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Commercial Structural Inspector Skills Enhancement Course


Pre-requisites

Eligible individuals must meet all of the following minimum pre-requisites:

  1. Hold a current Oregon Inspector Certification (OIC)
  2. Hold a current Oregon Residential Structural Inspector Certification (CAS) (includes mechanical)
  3. Hold a current Oregon Residential Plans Examiner Certification (CAX)
  4. Hold a current Oregon A-Level Structural Inspector Certification (SIA)
  5. Currently employed for an Oregon municipality (city, county or state building department) or a registered plan review and inspection business.
  6. Must have completed at least one year of residential (CAS) and/or commercial structural (SIA) code inspections, as verified in writing by the building official for the student's jurisdiction.

Course Description

The Commercial Structural Inspector Skills Enhancement Course has been crafted to give currently employed building inspectors a better understanding of the Oregon Structural Specialty Code (OSSC) so they can more efficiently and effectively enforce building codes in the field. The focus of the course material is mainly on the fire-life-safety requirements of the code, and the course has been tailored to cover the more common building code issues that are seen on a regular basis by A-Level Structural Inspectors throughout the State of Oregon.

This course does not cover some of the more project specific code chapters, such as Chapters 16-24 for prescriptive and/or engineered structural designs, Chapter 34 for Existing Buildings, etc. Chapter 11-Accessibility is also not a part of this course, though accessibility training may be offered in the future by BCD.

Note: This course is neither attached to, nor to be considered an exam-prep course for, any required Oregon or national inspector certification exam.
inspector training logo

Course instructor

Kevin Ellis
Structural Code Specialist, Trainer
kevin.ellis@oregon.gov
971-375-7363

Course location

Note: Currently offered only online

Building Codes Division
1535 Edgewater Street NW, CR C
Salem, OR 97304
(or attend online via Adobe Connect)

Course information

  • 16 in-depth lessons covering many of the common fire-life-safety building inspection aspects of the OSSC, including: Chapters 1-10, 12, 14-15, 29-31, 33, and Appendices C, F, H and I.
  • A quiz after the completion of each lesson, designed to test the student's ability to effectively navigate the OSSC code book and demonstrate an understanding of the code concepts taught during each lesson.
  • Two examinations (a mid-term and a final) designed to test the student's aggregated code knowledge related to the course materials, code concepts and code book navigation ability.
  • Students must successfully complete all quizzes as assigned by the instructor. Failure to do so prior to the mid-term examination will result in one (1) point being, equal to one percent, subtracted from mid-term exam score for each quiz missed. Failure to complete any quizzes after the mid-term examination will result in one (1) point being equal to one percent, deducted from the final exam score for each quiz missed after the mid-term. Students whose final score drops below 75% will not be eligible to successfully pass the course. Exams must have a passing score of 75% or higher to be successfully completed.
Once all quizzes and both progress exams have been passed successfully, and the student has met the minimum attendance requirements, the student will receive a Certificate of Completion for the course, issued by the State of Oregon Building Codes Division. The Certificate of Completion is a symbolic testament to the student's code knowledge and ability to understand and effectively implement OSSC codes as an Oregon A-Level Structural Inspector.
Please note: those interested should register immediately once registration is open so that your application can be reviewed for consideration. Although we are aware that many individuals are waiting to take this course, seating will be limited to a maximum of 20 students per course.

Course length

  • This course is approximately 24 weeks in length. Actual length of the course may vary depending on unforeseen, external circumstances, such as wildfires, ice storms, etc. that may affect the ability to present classes.
  • Class days that fall on a day when State offices are closed will extend the course by one day for each occurrence.

Required course work

  • Lessons are delivered online. Students must attend each remote class and meet the minimum attendance requirements as set forth in the student contract. (See student contract for excused absences)
  • The course lectures are administered remotely, twice a week, for a time period of 2-hours per class. Jurisdictional building officials who wish to enroll an employee in the course should be aware that there is a minimum requirement for student attendance. The enrolled employee's attendance in the course should take precedence over other departmental functions during live class times and exams.
  • Quizzes are given as homework after the completion of each course lesson.
  • Exams (2 total, 60 questions each) will be administered at the mid-point and end of the course lessons.
  • Exams are open book. Students may use the OSSC codebook and other approved code reference material during course exams. Students will be given three hours to complete the exams. The exams are administered remotely via Zoom

Required course materials

  • 2022 Oregon Structural Specialty Code (OSSC)
  • Basic calculator (Cell phone usage is not allowed during course exams)
  • Download individual laws and rules, or purchase a full set from BCD, Form 0839
    • Oregon Administrative Rules (OAR)
    • Oregon Revised Statutes (ORS)

Other course resources

Fees

  • $750