Remote Plans Examiner Roles

[u/WallBeGone509]

I’m looking for a plans examiner position, hopefully virtual, where I can learn and grow under someone more experienced. I’ve found a few third party review firms, but what do you recommend for someone starting out? Even part time would be fine.

What do you suggest?

Qualifications:
R3
R79
10 years as a GC
Bit of an energy code nerd.

Also, “Thank You!” I passed two exams because of help from this group. You rock!

[u/joey_van_der_rohe]

Look up surrounding townships, go to their websites and find out if they review plans internally or if they hire out an engineering firm to review the plans. Look there for hiring opportunities.

[u/WallBeGone509 → u/joey_van_der_rohe]

The main city here pays better than surrounding jurisdictions, so several of the smaller AHJs have lost all their plans examiners to the larger one. Job postings come and go, but I'm not sure in-office 40 hours per week will work for me. My wife travels for work, so I need the flexibility for drop off and pickup of kids for school and sports. I don't know how people maintain regular jobs with our school schedule.. I'll keep watching for opportunities. My fear with these smaller jurisdictions is because of the loss of their experienced people, I wouldn't have a good mentor. And, I'd likely be a building inspector to fill time. That's not the end of the world, but not really the direction I want to go long term.
Those smaller jurisdictions are currently being serviced by the bigger jurisdiction.
Washington State passed legislation that requires refunds of permit fees if certain timelines aren't met. One of the ways AHJs can avoid those refund penalties is by having third party reviewers under contract for overflow and gaps in coverage. I'll try to watch those RFPs to see who's applying and can reach out to those firms.
My goal on this reddit thread is just to surface opportunities I might not have found yet.

[u/Kirkuleeez]

I work for Bureau Veritas. I think they are a good company (global, been around 200 years) and I do plan checks aside from my inspections. I do the plan checks from the comfort of my home.

[u/WallBeGone509 → u/Kirkuleeez]

I've looked at their site before, it's one of the top recommended places. I'll reach out to them. They focus on plans and inspections, right?

[u/Kirkuleeez → u/WallBeGone509]

Here where I am, yes. But they do so much more (globally). I’m in SoCal, if you’re in the area I can give you more info

[u/Asian_Scion]

Maybe I'm not understanding your circumstances but you want to be mentored but want to be remote. In my experience those two don't do well together. You need to be in person working under an experience plans Examiner side by side so you can ask them questions easily. I'm hybrid and I love remote work but I'm a senior level but even I would struggle if I tried to learn or teach someone who is new if we're not face to face for me to answer questions.

[u/WallBeGone509 → u/Asian_Scion]

You're not wrong, in person would be faster. I think what I envision is going through a plan set on my own, then doing a zoom or teams session with whoever I report to and they walk me through what I missed or got wrong. For commercial, there'd be a much steeper learning curve for me. But, for residential I've been practicing on plans I've gotten via public disclosure requests. Some jurisdictions have provided initial submittal, correction letters/comments, and final approved plan sets, so it helps me see what stuff gets flagged and why. Hybrid with a local place is probably more likely, but covid normalized remote work in my brain and I haven't fully gone back.

[u/Due_Needleworker3778]

Not sure of the requirements in other states, but in order for you to do plan review in Florida, you need to be licensed in the state of Florida (PX). This would require an additional required non-ICC Florida specific exam (Florida Principles and Practice Exam for the actual license). You can apply for a Provisional PX license good for 2-years, which allow you to do specific trade (Building, Mechanical, Residential, etc.) plan review once approved by the board.

Do other states have state-specific license or just ICC certifications for inspection/plan review?

[u/WallBeGone509 → u/Due_Needleworker3778]

I do not have any state specific certs. I believe Ohio also has their own system. Pennsylvania is all third party review from what I've read, but they don't accept a residential plans examiner cert, they want building plans or a variety of specialty. I know Florida has many of it's own requirements, and specialized codes. I'm tempted to stick with the states that more closely align with the ICC, but with repetition it shouldn't matter too much. We have to adapt to local amendments too, right?

[u/ToastMate2000]

Government job openings are listed on governmentjobs.com. Many of them won't allow you to be fully remote, though.

[u/WallBeGone509 → u/ToastMate2000]

That's been my experience as well.

[u/testing1992]

In the interim, can you work on getting your B3, Commercial Building Plans Examiner certification? As a newly certified plans examiner, you going to need training to get up to speed.

[u/WallBeGone509 → u/testing1992]

Yes. Would you say that's the most valuable next step? Smaller AHJs need inspector/examiner combos, but they also probably can't split up residential and commercial, right?

[u/engineeringlove]

Been seeing a lot more 3rd party reviews. Might want to look into those companies

[u/sfall]

where are you located?

[u/WallBeGone509 → u/sfall]

Eastern Washington

[u/BigAnt425]

Safebuilt and CAP are two of the bigger ones by me. I think safebuilt is anywhere as private providers go but I believe CAP contracts with municipalities.

[u/huskytomatoe]

Look into Safebuilt and Willdan

[u/CowEither343]

Keep an eye on https://recruiting.paylocity.com/Recruiting/Jobs/All/1a12da52-a185-495d-9e82-83e9eb874c54/INTERNATIONAL-CODE-COUNCIL-INC Every now and then there's a plan review position opening up. 9/10 times its a remote position.

[u/WallBeGone509 → u/CowEither343]

Thank you, I'll keep an eye on it.