Is the Economy Threatening Building-Code Effectiveness?

200 mph winds leveled homes in Joplin, Missouri when a F5 tornado hit. (Photo: FEMA/Leo 'Jace' Anderson)

There’s been a decade of steady progress toward implementing a single national model building code in all communities across the country.

In this article, we discuss how even though the pace of new construction has slowed significantly, economic issues still threaten code-adoption and enforcement progress in many areas of the country. Community resources have become overextended, forcing difficult decisions by local officials. And unlike earlier in the decade, when states more rapidly adopted model code version changes released every three years, many states have now slowed their new code edition adoption rate. Since the mid-1990s, ISO has been at the forefront of code monitoring through the Building Code Effectiveness Grading Schedule (BCEGS^®) program.

Find out more about how financial conditions facing communities affect building-code adoption and enforcement.

Customized reports

Customized PPC and BCEGS® reports for your community are available by mail from ISO:

• PPC report — needed fire flows for the commercial buildings in your community and details of your PPC grading survey (Available free to your community’s fire chief or chief administrative official)
• BCEGS report — details of your latest BCEGS grading survey (Available free to your community’s building official or chief administrative official)

Mail your request on fire department or building department letterhead, as appropriate, or on your chief administrative official’s letterhead to your ISO Regional Processing Center.