eReviews
Kimball Engineering is happy to offer electronic plan review (eReview) services to its clients. Electronic reviews can expedite the plan review process as well as save valuable time and money to both the jurisdiction and permit applicant.
Step One: Permit applicants must first submit a building permit application and pay the appropriate plan check fee to the jurisdiction.
Step Two: An eReview form must then be signed and submitted to Kimball Engineering along with PDF copies of plans, structural calculations, soils report(s), specifications and other construction documents as required by the municipality.
Step Three: Once all necessary documentation has been received the plan review will begin and subsequent comments sent to the project contact and copied to the jurisdiction.
Step Four: The project contact then emails responses and revisions to Kimball Engineering.
Step Five: Once all comments have been adequately addressed, Kimball Engineering will email a letter to the jurisdiction stating that the project has been approved.
Step Six: Once the review process is complete, the permit applicant must submit sealed hard copies of the final plans and other construction documents to the jurisdiction.
The typical submittal process requires the applicant to submit multiple hard copies of plans and other construction documents to the jurisdiction at the time of application. Throughout the plan check process, many of the plans and construction documents must be revised due to review comments or other addendums made to the project. By first submitting plans and other construction documents electronically, the applicant is not required to spend time and money printing documents that will later be changed during the review process.
The applicant is still required to submit hard copies of the final plans and other construction documents, but not until after the review process has been completed. Most design professionals currently store projects as PDF documents and can easily email this file type to the reviewer.
Permit applicants are not the only ones that can benefit from the eReview process. Jurisdictions often spend a substantial amount of time and money packaging and shipping plans to third-party review firms. The amount of money and time can add up significantly for projects that require multiple follow-up reviews. By allowing eReviews, not only is the cost of shipping eliminated, but vital review time is not lost while plans are being shipped.
In summary; eReviews can provide increased customer service, reduce the amount of time required for a plan review, and save time and money for the applicants and the jurisdiction.
There have been many concerns voiced by jurisdictions regarding electronic plan reviews. These concerns include the lack of electronic seal laws, need for proprietary software and the need for larger monitors. In order to address most concerns that jurisdictions may have, Kimball Engineering has developed a form that must be signed by the permit applicant before an eReview can commence.
This form requires the applicant to submit files in a certain format and requires that sealed hard copies of the final plans be submitted to the jurisdiction at the completion of the review process. In addition to this form, Kimball Engineering has all of the necessary tools to perform an eReview including large computer monitors, Adobe Acrobat and AutoCAD. If desired, the form may be modified to meet the specific needs of your jurisdiction.
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