SECTION 70.60. Responsibilities of the Department--Plant Certification

(a) Each separate manufacturing facility will go through a certification inspection before decals or insignia will be released to the manufacturer.

(b) A change in address of a certified manufacturer will require review and possible certification or partial certification inspection of the plant at the new location.

(c) The executive director may authorize 100% inspection of industrialized housing or buildings constructed by an uncertified manufacturer in lieu of certification and a compliance control program as required by §70.70(c) in accordance with the following.

(1) The 100% inspection may be approved only in the following circumstances:

(A) the house or building is required to aid in a disaster that has been officially declared by the United States government, a state government, or a political subdivision of either;

(B) the US State Department has issued travel warnings for travel outside of the United States relating to or affecting the location of the plant to be certified;

(C) the industrialized house or building is a one-time project and the manufacturer certifies to the department that it will not construct additional industrialized housing or buildings for placement in this state without going through the certification inspection process; and

(D) other extenuating circumstances if approved by the executive director. If the executive director does not approve a request under this subsection, the manufacturer may ask the council to approve the 100% inspection.

(2) The manufacturer must still register as a manufacturer in accordance with §70.20.

(3) Plan review and approval will still be required in accordance with §70.70.

(4) The manufacturer will purchase decals for the unit or units in accordance with §70.77 with the following exceptions:

(A) the decals will not be released until the manufacturer has provided the industrialized builder registration number or installation permit number of the person who purchased the unit and who will be responsible for the on-site construction;

(B) the decal will not be released until all inspection fees have been paid; and

(C) the decals will be released only to the inspector for attachment to the units upon completion of a successful final inspection.

(5) The 100% inspection will be conducted by inspectors designated by the department and may include department personnel or approved third-party inspectors. Inspections will be completed in accordance with procedures approved by the council.

(6) Inspections performed by third party inspectors shall be audited by department staff.

(d) The plant certification inspection will be conducted by a certification team designated by the department. The team shall consist of:

(1) a team leader, who is either a department employee, an engineer, or other qualified person as determined by procedures established by the council; and

(2) one or more department inspectors or third party inspectors.

(e) The team leader may not be an employee of the third party inspection agency (TPIA) responsible for regular in-plant inspections of the manufacturer or the design review agency (DRA) responsible for review of the manufacturer's design package. The following persons may not solicit, offer, or agree to provide future design review or in-plant inspection services for the manufacturer prior to the manufacturer completing all certification requirements:

(1) an agency other than the manufacturer's current TPIA or DRA that provides a certification team member; and

(2) any team member that is not employed by the manufacturer's current TPIA or DRA.

(f) The inspection shall be conducted in accordance with the procedures established by the council. A certification inspection has two primary purposes:

(1) to verify that the manufacturer is capable of producing modules or modular components that comply with the law and the rules, mandatory building codes, and approved design package; and

(2) to verify that the manufacturer's approved compliance control program will ensure compliance now and in the future.

(g) The team will become familiar with all aspects of the manufacturer's approved design package. Structures on the production line will be checked to assure that failures to conform located by the certification team are being located by the plant compliance control program and are being corrected by the plant personnel. The certification team will work closely with the plant compliance control personnel to assure that the approved design package and compliance control manuals for the facility are clearly understood and followed. If deemed necessary by the certification team, a representative of the design review agency must be present during the inspection. At least one module or modular component containing all systems, or a combination of modules or modular components containing all systems, shall be observed during all phases of construction. The team must inspect all modules or modular components in the production line for Texas during the certification. The plant certification inspection will terminate when the certification team has fully evaluated all aspects of the manufacturing facility.

(h) The certification team will issue a plant certification, or facility evaluation, report to the manufacturer when the department has determined that the manufacturer has met the requirements for certification. A copy of the plant certification report will also be forwarded to the third party inspection agency responsible for in-plant inspections. The manufacturer and third party inspection agency will be responsible for ensuring that all conditions of certification as outlined in the certification report are met. The manufacturer must keep a copy of this report in their permanent records. The report will contain, at a minimum, the following information:

(1) the name and address of the manufacturer;

(2) the names and titles of personnel performing the certification inspection;

(3) the serial or identification numbers of the modules or modular components inspected;

(4) a list of nonconformances observed on the modules or modular components inspected (with appropriate design package references) and corrective action taken in each case;

(5) a list of deviations from the approved compliance control procedures (with section or manual references) observed during the certification inspection with the corrective action taken in each case;

(6) a list of conditions of certification with which the manufacturer must comply to maintain the certification;

(7) the date of certification;

(8) the following statement: "This report concludes that (name of agency), after evaluating the facility, certifies that (name of factory) of (city) is capable of producing (industrialized housing and buildings or modular components) in accordance with the approved building system and compliance control manuals on file in the manufacturing facility and in compliance with the requirements of the Texas Industrialized Building Code Council"; and

(9) the signature of an authorized department employee.

(i) A manufacturer that wishes to construct modules or modular components outside the scope of the manufacturer's certification must successfully complete a certification update inspection for the aspects of construction for which the manufacturer is not currently certified.

(j) If the department determines that the manufacturer is not capable of meeting the certification requirements or that the manufacturer is unable to complete the certification inspection requirements, then the certification team will issue a non-compliance report. The non-compliance report will detail the specific areas in which the manufacturer was found to be deficient and may make recommendations for improvement.

(k) If any personnel of a design review agency or third party inspection agency participate as members of a certification team, the agency is considered a participant in the certification team and is responsible for compliance with Texas Occupations Code, Chapter 1202, rules adopted by the commission, and decision, actions, and interpretations of the council in performing the certification, inspection and related activities.

Source Note: The provisions of this §70.60 adopted to be effective November 16, 1993, 18 TexReg 7925; amended to be effective August 1, 1996, 21 TexReg 6619; amended to be effective March 16, 1998, 23 TexReg 1305; amended to be effective June 1, 2006, 31 TexReg 4420; amended to be effective May 1, 2007, 32 TexReg 2359; amended to be effective May 1, 2008, 33 TexReg 3409; amended to be effective January 1, 2010, 34 TexReg 9409; amended to be effective November 1, 2015, 40 TexReg 5146; amended to be effective March 15, 2020, 45 TexReg 1674