The ICC and structural engineers work together

On Dec. 22, 2003, a magnitude 6.5 earthquake struck Central California, killing two, injuring 47, and damaging approximately 500 structures in a two-county area. Four days later, a magnitude 6.6 earthquake hit close to the ancient city of Bam, Iran, killing more than 43,000, injuring another 30,000, and damaging or destroying up to 85 percent of the city’s buildings and infrastructure.

These two earthquakes, similar in magnitude with shockingly different outcomes, demonstrate in the starkest terms possible the importance of sound building codes and standards. California has been using increasingly stringent seismic building codes for both new and existing structures since 1927. In this same timeframe, Iran has lacked a similar commitment to earthquake mitigation and structural retrofit programs. Bottom line, when disaster strikes, building to and enforcing codes prevents tragedies.

Increasingly, people look to public safety organizations, such as the International Code Council (ICC), for answers. Established in 1994 by the nation’s three regional model code organizations, the ICC has delivered on its promise to bring more consistency and uniformity to the U.S. building codes and standards. By 2000, ICC completed its development of a single set of comprehensive and coordinated national model construction codes, which included the International Building Code (IBC). Now nearly six years later, the IBC is in use in 47 states: The IBC is adopted state-wide in 42 states and in the District of Columbia, with local adoptions in five states, including Colorado, Delaware, Illinois, Mississippi, and Tennessee. California and Massachusetts are set to come on board soon, leaving Hawaii as the remaining state yet to adopt the code.

Newly named ICC Chief Executive Officer, Richard P. Weiland, emphasizes, "The power of what we do is in the technical effectiveness and efficiency of the codes. But, to our friends and neighbors, it is something decidedly simpler—the knowledge that the buildings they occupy are safe. That is what the ICC and the thousands of engineers, architects, designers, builders, and code officials with whom we work do."

The ICC relies heavily on its close partnership with structural engineering organizations—now more than ever—in the development of international codes and associated structural standards.

Partnering for progress

Through its contribution to the International Codes, the structural engineering community has provided the expertise and experience to help make the future built environment more safe and secure. Of particular note, these professionals have directly contributed to the development and continued update of the wind- and earthquake-related building code provisions. It was a group of volunteer structural engineers that first published the Recommended Lateral Force Requirements and Commentary in 1959. That document, known as the "SEAOC Blue Book," served as the basis for most seismic code provisions in the United States and internationally until recently.

It’s no surprise that ICC relies heavily on prominent structural engineering organizations, such as the National Council of Structural Engineers Associations (NCSEA), the Structural Engineering Institute (SEI) of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), the structural material industries, and many others that continuously advance and improve the structural safety provisions of the ICC codes. Working through the various professional associations, structural engineers have submitted numerous code changes that have improved the codes and standards, and provided insurance that they remain on the cutting edge.

Developed through the Governmental Consensus process, the ICC family of codes incorporates the latest scientifically based requirements and industry standards from ASCE, the American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA), the American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC), the American Concrete Institute (ACI), the American Iron & Steel Institute (AISI), ASTM International, and many others.

For instance, ICC Evaluation Services (ICC-ES) has worked closely with structural engineers in the incorporation of AISC 341 into the 2003 edition of the IBC. Developed by structural engineers from lessons learned following the Northridge Earthquake, the provisions establish new guidelines for welds in beam-to-column structural steel moment-frame connections.

Additionally, ICC is working with diverse building safety professionals in the development of standards to provide enhanced public safety against hurricanes and tornadoes. Examples are the upcoming ICC Standard for Hurricane Resistant Construction (IS-HRC) and the ICC Standard on Design, Construction, and Performance of Storm Shelters (IS-STM). The goal of these standards is to provide methodologies of wind-resistant design and construction for buildings sited in hurricane prone areas (IS-HRC), and to facilitate the design, construction, and installation of safe, reliable, and economical storm shelters (IS-STM).

ICC is also active in advancing code recognition for new and innovative materials and methods of construction though the ICC’s Evaluation Services (ICC-ES). The ICC-ES evaluates new building products, components, methods, and materials for code compliance. New and innovative building products regularly move into the market that are designed to help the building industry design and construct faster, cheaper, with greater energy efficiency, and hopefully with more quality.

Section 104.11 of the IBC makes it clear that the building official has the authority to approve alternate building products not specifically covered in the code. Therefore, ICC-ES evaluation reports are used by jurisdictions enforcing building regulations, to assist them in making decisions as to whether a particular product complies with the intent of the building code. For instance, ICC-ES developed the Acceptance Criteria for Prefabricated Wood Shear Panels (AC130). This criteria provides structural engineers with the code-compliant design and testing requirements for these panels.

Together, ICC, structural engineers, and other building safety professionals can continue to create the foundation for effective codes and standards. However, this partnership is much more than a technical endeavor—it is a collaborative vehicle for legislative change.

Visibility and vision

Through strategic partnerships with other professional organizations and associations that share a commitment to public safety, the ICC will continue to find ways to effectively implement national and international standards that meet the needs of a diverse building community. These partnerships help facilitate communication to a broader audience, driving innovation to those that have the ability to influence building safety in their local communities.

To this end, the ICC supports continued professional development through training, education, and certification programs for those who serve on the front lines of building safety.

It is essential that the design community be well trained and current on the latest code provisions. ICC is working closely with the Structural Engineers Association of California (SEAOC), AF&PA, Masonry Institute of America (MIA), and many others to ensure structural engineers have the necessary technical publications and resources they need to properly apply the codes. One example of this commitment to serve the engineering community was the recent release of the joint SEAOC/ICC Structural/Seismic Design Manuals based on the 2006 IBC. This updated series of design manuals incorporates requirements of the 2006 IBC and referenced structural standards illustrating the practical application of problems addressing a range of both structural and seismic issues.

The ICC is also working with local, state, and federal officials on new policy initiatives.
Weiland adds, "Structural engineers are part of the best code design and implementation system in the world—a system as important to public safety as other essential services such as the fire department. The more the public understands what the structural engineering profession has done to make communities safer, the more support there will be for still greater advancements."

To become more visible at the national level, ICC recently opened a new headquarters—in the first U.S. Green Building Council Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certified building in Washington, D.C. ICC executive management believes that a vital part of shaping a "green" built environment is to lead by example. This move reinforces ICC’s commitment to creating better buildings and safer communities with environmental care.

A global ideal

Collectively, the ICC, its partners, and the building community have the ability to lessen human suffering and fundamentally improve the lives of millions of people. "Many people don’t realize that for every dollar spent building safer and stronger, four to six dollars are saved in reduced disaster loss," says Weiland.

The ICC mission is to focus on enhancing building safety in the United States, while also looking at ways to export that system to the rest of the world as the basis for truly global standards. There are many challenges ahead that will require fresh ways of thinking about prevention and preparedness. Weiland concludes, "It is easy to forget, but we are all part of something that can help future generations—from California to Iran."

Dominic Sims is the chief operating officer at the International Code Council. He can be reached at 1-888-422-7233 or dsims@iccsafe.org. For more information about the ICC, visit www.iccsafe.org.