1.1 These guidelines are intended as a companion standard to ASTM Standard E541, Criteria for Agencies Engaged in System Analysis and Compliance Assurance for Manufactured Building. Standard E541 covers criteria by which the technical resources of agencies may be evaluated for their capability to perform the system analysis (Part A) or compliance assurance (Part B) function, or both, in the evaluation and inspection of manufactured building. These guidelines include questions that should be asked of system analysis and compliance assurance agencies in order for the administrative agency to evaluate their competency. Personnel matters are not highlighted in these guidelines since they are covered in detail in Standard E541. This is not meant to imply that they are not important.

1.2 The preferred method for utilizing these guidelines is for qualified personnel of the administrative agency to visit the system analysis and compliance assurance agencies' headquarters to speak to qualified personnel and examine pertinent records and documentation. Alternatively, the evaluation may be done at any location provided the agency being evaluated is fully informed as to the material and personnel they will need to have on hand for the evaluation.

1.3 Some of the following will not be applicable in the evaluation of an agency that has not had prior experience as a building-evaluation organization. It is not the intent of these guidelines to preclude acceptance of such an agency provided it can otherwise demonstrate that its organizational procedures and experience in other product categories and experience of key personnel reflect a keen awareness of the problems and processes involved in manufactured building evaluation and thus warrant acceptance. In such instances the administrative agency may wish to consider extending provisional acceptance over a definite period of time, during which it is expected that the agency will have opportunity to gain the requisite experience and demonstrate its capabilities and compliance assurance functions for manufactured building.

1.4 Failure of an agency to respond satisfactorily to one or more criteria in the following should not be sole cause for rejection. Such failure should be brought to the agency's attention and be subject to close scrutiny during subsequent reevaluations.

1.5 These guidelines are intended to achieve uniformity in the regulation of manufactured building. It may be necessary to make changes and modifications in order to adapt to legislative or other regulatory requirements of some jurisdictions.