage careers. Apprenticeship consultant Ed Madden, in Southwest Washington, has taken the lead in developing a comprehensive outreach strategy.

Ed has been communicating with government and community-based veteran support agencies/programs including:

U.S. Department of Labor, Veterans Employment Services
U.S. Department of Navy, Military Apprenticeship Program
Washington State Department of Veterans Affairs
Employment Security Veterans Services Program
Washington National Guard Transition Assistance Office
Washington National Guard Family Assistance
Helmets to Hardhats

By establishing positive working relationships with veterans’ representatives around the state, we hope to soon see many more veterans in apprenticeship programs.

	Boilers/Pressure Vessels
		The Boiler and Pressure Vessel section has 12 inspectors and 120 commissioned insurance inspectors. Their inspections help to ensure that 114,000 manufactured, installed or operated boilers and pressure vessels in Washington meet specific safety standards that prevent malfunctions that threaten public and employee life and safety. We enforce mandates of the five-member Board of Boiler Rules. Linda Williamson, Boiler Chief

Spring training for boiler inspectors

Springtime in the Boiler Program means exams, board meetings and the three-day spring technical training. The first day of training is for state inspectors. This year, it included training on workplace violence and confined-space hazards. Two of our newer boiler inspectors, Dan Brown and Don Safe, did a great job giving technical presentations.

The second day is for both state inspectors and insurance boiler inspectors. Approximately 50 attended training on boiler controls and repairs/alterations. Karol Conley from our office and a representative from Praeses helped with online computer training.

The third day was presented by the Washington State Boiler Inspectors Association at the Museum of Flight. Congratulations to all the members of the WSBIA for another smashing success. This annual technical meeting was the best yet. Many thanks to the association members, officers and Brad Berdoy, the association chairman, and to the generous support of sponsors and the state boiler program staff for their contributions to make this event informative and enjoyable for everyone.



	Patrick Woods delivering his keynote address at the event.

A special thanks to our own Patrick Woods for his keynote speech in which he shared the commitment of the department to public safety in the area of boilers and pressure vessels and the importance of each individual and what they do to keep Washington safe.

We also had the pleasure of having guests, including Malcolm Bishop, British Columbia chief inspector; Mike Sullivan from ASME; and Richard McGuire of the National Board. The Washington State Patrol did a great job of sharing strategies for dealing with the public, and we had several excellent presentations, including material testing and low-pressure boiler system design.

Don’t forget to mark your calendar for March 14, 2008, for next year’s meeting at Doubletree Guests Suites, 16500 Southcenter Parkway, Seattle.

Hot water tanks super-sized

The average hot water tank in your home is 40 gallons. Now, A.O. Smith Water Products Co., a Washington business, is producing a 4,000-gallon hot water tank for a new luxury resort in Dubai, UAE.

The A. O. Smith plant in Renton specializes in designing and manufacturing water heaters and storage tanks for custom applications. All of these water heaters were designed and manufactured in accordance with ASME Code, Section IV, Part HLW and will bear the ASME HLW Code symbol. For corrosion protection, these water heaters will be internally lined with porcelain enamel that is fired at 1,600 degrees F. The 4,000-gallon units are 735KW (≈ 2,500,000 BTU/h) and will be capable of producing as much as 3,000 gallons of hot water per hour.

Although these water heaters are among the largest that have been manufactured by A. O. Smith, the Renton factory is capable of building water heaters and storage tanks even larger than these giant units.

Congratulations to Tim Swanson and Mike Carlson

Tim Swanson, pressure vessel inspector 2 in Region 2, has completed a rigorous qualification process and is now certified by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) as an ASME team leader. This qualification allows Tim to conduct ASME reviews/audits of manufacturers of boilers and pressure vessels in this state.

Mike Carlson, a pressure vessel inspector 1 from Region 1, was promoted to an inspector 2 position. In his new position, Mike will be able to perform inspections for boiler and pressure-vessel manufacturing shops.



	Jim Eaton, Inspector.

Welcome Jim Eaton

In April, we welcomed Jim Eaton as a new pressure vessel inspector 1 in the Bellingham office. Jim is a Navy veteran, where he spent seven years as a mechanical engineer in a high-pressure steam plant. He was most recently employed as a boiler inspector for a private insurance company.

	Contractor Compliance/FAS/Plumbing
		L&I registers about 53,000 contractors and certifies about 7,000 plumbers in Washington. The Factory Assembled Structures (FAS) program has statewide public-safety responsibility for new and altered manufactured/mobile homes and recreational vehicles. FAS reviews and inspects 7,000-8,000 alterations each year and reviews about 3,600 plans. Statewide, 33 inspectors provide services for all three programs. Peter Schmidt, Contractor Compliance/ FAS/ Plumbing Program Manager

Purchase your Factory-Assembled Structures (FAS) permits online

Now your can purchase FAS alteration permits and request inspections online. You can also continue to purchase by mail or in person at a local L&I office.

New law brings changes to contractor registration requirements

A new law passed during this year’s legislative session requires contractor registration for property developers, construction consultants, cabinet installers, and tree-removal services.

The new law also increased the violation of the contractor registration law from a misdemeanor to a gross misdemeanor, which allows the prosecutor’s offices additional time to deal with violators. In addition the bill shifts the burden of proof from L&I to the unregistered contractor. For registered contractors, the burden of proof remains with the department.

For additional information on the new law, please contact Pete Schmidt at 360-902-5571.

The FAIR (Fraud/Audit/Infraction/Revenue) Team strives to make a difference for legal contractors

In its first year on the job, the FAIR Team has exceeded many of its goals of finding and citing unregistered contractors.

The first-year goal was to find 80 unregistered contractors; the team found 114 unregistered contractors, or 143 percent of the goal.

The team referred 114 contractors to the audit and fraud unit for further investigation and directly aided in the collection of over $706,000 in premiums and fines owed to the department.

The team is building relationships with legal contractors and following up on referrals as well as using better computer forensic techniques to raise their goals for the coming year. If you need to make a fraud referral regarding an unregistered contractor, please go to the fraud web site at www.fraud.LNI.wa.gov.

Services streamlined for Factory-Assembled Structures customers

To better serve the citizens of the state of Washington, the Legislature passed a new law to move some functions from the Department of Community, Trade and Economic Development (CTED) to L&I.

L&I will now have authority as the State Administrative Agency (SAA) for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to handle consumer complaints involving structural and product defects in manufactured homes, and the Certified Installer Program, which administrates installation of manufactured and mobile homes.

L&I has experience in both programs and has subcontracted with CTED over the years to perform both SAA inspections and installer training. Both agencies are currently working toward a July transition period. For additional information, watch for updates at either agency’s web site or contact Dean Simpson at 360-902-5264 or e-mail to simu235@LNI.wa.gov.

	Electrical
		The Electrical program has statewide responsibility for inspecting new and altered electrical systems in all types of installations (RCW 19.28). It is also responsible for the electrical contractor licensing and electrician certification program. Some cities also do electrical inspections. Their standards of inspection must meet or exceed those required by L&I. Ron Fuller, Chief Electrical Inspector

Electrical fee reduction continues

I’m pleased to report that temporary fee reductions of about 5 percent for electrical permits will continue until Dec. 31, 2008. These fee reductions first became effective on Jan. 1, 2007. We continue to monitor the electrical fund balance to ensure there is no negative impact from the fee reductions.

New education requirement for electrical trainees

A change in the law adds new education requirements for electrical trainees. Beginning July 1, 2007, trainees will be required to complete eight hours of basic electrical classroom education per year before renewing their training certificate. Trainees renewing their training certificate after Dec. 31, 2007, must have completed their basic electrical classroom education prior to renewing their training certificate. Trainees who attempt to renew without the required training will be placed on inactive status and cannot work until the training is completed and the training certificate is reactivated. Because time is necessary to effectively implement this new requirement, trainees seeking renewal between July 1 and Dec. 31, 2007, will need to have only eight hours of required basic electrical classroom education.

Electrical Program’s correction reduction initiative is successful

Since September 2006, contractors in the initiative have reduced their corrections significantly, saving the program many hours of inspection time. These savings allow us to more quickly respond to our customers’ inspection needs. This month, the No. 1 correction written for electrical contractors continues to be: “Request for inspection when the work is not ready for inspection, no access or cannot find the inspection, or the work is concealed/covered.” This avoidable correction is very expensive and counterproductive for both contractors and L&I inspectors, costing electrical contractors over $46,000 in extra trip fees just in January, and over 1,200 extra inspection trips. For each inspector, that was one wasted day’s worth of inspection time in January alone.

Electrical Board Policy Advisory Committee meeting

June 21, 2007, 10 a.m.

Thurston County Fairgrounds

3054 Carpenter Road, Lacey

Review a petition for WAC rule change by the Washington HVAC/R Association to create a new HVAC/R specialty.

View the petition

View the department response

View the agenda.

	Elevators
		The Elevator Program's 18 inspectors are responsible for the inspection of approximately 13,000 conveyances. These include passenger and freight elevators, special purpose elevators, dumbwaiters, escalators, boat launch lifts, residential elevators and other conveyances. Jack Day, Chief Elevator Inspector

Top 10 items cited during annual inspections

Phones inoperative, stating wrong location
Test logs missing or incomplete
Failure to test smoke alarm system annually
Operating permits not posted or expired
Wet pits
Emergency lights/alarm inoperative
Door detector edges not functioning properly
Materials stored in machine rooms
Keys for elevator operation not on job site
Intercom not working properly

You can eliminate citations and perhaps even penalties by ensuring that these items are addressed. For more tips and information, go to our web site at www.LNI.wa.gov/TradesLicensing/Elevators

	Prevailing Wage
		The Washington State Public Works Act, also known as prevailing wage law, is a worker protection act to protect construction workers on public works jobs from substandard earnings. The Prevailing Wage Program establishes prevailing wage rates for construction trades in each county, processes 70,000 intent and affidavit forms, investigates complaints, and verifies that prevailing wages are paid on public works jobs around the state. David Soma, Prevailing Wage Program Manager

Survey update

A new wage survey is under way. If you would like to see the trades that are being surveyed, please go to the wage surveys web page. Surveys must be completed and returned to L&I by June 30 in order to be included.

Awarding-agency training coming in the fall of 2007

L&I and the Washington State Auditor’s Office will be teaming up again this year to offer training to city, county and state agency employees who award contracts for work using public funds. The workshops will cover competitive bidding requirements, common mistakes that agencies make and ways to avoid them, prevailing wage responsibilities and information about small public works projects. For more information regarding the dates and locations of these workshops, please contact Shari Purves-Reiter at purs235@lni.wa.gov or by phone at 360-902-4733.

	Workplace Rights
		The Workplace Rights program has 20 Industrial Relations Agents who work on issues involving wage payments and working conditions. Agents inform the public about the laws, provide consultation to employers, investigate alleged violations, determine wage-claim validity, mediate and negotiate wage-claim settlements and prepare cases for litigation. Richard Ervin, Employment Standards Program Manager

L&I and WorkSource join forces to promote "Teens Safe at Work"

This spring, L&I and WorkSource formed a partnership to encourage agricultural employers to consider hiring teens, while at the same time promoting safe jobs for teens. An intense effort in Central Washington included job fairs, employer workshops, high school events, and a radio campaign. More than 300 teens and parents came to a Wenatchee Youth Job Fair to meet employers and learn about teen-worker safety. The current campaign promoting safe jobs for teens is part of L&I's ongoing efforts to protect youth at work and will continue with the increased employment of teens throughout the summer.

New rule incorporates meal periods and rest-break policies

As part of L&I’s policies-to-rules project, we have begun incorporating all meal period and rest-break policies into the existing Employment Standards rule chapter, WAC 296-126-092. If you would like to be informed of rule changes and other wage-and-hour news, please sign up for e-mail updates.

Other L&I information

At L&I's Claim & Account Center, employers, workers, doctors, RETRO groups and third-party administrators can check the status of workplace injuries, check employer accounts, and send information to L&I. The Claim & Account Center is fast, secure, easy to use, and it's free!




	Events Contractor Training Days July 13, Vancouver District 5 Fire Training Center Aug. 24, Edmonds Edmonds Community Center Sept. 28, Tumwater Labor and Industries Headquarters Oct. 26, Spokane Center Place Register for these free contractor training days. Consumer Education Events Oct. 11-14 Tacoma Fall Home Show Tacoma Dome Oct. 11-14 Seattle Home Show 2 Qwest Events Center



	Office of Information and Assistance: 1-800-547-8367 Contractor Registration Verification: 1-800-647-0982 Report-a-Fraud Hotline (to report unregistered contractors): 1-888-811-5974 Employment Standards Information (minimum wage, overtime, working conditions, teen workers, prevailing wage, agricultural workers): 1-866-219-7321



	Issue 14, Spring 2007



	ABOUT THIS NEWSLETTER Quarterly Update is an e-mail newsletter distributed four times a year by the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries' Specialty Compliance Services division. Receiving this newsletter is the best way to keep up to date on Specialty Compliance Services' activities and issues. Subscriptions: To subscribe, or to unsubscribe, go to (URL and instructions) Trades and Licensing web site: www.LNI.wa.gov/ TradesLicensing Workplace Rights web site: www.LNI.wa.gov/ WorkplaceRights

Specialty Compliance Home | Apprenticeship | Boilers/Pressure Vessels | Contractor Registration

Factory Assembled Structures | Electrical | Elevators | Employment Standards

Apprenticeship

Boilers/Pressure Vessels

Contractor Compliance/FAS/Plumbing

Electrical

Elevators

Prevailing Wage

Workplace Rights

Other L&I information

Events

Contractor Training Days

Consumer Education Events