Carnegie Mellon University

Waiver Policy

If Design Consultants identify circumstances in which the university would be better served by waiving the application of any aspect of the Design and Construction Standards, then they must seek formal approval to continue with design services that do not apply certain Design and Construction Standards to their work.

Obtaining a Waiver 

To obtain such waivers, Design Consultants are asked to put their requests in writing addressed to the university Project Manager (PM) assigned to their projects.  PMs submit these written applications for waivers to the Director of Design in the university’s Campus Design Facility Development (CDFD) organization, or to the University Engineer in the university’s Facilities Management Campus Services (FMCS) organization, or to both (depending on the nature of each proposed waiver) for review and response.  Copies of waiver requests also go to the Associate Vice President for CDFD, to the Project Manager's supervisor, and to Customer Representatives for the projects involved.

Waiver Review 

The Director of Design in CDFD or the University Engineer in FMCS, or both, approve or reject waiver applications in writing and transmit them to the PM, with copies to the Design Consultant, to the Associate Vice President for CDFD, to the PM's supervisor, and to the Customer Representative. Design Consultants or Customer Representatives may appeal rulings on waiver applications to the Associate Vice President.

Appeals 

The Associate Vice President reviews appeals of proposed waivers and either approves or denies them, with advice from the PM and the PM's supervisor, and from other interested parties associated with the project and the appeal (as applicable). Associate Vice President decisions are put in writing and transmitted to the appellant (Design Consultant or Customer Representative), with copies to the other interested parties, to the University Engineer, to the PM, and to the PM's supervisor.

Waiver requests provide useful insights into the effect of the Design and Construction Standards.  Over time, they may prompt confirmations of, or changes to, the Standards.