Public Works
Inspector's Manual
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Foreword
The Public Works Inspectors' Manual is a
complete operational and technical guidebook for professionals charged
with the responsibility of inspecting all types of public works
construction for city, county, state and federal agencies. It is unique as
the most comprehensive and authentic text of its kind ever written and
published. The contents should prove to be of considerable value, not only
to inspection personnel but also to contractors, engineers, architects and
to students considering public works inspection as a career.
The first edition of this manual was written in 1957
for use by personnel of the Bureau of Contract Administration, Department
of Public Works, City of Los Angeles, and published in that year. This
agency is one of the largest administrators of public works construction
in the world and widely acknowledged for its expertise in modern materials
and methods of construction. The publishers recognized the
non-availability of such a work to serve the needs of countless other
governmental agencies. To this end, the manual was edited and recast with
references to departments and bureaus of the City of Los Angeles
eliminated in order that the text might have general application by any
other governmental agency which might adopt it for its own use.
The original author was Silas B. Birch, Jr., former
Director of the Bureau of Contract Administration.
The second edition was updated and revised in 1978
by the key management personnel of the Bureau of Contract Administration.
The third and fourth editions were revised and edited by the original
author, Mr. Birch. This fifth edition has been revised and edited by the
Bureau of Contract Administration, City of Los Angeles, and the original
author, Mr. Birch, to reflect the changing technology of the construction
industry to the present state of the art.
References to particular departments and bureaus and
to job titles of various personnel of the public works agency which is the
model for this manual are those in use by the City of Los Angeles, which
is the model for the entire text.
If other public works agencies adopt this manual for
their own use, and if their terminology for various departments, bureaus
and personnel are different from the text of this manual, they can simply
devise and declare a list of synonyms which will make all references
herein workable for their local agency's counterparts.
Smaller agencies will probably have many of the
functions and job responsibilities which are called out in this book
combined into a lesser number of operating entities - but, by the process
of co-relating these combined functions with those of the larger agencies,
smaller agencies should not be inhibited from making use of the procedures
and forms set forth in this manual.
Many of the specimen forms reproduced as plates in
the appendix section are actual copies or variations of forms now is use
by the City of Los Angeles. These reproductions can easily be adopted by
other agencies by a simple title change or slight modification.
Because of the magnitude and complexities of
projects in a large city and the inter-relationship between many different
departments and bureaus, some procedures might appear to be cumbersome and
complicated. With a little imagination, these procedures can be simplified
and streamlined for use as models in smaller agencies.
Otherwise, the text material is of universal
application in modern engineering construction and contains most of the
background and technical information essential to the effective
performance of the Construction Inspector.
The procedures set forth in this manual are designed
to be compatible with the provisions of the well-known document, Standard
Specifications for Public Works Construction. This manual, however,
is intended as a corollary book of reference and would not take precedence
over provisions of Standard Specifications or other contract
documents in the event of conflict. The Inspector is emphatically reminded
to read the contract documents.
The Standard Specifications for Public Works
Construction, now in its eleventh edition, is just what its name implies
... a uniform standard for all public works construction to be followed by
governmental agencies in a given jurisdiction who officially adopt these
standards.
The first edition of the Standard Specifications,
published in 1967, was researched and written by a 400-man task force
representing the Joint Cooperative Committee of the Southern California
Chapter, American Public Works Association, and Southern California
Districts, Associated General Contractors of California. It is updated and
republished every three years. As of this date, over 200 cities, counties
and other agencies in the United States, follow the Standard
Specifications with its state of origin, California, being the major
user.
The Work Area Traffic Control Handbook ('WATCH")
is referenced in this manual. This handbook is approved and endorsed
by the Institute of Transportation Engineers (Southern California
Section), American Public Works Association (Southern California Chapter)
and City Traffic Engineers Association.
The publisher of this manual and the other public
works documents described above is the firm of Building News, experts in
the field of code book publishing for governmental agencies. The publisher
is prepared to offer standard or customized versions of all forms depicted
to all agencies interested in their adoption and use. All interested
parties should contact the publisher at its headquarters, 1612 S.
Clementine Street, Anaheim, California 92802, 1-800-873-6397.
Editor's Note:
The procedures and methods set forth in this
Manual are widely used in the engineering construction industry, but can
vary considerably with different jurisdictions, dependent upon the
engineering and construction concepts prevailing in the area. This does
not mean that any particular concept is necessarily better than another,
but that the historical experience with a particular construction method
or material has been found to produce an acceptable end product with which
the jurisdiction can feel comfortable.
Wide variations in weather and the availability
of suitable native materials for aggregates are just two important reasons
for the Engineer to adapt methods and materials to local conditions.
One purpose of this Manual is to provide a source
of reference and background material to inspection personnel so as to
expand their field of knowledge in the engineering construction industry,
thereby assisting them to build confidence in themselves through a better
understanding of their work.
It is requested that any error or omission noted
be brought to the attention of the editor, as well as any new method,
material or equipment that may evolve subsequent to the publication of
this edition. It will greatly assist in updating future editions.
Introduction |
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