Print PDF
Favorite
Email
This is a guide to taking something you've built and getting an inspector's stamp of approval on it.
Disclaimer: this is not meant to bash government workers or anybody else. There are plenty of good people working in every line of work. Unfortunately, there are also lots of people who like to throw whatever little authority they have around. Think of this as a bit of intellectual ammo in case you meet members of the latter group:)
This Instructable draws on my recent (yesterday, as of this writing) experience stuffing my DIY pedicab down the City of Austin's collective throat, but I tried to use this only as an illustrative example. I'm certainly no expert on navigating bureaucracies, but I've found very little written by others on this subject. Please comment with your tips, tricks, criticisms, and pointers to any better resources!
Disclaimer: this is not meant to bash government workers or anybody else. There are plenty of good people working in every line of work. Unfortunately, there are also lots of people who like to throw whatever little authority they have around. Think of this as a bit of intellectual ammo in case you meet members of the latter group:)
This Instructable draws on my recent (yesterday, as of this writing) experience stuffing my DIY pedicab down the City of Austin's collective throat, but I tried to use this only as an illustrative example. I'm certainly no expert on navigating bureaucracies, but I've found very little written by others on this subject. Please comment with your tips, tricks, criticisms, and pointers to any better resources!
Remove these ads by
Signing UpStep 1Know What You're Getting Yourself Into
If you're lucky, the process of getting your project approved will be an exercise in collaboration that restores your faith in government. If this is the case, you don't need this guide and I'd like to move to your municipality.
In far more cases, projects that don't come from a factory make it difficult for the dude with the stamp to decide which box to check. This can be a total deal killer, and you need to accept that possibility before embarking on a journey into bureaucracy. Trust me: once you've sunk hundreds of hours into a project, the temptation to pursue the stamp you need at any cost of time and energy can be irrestible.
When we're building physical stuff, you can usually trace back failure to specific systems, components, connections, etc.: the process of making things is logical; while I may dislike a material's physical characteristics, I can at least try and understand them. Chasing a government's stamp of approval is binary but unknowable: you may or may not ever get the approval, and you probably won't know the real reason why either way.
In far more cases, projects that don't come from a factory make it difficult for the dude with the stamp to decide which box to check. This can be a total deal killer, and you need to accept that possibility before embarking on a journey into bureaucracy. Trust me: once you've sunk hundreds of hours into a project, the temptation to pursue the stamp you need at any cost of time and energy can be irrestible.
When we're building physical stuff, you can usually trace back failure to specific systems, components, connections, etc.: the process of making things is logical; while I may dislike a material's physical characteristics, I can at least try and understand them. Chasing a government's stamp of approval is binary but unknowable: you may or may not ever get the approval, and you probably won't know the real reason why either way.
| « Previous Step | Download PDFView All Steps | Next Step » |
--First, talk to others who've already been through the process; even if their project isn't an exact analog for your own. Their experiences can help prevent a lot of angst.
(hehe. Ben Stein's character--I've done a bit of teaching (both HS and Univ), but don't have a formal education background. In two separate occasions, other teachers have used his character to illustrate what not to do...
Anyone?...anyone?...(gives the answer.)
)