As a former firefighter, Bill Copeland was familiar with how to handle himself in an emergency situation and, if necessary, save someone’s life.  This was likely the last thing on his mind, however, on April 23, 1988 when he, along with an estimated 900 other people, were standing inside a freshly minted Save-On Foods for its grand opening inside Station Square, a shopping complex in the Metrotown area of Burnaby, BC.  As the mayor of Burnaby, Copeland was invited to preside over the opening ceremonies.  At 9:00 am customers were let into a store that unbeknownst to them, would only be open for the next fifteen minutes.  What ensued over the final four and a half minutes was a slow structural failure that caused a 6,400 ft² section of the roof to collapse and send 20 vehicles from the rooftop parking above crashing down into the produce section below.  Fortunately, the failure of the roof beam occurred over an extended period of time which allowed Copeland enough time to assist in evacuating many of the people in the store to safety.  Over twenty people, including Copeland, were injured but miraculously, no one was killed.  A Commissioner Inquiry was summoned by the Province of BC to investigate and report on the causes of the failure.  One of the major recommendations to come out of the report was the requirement for professional letters of assurance (LOA’s).

What is a Letter of Assurance?

Professional letters of assurance are legal accountability documents for construction projects provided to the authority having jurisdiction (AHJ) by registered professionals – architects and engineers. In essence, the letters provide assurance to the AHJ that the design conforms to the approved construction documents and building codes.  Letters of assurance must be signed, sealed, and dated by registered architects and engineers who are responsible for the design of a building. 

Not all provinces and territories across Canada use letters of assurance.  British Columbia, Alberta, and Nova Scotia have adopted the use of LOA’s although they are all province specific and have different requirements.  The Royal Architectural Institute of Canada recommends in the Canadian Handbook of Practice that, “All architects practising in [jurisdictions that use Letters of Assurance] should refer to the appropriate guides regarding Letters of Assurance in the local building codes and in bulletins from provincial association of architects.”  Most provinces and all territories in Canada use the National Building Code (NBC), some with amendments of varying degrees, to regulate building design and construction (for more information on how building codes are used in different parts of Canada, click here).  Letters of assurance are not part of the NBC and so most provinces that use the NBC, also do not use LOA’s.  The City of Vancouver is a special case in that it is the only municipality in Canada that has its own building code and uses LOA’s.  The Vancouver Charter enables the City of Vancouver to adopt by-laws that regulate the design and construction of buildings within its city limits.  An unofficial list of how building codes and letters of assurance are applied to different parts of Canada is provided below.

Although the general intent of letters of assurance is assumed to be similar in the four jurisdictions of Canada that use them, this article will elaborate only on LOA’s used in the BC Building Code.¹  Division C, Subsection 2.2.7. of the British Columbia Building Code describes the requirements for submitting LOA’s.  This section is unique to BC and does not exist in the National Building Code.  British Columbia’s Building Safety Standards Branch has also published a Guide to Letters of Assurance to assist architects and engineers on how to use them.   

Roles and Responsibilities

There are four main entities when considering Letters of Assurance in BC – the owner (of the building project), the authority having jurisdiction (AHJ), the coordinating registered professional (CRP), and the registered professional of record (RPR).  The Guide to Letters of Assurance provides very helpful diagrams that describe the functional relationships between the different parties. The current version, published in 2010, is being updated to harmonize with the 2018 Building Code and is expected to be released soon.

Owner

The owner is responsible for retaining a CRP for projects defined in Article 2.2.7.1. –  most commonly, Part 3 buildings and buildings required by the Architect’s Act.  Ultimately, it is the owner that is responsible for submitting all the Letters of Assurance to the AHJ for a project, however in practice, this is typically done by the architect or engineer. 

Authority Having Jurisdiction

The authority having jurisdiction receives signed and sealed Letters of Assurance from the CRP at the appropriate times during the building project.  They review them for completeness and to ensure that all the areas of professional design required for a project are accounted for.

Coordinating Registered Professional

A coordinating registered professional is defined in the Building Code as “a registered professional [that coordinates] all design work and field reviews of the registered professionals who are required for a project.”  CRP’s can be either architects or engineers but there can only be one for each building permit.  Following their historic roles as “master builders” and supervisors of construction, architects assume the role of CRP for most projects.  The CRP is the contact point among the AHJ, the owner, and each RPR, and, thus, is responsible for facilitating communication among the various parties.

Registered Professional of Record

The registered professional of record is the registered professional retained for the provision of the major part of the professional services within a particular discipline.  The RPR is also responsible for the review of the design documents prepared by any supporting registered professionals retained on the project within that discipline.

The Four Accountability Documents

BC has four different documents that make up the Letters of Assurance.  They can be broken down into two distinct groups that I will call commitment schedules and closing schedules.  Commitment schedules are submitted at the beginning of the building permit process and closing schedules at the end.  All of these documents have precise wording that describe how and when they are to be used but in general, commitment schedules can be thought of as a design professional’s pledge to execute a standard duty of care throughout the design and construction of a building to ensure public safety whereas closing schedules are confirmation to the authority having jurisdiction, and by extension the greater public, that by the end of the project they have followed through on what was promised in the commitment schedules.

Commitment Schedules

Schedule A – Confirmation of Commitment by Owner and Coordinating Registered Professional.

A Schedule A must be submitted to the AHJ before a building permit can be issued.  This letter is meant to assure the AHJ that the proper coordination of design disciplines and field reviews will be carried out throughout the design and construction of a building project so that it will “substantially comply with the British Columbia Building Code.”  Submission of a Schedule A is a joint responsibility shared by both the owner and coordinating registered professional.  As architects and engineers are better versed in the requirements of LOA’s, it is typical that they fill in the Schedule A, have the owner read and sign it, and then submit it to the AHJ.

Schedule B – Assurance of Professional Design and Commitment for Field Review

Schedule B’s must also be submitted at the beginning of a project, but only prior to any construction activities identified in the Schedule.  Although it is possible to obtain a building permit without Schedule B’s, it is customary that both Schedule A and Schedule B’s are submitted together with the application for building permit.  Schedule B confirms that the registered professional of record signing and sealing it will be responsible for design and field review within the discipline and areas of design which he or she has assumed with initials on the form.  The person providing their seal cannot be any architect or engineer within the firm, it must be the professional that oversees and has intimate knowledge of the project.  In the case of some smaller firms, LOA’s are commonly signed and sealed by the principal architect or engineer but in large firms with many registered professionals, the registered professional that is lead designer for that particular project will apply their seal to the LOA.

Unlike a Schedule A where only one is required for a building permit application, individual Schedule B’s are submitted for each discipline required for a building.  There can be as many as seven Schedule B’s that accompany a single building permit application to cover the following disciplines:

• Architectural
• Structural
• Mechanical
• Plumbing
• Fire Suppression
• Electrical
• Geotechnical

Ultimately, it is up to the CRP to determine which disciplines are required for a specific project although it is not uncommon for some building officials to request that certain disciplines provide Schedule B’s.

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Closing Schedules

Schedule C-A – Assurance of Coordination of Professional Field Review

A Schedule C-A must be submitted by the CRP after completion of the project but before an occupancy permit is issued or a final inspection is made by the AHJ.  Schedule C-A provides assurance that the CRP has done what he or she undertook to do on the Schedule A.  As such, it is not required to be signed by the owner like a Schedule A.  This accountability document can be thought of as a final confirmation from the architect or engineer that they have done their due diligence throughout the entirety of the design and construction process and have endeavoured to make the building comply with the building code and safe for the public.  If there are any doubts in a CRP’s mind about whether a building is safe for public use, it is at the signing of the Schedule C-A where they are forced to confront any doubts.

Schedule C-B – Assurance of Professional Field Review and Compliance

A Schedule C-B is like a Schedule C-A but is filled out for each discipline involved in a project.  A separate Schedule C-B is required for every Schedule B submitted at the beginning of the project.  They also must be submitted before an occupancy permit can be granted.

Other Accountability Documents

Some projects may require services from engineers or design specialists not identified on the list of disciplines in Schedule B.  A few examples are acoustic engineers, building envelope engineers, or structural engineers specializing in a specific field of construction.  Except under special circumstances, only one Schedule B and C-B should be submitted for each of the disciplines identified.  To maintain the integrity of the BCBC scheme for Letters of Assurance (one LOA per discipline) the registered professional of record may ask a supporting professional to submit accountability documents to them.  These documents provide assurance that the aspects of design that fall under the RPR’s umbrella of responsibility are taken on by a consultant with the required skills.  An example of this is an architect who hires a building envelope consultant for energy modelling and detailing of a complex building envelope.  Schedules S-B and S-C prepared by the AIBC and APEGBC are tailored to these situations but are not part of the BC Building Code requirements for Letters of Assurance.

Summary

British Columbia’s Guide to Letters of Assurance covers many more topics of how LOA’s are to be used and is recommended reading for any practicing architect or engineer in BC.  The current version, published in 2010, is being updated to harmonize with the 2018 Building Code and is expected to be released soon. 

While some provinces like PEI have only very recently adopted the use of building codes province-wide, British Columbia is comparatively well ahead with the adoption of the National Building Code in 1973 and the eventual creation and adoption of the BC Building Code in 1985.  Letters of Assurance, introduced in BC on December 1992, provide an additional level of accountability for design professionals and improved safety to the public.  Similar to what prompted the creation and development of building codes across the world, British Columbia’s accountability documents arose out of a disastrous incident that could have had a much more tragic outcome.  Fortunately for Bill Copeland and other members of the public, nobody had to sacrifice their life for this improvement to our Building Codes.

[1] The author has no practical or professional experience outside of British Columbia so can only comment on the particulars of LOA’s in BC.