©2020, Ontario Association of Architects (OAA). Lessons Learned may be reproduced and distributed, with appropriate credit included, for non-commercial use only. Commercial use requires prior written permission from the OAA. The OAA reserves all other rights. 

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Context

Several years ago, we applied for a building permit in a large municipality near Toronto. The design was for a Part 9, Group D building, based on a prototype that had been built many times before in locations all across the country, including this municipality. The permit was denied because of the office door handles. 
The door handle was a one metre long vertical bar with standoffs. The standoffs were 50 mm long and were positioned about 35 mm from the ends of the vertical bar. The plans examiner insisted we prove that the door handles did not pose a hazard by snagging a user’s sleeve. There is no standard test for this that anyone in the office was aware of. It took six more weeks to convince the municipality to accept the off-the-shelf door handles which has been used thousands of times before. 

The Lesson 

 Sometimes a plans examiner will ask a question that others have missed, and sometimes a less experienced examiner will ask a question that is easily answered. However, sometimes you encounter situations that are totally unpredictable and for which there is no simple solution. Fortunately for us, there was a long standing relationship with the owners, and neither our practice nor our documents were blamed for the unexpected delay. 

What was Learned

 Our practice learned that we should never promise that a permit will be available on a given date or that our documents are without flaw, and we should also advise our clients to allow enough slack in their schedules to handle unexpected delays. 

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The lessons do not represent OAA policy or guidance but rather are actual experiences from construction contract administration that taught the author a valuable lesson from which others may benefit.

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