SECTION 70.77. Responsibilities of the Registrants--Decals and Insignia for New Construction

(a) Decals are used for module and site-built REF certification and insignia are used for modular component certification.

(1) Decals and insignia shall be ordered on a form supplied by the department and shall contain such information as may be required by the department.

(2) The department will issue decals and insignia to a manufacturer on application and payment of the fee following certification of the manufacturing facility in accordance with §70.60.

(3) The department will issue decals to a REF builder on application and payment of the fee following successful completion of all construction in accordance with §70.78.

(b) By attaching the decal or insignia the manufacturer or REF builder certifies that:

(1) the module, modular component, or site-built REF is constructed in accordance with the approved design package or construction documents and the mandatory building codes; and

(2) the module, modular component, or site-built REF has been inspected in accordance with §70.72 or §70.79.

(c) The control of the decals and insignia shall remain with the department.

(1) Decals shall be confiscated by the department or the third party inspector or inspection agency if a manufacturer fails to correct violations identified during an inspection or for failure to abide by the approved compliance control procedures.

(A) Decals or insignia that are confiscated for construction violations shall not be returned to the manufacturer until the violations have been corrected.

(B) Decals or insignia that are confiscated for compliance control violations shall be released for each building in accordance with the inspection procedures approved by the council. Control of the decals or insignia shall not be returned to the manufacturer until the TPI/TPIA determines that the problems have been corrected.

(C) New decals or insignia shall not be issued until the manufacturer has shown evidence of compliance.

(2) Decals shall not be released to a REF builder or attached to a REF until all construction is complete and all violations identified during an inspection have been corrected.

(d) Responsibilities of the manufacturer. It is the manufacturer's responsibility to assure that the certification inspection has been accomplished as outlined in §70.60 prior to attaching the decal or insignia. It is the manufacturer's responsibility to assure that the in-plant inspection has been performed as outlined in §70.72 prior to attaching the decal or insignia. Each decal or insignia shall be attached to a specific module or modular component before leaving the manufacturing facility.

(1) The manufacturer shall assure that the house or building is released only to an industrialized builder registered with this department or to a person who has obtained an installation permit from this department.

(2) The decal or insignia shall be placed in a visible location as designated on the floor plan or on the title or cover sheet for each model or project in the approved design package. The decal or insignia shall be permanently attached so that it cannot be removed without destruction and shall not be placed on any readily removable item such as a cabinet door or other similar component. Location of the decal on the cover of the electrical distribution panel is acceptable.

(3) The manufacturer shall keep records as necessary to show, by decal or insignia number, the module or modular component (by identification number) to which the decal or insignia was attached. The manufacturer shall keep complete records of all decals and insignia received, decals and insignia used, and those which are on-hand. The manufacturer shall maintain these records for a minimum of 5 years from the date the building is reported shipped in accordance with §70.50 and the records shall be made available to the department or in-plant inspector on request.

(4) Decals or insignia may not be transferred from one manufacturing facility to another without prior written approval from the department. Decals or insignia that are transferred without department approval are void and shall be returned to, or shall be confiscated by, the department.

(5) Decals or insignia that have been attached to a module or modular component may not be transferred to another module or modular component. Decals or insignia that are removed from the module or modular component to which they were attached are void and shall be returned to, or shall be confiscated by, the department.

(6) Decals or insignia that have not been attached to a module or modular component shall be returned to the department if the manufacturer does not renew the registration in accordance with §70.20.

(7) Decals or insignia that have been reported in accordance with §70.50(a) shall be returned to the department if the module or modular component is damaged or destroyed.

(8) Decals or insignia that have been attached to a module or modular component prior to inspection in accordance with §70.72 are void and shall be returned to the department, or shall be confiscated by the department or third party inspection agency.

(9) Decals or insignia that are attached to a module or modular component before all construction is complete and before all inspections by the facility's compliance control personnel have been completed are void and shall be returned to the department, or shall be confiscated by the department or third party inspection agency.

(e) Responsibilities of the REF builder. A REF builder shall assure that all construction documents are approved as required by §70.70 and that all required inspections have been performed in accordance with §70.79 before the decal or decals are attached to the site-built REF.

(1) A site-built REF becomes an industrialized building upon attachment of the decal or decals.

(2) Decals shall be purchased for each separate REF building. Each separate REF building shall be assigned a unique identification or project number. The name of the school district, the project address, and the unique identification number for each separate REF will be reported to the department on the decal order form.

(3) Decals may not be transferred to another REF project without prior written consent of the department. Decals that are transferred to another site-built REF project without written consent are void and shall be returned to, or confiscated by, the department.

(4) Decals that have been attached to a site-built REF may not be transferred to another site-built REF. Decals that are removed from the site-built REFs to which they were attached are void and shall be returned to, or confiscated by, the department.

(5) Decals shall or be returned to the department if the site-built REF is damaged or destroyed.

Source Note: The provisions of this §70.77 adopted to be effective April 13, 1990, 15 TexReg 1787; amended to be effective July 13, 1990, 15 TexReg 3741; amended to be effective November 16, 1993, 18 TexReg 7925; amended to be effective August 1, 1996, 21 TexReg 6619; amended to be effective December 20, 2000, 25 TexReg 12385; amended to be effective December 1, 2003, 28 TexReg 10458; amended to be effective January 1, 2010, 34 TexReg 9409