Energy

1. REQUIREMENTS TO MEET

a) Facades

The inspection of the building’s facades is required for every facade of a five (5) floor or more above the average ground level. This inspection must be done by an engineer or an architect before the building reaches 10 years old. In the cases where a building was already 10 years old or more on March 18^th, 2013, the law requires that a report is made before:

For the following years, a new inspection including a report will have to be redone every five (5) years.

b) Aboveground parking lot

The inspection of the parking lots is required by this new regulation. Parkings made with a concrete slab structure that is not directly at ground level must be inspected every year. A more in-depth study made by an engineer is required every five (5) year or after any event susceptible of affecting the structure, such as impact of a vehicle, fire, etc. The first thorough inspection for any recent parking structure must be done between 12 and 18 months after the construction. For existing parking, the delay allowed by the new regulation is between 1 to 3 years after March 18^th, 2013.

For the following years, a new inspection including a report will have to be redone every five (5) years.

2. REGISTER

The bill demands that every building subjected must meet the needs about the hold of a register. This register must at least include:

• Contact details of the owner and a description of the building;
• A copy of the building’s plan, if available, and more specifically, those of the facades. Photographs or any other support about the facades or modifications of them that can tell about their conditions through time; 
• Descriptions of the repair, modification and maintenance work that has been made on the facades, and descriptions of the repeated repair work done to solve a recurrent problem. The information will come from the documents available and the testimonies gathered by the building managers;
• Verification reports of the facades;
• Annual and five-year verification reports of the parking;
• Any other relevant information.

EMS team will collect available information and an electronic copy of this register will be kept in our numeric data – which are save weekly to ensure the sustainability of the information. EMS client will have access to the registers of their building, and a copy can be send to the RBQ upon request.

3. INSPECTION

EMS suggests a step-by-step approach to its clients. This allows to get acquainted with the building, its history, its characteristics, and its general conditions before suggesting, if needed, further studies of the building or one of its components.

The first step for the inspection and the report consist of:

a)      Concerning the facades

• Visual and tactile check of a significant quantity of the facades’ surface;
• Complete photographic overview of the facades;
• Compilation of every features to check, correct and/or for further analysis, if needed;
• Localisation and description of the defects that can help developing dangerous conditions, their cause and the investigations required to determine the cause and the recommended delay;
• Descriptions of the remedial work options that are considered and the recommended due date for their realisation;
• Compilation of the log data to meet the requirements of the RBQ
• Reporting any dangerous conditions, if needed, and recommendations that are related to them.

To meet the requirements, it is more likely that exploratory apertures will be required to know the conditions of the hidden components that could be in critical situation and thus represent a threat to security. The number, position and nature of these apertures cannot be known before the first step, which is the visual and tactile investigation. Depending on the type of cladding, the apertures can be done from the inside or the outside. Some cladding - such as the masonry or the prestressed concrete panel composed ones – are more likely to need further exploratory apertures.

b) For the aboveground parking lots

• Visual and tactile check of a significant quantity of the facades’ surface;
• Complete photographic overview of the facades;s
• Compilation of every feature to check, correct and/or for further analysis, if needed;
• Localisation and description of the defects that can help developing dangerous conditions, their cause and the investigations required to determine the cause and the recommended delay;
• Descriptions of the remedial work options that are considered and the recommended due date for their realisation;
• Compilation of the log data to meet the requirements of the RBQ;
• Reporting any dangerous conditions, if needed, and recommendations that are related to them.

Thought an annual inspection by an engineer is not required, EMS offers a turnkey service to its clients who wish it, which implies that EMS takes charge of the annual as well as the five-years inspections.