| Question: 13-14 | Code Section: 7 | Date: 1 October 2013 | OBC 2006 Reference: 7.1.2.1(2) |
Question Submitted: I have a bacon processing plant that has recently expanded their facilities. They have added multiple hub drains, floor drains, funnel floor drains, and a few sinks. The plumber basically told me that this was part of the process system for the plant. All this plumbing is going to a treatment plant first, then into a municipal sewer.
Here is my interpretation: floor drains, hub drains, funnel floor drains and sinks are all listed in the body of the code Part 7, Therefore they must be vented, tested and Inspected.
Could the Code Tech Committee please tell me if the plumber is right in saying that this was part of their Industrial process systems, Article 7.1.2.1(2) of the Ontario Building Code.
Interpretation: In general, all the fixtures mentioned in the question would be treated like any other fixture requiring them to be sized, vented, tested, inspected etc. in accordance with OBC Part 7.
However, some officials will only permit such a design proposal as a process piping system based on Division A, if:
1. Processing pipes are marked (i.e. including on the drawing submitted for a permit application and routed to the local health department for an approval) as part of the actual process. Like collecting scraps that are washed off the floor to be packed into wieners and sausages ……. etc.,
2. There are caution/warning labels posted within the process piping premise, and
3. The end of the process piping system must be indirectly connected to the sanitary drainage system (i.e. no fixtures are permitted to connect into the processing system unless they are forming parts of the processing system).
4. An agreement along with the description of how to decommission the process piping system by the owner before a change of use is permitted and keep the agreement on record.
The local authority having jurisdiction can accept either an applicable Acceptable Solution in Division B, or an applicable Alternative Solution that will achieve the level of performance required by the applicable Acceptable Solution in respect of the Objectives and Functional Statements attributed to the applicable Acceptable Solutions in Supplementary Standard SA-1.