WildT,
I would exercise caution about quoting or using FEMA 353 for your presentations. I have reviewed this document for the local Structural Engineering Association.
This doc has many flawed statements and erroneous information. I received comments from many professionals including registered engineers, ASNT, etc. Much of the information presented does not have any data to support it. This issue has been addressed formally to the FEMA task group who generated this doc. They had no response to many of the inquiries. Recently turned a copy of this review over to one of the national code enforcement agencies.
Please note while this doc does contain some very good information, most of it is theory on the part of the authors. For example, they (FEMA) recommend ASNT (or company) Level III's are not qualified to perform as a Level II. The other problem with this doc is it is VERY biased as to which certification programs are valid, except those whom the authors are involved with and compensated for. These are just a few of many examples of this document. Also note that this book and the companion documents (350, 351 and 352) cost tax payers about 11 million bucks to produce. None of the jurisdictions in CA have adopted 353 to my knowledge to date.
The AWS D1.1 structural committee chair has issued a somewhat harsh statement regarding the FEMA docs noting specifically: "...it would not be wise to conclude that these will be the last words spoken in the U.S. welding engineering community on the subject."