Lesson 2.1

Compliance is a workflow

Editions and amendments: jurisdictions adopt specific years and amend them — verify locally, every job. The newest book is not the law; the adopted one is.
Beyond the big four: EPA 608 (refrigerant certification — 304's boundary, federally enforced), ADA (mounting heights/reach for occupant-facing devices), and energy-code commissioning requirements — functional testing is increasingly code, not virtue (308).
Permits per local rules; inspections are passed by building to code and making compliance visible: labels, listings, workmanship, and the documentation the AHJ may demand (firestop system cards, smoke-control acceptance, energy forms).
The cost curve: a requirement met at design costs pennies; discovered at inspection, it's rework at the worst time.
Staying current is practical: adoption trackers, code-change summaries, and an office code-cycle review habit — not psychic powers.
The specialist's real skill: knowing where every requirement lives and verifying the local version — not memorizing everything.

LAB — the compliance audit

Audit a supplied design package (drawings + spec excerpts) against a stated jurisdiction profile (adopted editions + two local amendments): find the six seeded violations (working space, unlisted device, missing DCV, ADA height, plenum cable, missing Cx requirement).
For each: cite where the requirement lives and write the fix.
Write the pre-inspection checklist for the corrected job.

Pass: 6/6 found with correct citations; fixes buildable; checklist inspector-ready.

LAB DEMO VIDEO

Instructor walkthrough — finding two violations and citing their homes

[ ~10 min ]

The code map — hierarchy pyramid (adopted codes → referenced standards → specs, AHJ overlay) + a controls-work map linking each job element (wiring, panels, sequences, ventilation, life-safety) to its governing document