Arkansas HVACR Association

"The Buck Will Stop Here"

The recent action by the HVAC-R Licensing Board regarding the concept of

mechanical plan review at the state level has resulted in considerable

commentary, some misinformation, and a little confusion on the part of

interested individuals. In an attempt to set the record straight, as to the current

status of this matter, this article has been prepared as a way to clarify for all

concerned exactly where the HVAC-R Licensing Board is in its deliberations

of the plan review process.

In order to clearly understand what the situation is at the current time, it is

important to know the events that have led-up to the point where we now find

ourselves. In July 2007, after receiving a favorable opinion from the Arkansas

Attorney General as to whether or not the Licensing Board has the authority

to establish a mechanical plan review process and fee, a four-member

committee from the Board agreed to study the issue of mechanical plan

review. This committee was, and continues to be, headed by Board member

Michael McClellan. The charge given this committee was very simple; to

study the plan review concept and to make recommendations that would

answer two questions. These issues were, "Is mechanical plan review a

concept that would best serve the general public and the industry in

Arkansas?" and, "If such a concept is deemed favorable for Arkansas, would

the actual implementation of such a concept be a feasible exercise?"

In March, 2008 the Plan Review Committee issued its initial report, which

addressed the first question that was posed in their charge ... this being the

issue as to whether or not the concept of mechanical plan review was one that

could be adopted for use in Arkansas. It was the recommendation of the

committee that such a concept could be utilized in Arkansas. It was this

recommendation that was accepted by the HVAC-R Licensing Board. In this

report to the Board the committee chose to draw-up specific criteria for

application of a plan review process, as a way of testing the adoptability of

the concept for its possible future use in Arkansas. It should be emphasised

that at this point this criteria is for illustrative and comparative purposes only,

and does not necessarily represent what the end-product criteria might look

like, when the committee completes the second phase of its charge.

Having determined that the concept of mechanical plan review is one that

could be adopted for use in Arkansas, the committee study now has moved to

discussion of the even larger issue of determining whether the implementation

and daily administration of a plan review program is "feasible" under the

existing make-up of the industry and the agency’s place in the structure of

state government. As was obvious to both the committee and the HVAC-R

Board, there may be a considerable difference between adopting a concept

and implementation of such a concept within the established procedures of

Arkansas state government. It is the answer to this challenge that the

HVAC-R Plan Review Committee now must tackle.

Regrettably, some individuals have already, and quite erroneously, assumed

that the parameters of plan review that were utilized in the first study by the

committee will be the same ones that will be utilized in studying the

feasibility issue. That may not necessarily be the case. The integrity of the

work remaining for the committee would be best served by the withholding of

individual judgments on whether or not plan review could or should be

adopted in Arkansas, until such time as the committee has concluded the

charge they were given, and has issued their report relative to "feasibility".

As someone quite accurately suggested many years ago, "The devil is in the

detail". The approval of the concept of mechanical plan review is one thing.

The implementation of this concept in day-to-day operations of the agency

may prove to be something quite different. The determination of the answer to

this question is the next job for the Plan Review Committee.

Hopefully, this review of the activities that have been a part of the plan

review study process, thus far, have helped to clarify the status of these

continuing committee discussions. The committee asks for your patience,

your understanding, and, yes, your input, as they tackle the real "details" of

this important assignment.

Thank you for your attention and your involvement.

June 11, 2008