The BSJ Weekly will be taking a break from publication next week for our 2022 Annual Conference, Public Comment Hearings and Expo in Louisville, Kentucky. We'll be back in your inboxes with the latest news on September 22. In the meantime, you may want to use the break as an opportunity to catch up on any recent stories you missed.
See you this weekend in Louisville!
We're excited to start our 2022 Annual Conference, Public Comment Hearings and Expo this weekend in Louisville, Kentucky. This year’s event brings together building safety professionals from across the spectrum with plenty of opportunities to advance your career and network with peers. We are grateful to our conference host committee who helped us put together an exciting and informative event. Read more
A broad coalition of industry, environmental, governmental and code development organizations encourage early adoption by states and localities of the 2024 International Building, Fire and Mechanical Codes, which now permit the use of A2L refrigerants. The recently approved code changes allow commercial and residential use of A2L refrigerants to replace high global warming potential (GWP) hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) refrigerants.
“State and local governments need to act now to enable next-generation refrigerants before older options get phased out,” said International Code Council PMG Executive Director Matt Sigler. “The Code Council stands ready to partner with the construction industry to help them best navigate this positive change.” Read more
ICC and ASHRAE cosponsor whole life carbon standard
The International Code Council and ASHRAE announced joint development of a standard — ASHRAE/ICC Standard 240P — Evaluating Greenhouse Gas (GHG) and Carbon Emissions in Building Design, Construction and Operation — that will provide a whole life carbon approach to support emissions reductions in buildings. The proposed standard establishes how to measure and verify the greenhouse gas and carbon emissions of a building, or group of buildings, over the entire life cycle. The goal is to provide consistent procedures and data to be referenced by policies, codes and other standards that address new and existing building performance. Read more
Passive fire protection in the IBC
The spread of fire within a building is a serious issue. A number of different hazards can exist in a structure and there may be different occupancies in buildings that need to be separated from each other. Before getting into the details of passive fire protection, there is a pre-requisite understanding, including occupancy classifications based on the use and character of the building. Section 721 of the International Building Code (IBC) includes prescriptive fire resistance. Read more
Updated masonry handbook released referencing 2021 IBC
The Masonry Institute of America’s updated Reinforced Masonry Engineering Handbook, 9th Edition, based on the 2021 IBC and TMS 402/602-16, eliminates repetitious and routine calculations to help reinforced masonry designers save time. In addition to the code requirements, the handbook provides sound engineering practice, detailed explanations and applications of allowable stress design and strength design procedures, 90-plus step-by-step examples, and hundreds of drawings to maximize ability in the practice of masonry engineering. Read more
There is no hiding that the U.S. building industry currently faces a myriad of challenges, including workforce availability, supply chain variability, stagnant productivity and costly delays, job site safety, housing affordability, building quality, and sustainability. In an article — Delivering Affordability and Sustainability through Off-site Construction Uniformity — for gb&dPRO Magazine, Joseph Sollod, sustainability, resilience and innovation associate at the International Code Council, examines how increased off-site construction (also known as modular or prefab construction) can provide superior energy efficiency and significant cost efficiencies and help to solve some of today’s biggest industry challenges. Read more
Group B Public Comment Agenda available
The 2022 Group B Public Comment Agenda (the complete monograph) for consideration at the Public Comment Hearings to be held Sept. 14–18, 2022, at the Kentucky International Convention Center in Louisville, Kentucky, is now available online. This monograph addresses hearings on public comments on proposed code changes to the administrative provisions, International Building Code (structural), International Existing Building Code, and International Residential Code (building). Read more
Public Comment Hearings schedule available
The 2022 Group B Public Comment Hearings will start on Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2022, during the International Code Council Annual Conference in Louisville, Kentucky. The Public Comment Hearing schedule — with start and end times, schedule notes and list of International Codes — is available. Read more
Submit your questions for ICC board candidates
At this year’s International Code Council Annual Conference in Louisville, Kentucky, the ICC Board of Directors Candidates Forum will be held from 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time on Sunday, Sept. 11, 2022, in Room M100/103 of the Kentucky International Convention Center to consider the 2022 ICC Board of Directors candidates. As part of this forum, Code Council members will have the opportunity to submit questions beforehand to be asked to the 2022 candidates. These questions will be selected at random and read to at-large and sectional seat candidates by the chair of the Nominating Committee. If you would like to submit a question, please send it to Will Coffman by 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on Friday, Sept. 9, 2022. Read more
ICC Membership Council Governing Committees to meet
The Governing Committees of the Building Membership Council, Fire Service Membership Council, PMG Membership Council, Global Membership Council, Sustainability Membership Council, and Emerging Leaders Membership Council will meet at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time on Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2022, at the Kentucky International Convention Center during the International Code Council's Annual Conference. The meetings are open to the public and all Code Council members and Membership Council members are encouraged to attend or log-in and participate. Learn more
Retreat held to support and educate permit technicians
Permit technician chapter leaders from around the U.S. came together from July 22–23, 2022, for the first-ever Permit Technician Leadership Retreat held in Troutdale, Oregon. Hosted by the Oregon Permit Technicians Association, the leadership retreat was attended both in person and virtually by leaders of state chapters, building official chapter associations, permit technician committees, and the national PermitTechNation chapter. Read more
AJ O’Connell achieves top code certification
International Code Council member AJ O’Connell, a building official in California, shares his experience on obtaining the elite Master Code Professional designation, highlights of his professional career, and any insights or advice he has concerning the industry. “Being a California resident, we have to always be ready for natural disasters. Whether it is earthquakes or wildfires, our built environment can give us a distinct advantage over Mother Nature when she decides to unleash these events upon us. Building codes are what give us that modicum of safety. It allows us to develop the world we love. Organizations like ICC empower and encourage professionals in this field.” Read more
Chapter builds wheelchair ramps for neighbors in need
On the second Friday of every June, members from the Arrowhead Chapter of Minnesota Building Officials donate their time and expertise to build wheelchair-accessible ramps for people with disabilities. This annual volunteer project gives code enforcement and building safety professionals an opportunity to give back to their communities while improving lives in northeastern Minnesota, one ramp at a time. Read more
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