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Lerch Bates Approved to Help NY High-Rises Comply With Façade Access Inspection Deadline

Press Release | April 5, 2013
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Lerch Bates, an international consulting firm for vertical transportation, façade access and materials management, announced that it has been approved by the New York State Department of Labor to perform periodic inspection and recertification of exterior building maintenance equipment in the state of New York.

Lerch Bates has developed advanced and effective methods of load testing façade access equipment to ensure systems meet the minimum standards outlined by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), ASME (American Society of Mechanical Engineers), the International Window Cleaning Association and local and state standards.

The approval is of particular importance as the department has imposed new inspection deadlines for façade access equipment systems, specifically window washing rigs, with the first deadline being Jan. 1, 2014. The related American National Standards Institute (“ANSI”) standard recommends testing of façade access equipment be performed once every ten years, however the New York State Department of Labor has enacted more stringent regulations. The department now requires all buildings with active approvals dated prior to Jan. 1, 1990 be inspected and recertified by Jan. 1, 2014. Approvals dated between Jan. 1, 1990 and Dec. 31, 1999 require recertification by Jan. 1, 2015 and approvals dated between Jan. 1, 2000 and Dec. 31, 2009 require recertification by Jan. 1, 2017.

In order to maintain an active approval, a written certification by a licensed New York professional engineer must be postmarked on or before the appropriate deadline dates. In order to be recertified, the department requires that all components of the façade access system are safe and functioning as originally designed, that all components are free from defects or wear which would require replacement, maintenance of the equipment is in accordance with each manufacturer’s recommendations and all structural components continue to be capable of supporting all loading required by design. Failure to provide a written certification by the applicable deadline will result in an approval being deemed inactive.

“Lerch Bates has been leading the way in the innovative designs and extensive inspections of exterior building maintenance systems throughout the world,” said Jeff Marsh, Lerch Bates’ director of business development. “As more and more states look to the private sector to perform inspections of façade maintenance equipment, we are honored that the New York Department of Labor has approved Lerch Bates and its team of certified professional engineers to perform the inspection and recertification of exterior building maintenance equipment in the state.”

Lerch Bates has developed advanced and effective methods of load testing façade access equipment to ensure systems meet the minimum standards outlined by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”), ASME (founded as the American Society of Mechanical Engineers), the International Window Cleaning Association and local and state standards. The firm’s methods for testing the systems include the inspection of building suspension equipment for OSHA compliance, load testing of all exterior and interior building maintenance equipment including eye bolts, davit sockets and pedestals, preparing and recording detailed test results and data and issuing reports and certifications in accordance with all national, state and local standards.

Photo Credit: Jeff Marsh, Lerch Bates

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Category: Building Envelope & Facade Access Intelligence, New York City

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