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Foot Candle / Lux measurements for Commercial Installations²

As of February 9, 1998, we have been informed of a change in the enforcement of Dade Ordinance 96-171. The Ordinance states the minimum foot candle illumination that all areas of Dade County are to conform to. From inception of said Ordinance to date, a letter that the design of such lighting meets the requirements has been accepted for approval at Final Inspection. (The Ordinance actually reads that the signing Engineer has tested that the lighting meets the requirements) Up to this point it was assumed the legislative intent of that wording was to have a Florida Registered Engineer assume the responsibility of signing off on these designs and the Building and Zoning Departments of the County and all Municipalities were to enforce the installation.

It is now being interpreted literally. All Commercial, Industrial and Residential projects with open parking areas will not only be required to Illuminate per Dade Ordinance 96-171 with engineered plans, photometric data and wind load calculations prior to being issued a permit, (As always) but after installation of the system a test must be performed to document as reality what the Manufacturer's have stated in their specifications as to the individual luminaires capabilities. This will also test the Engineer's decision to accept the Manufacturers specifications as well as the Electrical Contractor who when bidding the job will use the same specifications.

Who will pay the extra cost? (Answer Later)

Lewis Electric has a reputation of being on the "High Road" of Electrical Contracting. I would prefer to deal either with the Customer or an informed Representative of their chosen Contractor.
As an Electrical Contractor I can bid jobs different ways. Do you want it to work? Are you looking for the lowest price? Do you want to know all the possible (probable) additional costs involved in your project? In most cases, I will have a set of plans that specify the material and manner for it to be installed. (Whether designed by Architect, Engineer or Lewis Electric)

(1) If bidding against another contractor I have no choice other than go for the lowest price. In this choice I will bid the plans exactly even though I know they are wrong and any changes will be done by change order after I already have the contract. This realization came to me a few years back when I lost the majority of jobs that I bid. I had always believed in giving a turnkey price but the majority of my clientele at that time insisted on looking directly to the bottom line of the original proposal.
(2) Design / Build: Here I design and price the system supposedly knowing all of the pitfalls involved with the particular project and absorbing them in my bid. No change orders will be made unless owner changes final plans. (You get higher prices to start but they normally end up lower than Bid / Change Order) This also covers the ("Do you want it to work? part). If you want to know a realistic construction cost, this is the way to go.
(3) Work with your Contractors - tell them what you really need and want and they can get it done.
If the Electrical Contractor installs the specified fixtures on the specified poles in the specified location as the Designer has designed, and the Manufacturer has manufactured their equipment according to their own specifications and the testing conditions are exactly as when the luminaires went through testing, then everything should be fine. Add a variable and there is a problem. Humidity (Clouding interior optics), Voltage, Fog (Light obscurity), Temperature (Components operating +/- test) and Rain (Same as fog, add reflectivity of pavement as a factor).

My point is that any environmental / utility variation from the manufacturers test base will result in a deviation from the original specifications. In most cases this will not be a factor, but how is one supposed to know?

The original intent of this dissertation was not to be an editorial. I was going to announce that Lewis Electric is now equipped and licensed to assist the Engineer by performing the required testing and delivering the results to same in a format acceptable to both the Engineer (As a Subcontractor) as well as B&Z.

The question still remains. Who will pay the extra cost? How much litigation will come of this? I'm not saying that any of the three parties involved did anything wrong. The customer wants to move in to his/her building but can't because the lighting test came back showing deficiencies. We all know the answer.

The Customer will end up paying the additional cost.

February 16, 1998 - Apparently, level heads have prevailed and the additional testing has been put on hold for the time being. The letter stating that the design meets the requirements will again suffice. I heard a rumor that the whole Ordinance is being challenged. If anyone can tell me more about this please E-Mail or call.

February 25, 1998 - Change again. No Final Inspections until this gets sorted out. Getting answers is like pulling Hen's teeth.

April 6, 1998 - Per Dade County, all lighting installations will be tested for compliance with Ordinance 96-171 before a Final Inspection will be passed. These lighting tests can be involved, costing between $250.00 and $1,000.00 for each installation. In the three tests that we have done already, the field lighting photometric data matches the design data. A small parking area can require 40+ separate test points which are then plotted on a scale drawing, copied and sent to the engineer, the building official and the customer. How long this will go on is anybodys guess.