The tragic collapse of the Champlain Tower South in the Town of Surfside raised awareness for more thorough and frequent preventive safety inspections to ensure life and property. Miami-Dade County Board of Rules and Appeals 2021 approved revisions to its 40-Year Building Recertification’s Guidelines and led the charge to update overall safety requirements. In 2022 the Florida legislature passed law SB4D addressing building safety and requiring structural recertification inspections for buildings 25 years old and then every 10 years thereafter.
Recertification inspections require professionally certified and experienced thermographers to satisfy the new FL law. Monroe Infrared has completed several hundred thermal electrical system safety inspections for Miami-Dade building owners since Feb 2022. We recognize that in the wake of the tragedy and updated inspection requirements there’ve been many companies and individuals inexperienced in professional thermography offering their services to building owners. Sadly, though, the inspections and ensuing reports provided to many building owners do not meet the new requirements and are rejected by the county when submitted as part of the overall structural recertification report. Monroe Infrared’s inspection procedures, analysis and reporting protocols set the standard for Miami-Dade and now the entire state. With penalties impacting building owners for late submissions we encourage building owners, engineering and architectural firms to contact us and learn more before selecting a professional Infrared Inspection partner for this important electrical system safety inspection.
Monroe Infrared’s Certified Master Thermographers, highly experienced in Electrical Infrared Safety Inspections, are available to immediately assist Professional Engineering companies and Architectural firms supporting their building owner clients in Miami-Dade, Palm Beach and all FL counties to satisfy new state building structural recertification requirements.
Guidelines for Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties include specific requirements for Infrared thermography electrical safety inspections and high minimum training and experience qualifications of certified thermographers including:
“The Infrared inspection of electrical equipment shall be performed by a minimum Level 2 Certified Thermographer or higher qualified and trained to recognize and document thermal anomalies in electrical systems and possessing at least 7 years of experience inspecting electrical systems associated with commercial buildings.”
For electrical systems operating at 400 amperes or greater, an infrared safety inspection accompanied by a professionally written, stamped and sealed report of the following electrical equipment must be provided as applicable or as otherwise indicated below:
Busways, switchgear, panelboards (except in dwelling unit load centers), disconnects, VFDS, starters, control panels, timers, meter centers, gutters, junction boxes, automatic/manual transfer switches, exhaust fans and transformers.
