Symposium Commemorates 20th Anniversary of Northridge Earthquake

The Jan. 17, 1994, Northridge earthquake in California resulted in 57 deaths, thousands injured, and over $20 billion in direct damages. The event spurred important changes to the current practices of earthquake engineering and risk mitigation worldwide, including changes to building codes for steel structures and multi-unit wooden buildings, re-examination of near-field and basin effects for seismic sources, and radical modifications to the risk assessment and insurance sectors.

On the 20th anniversary of the event, the Northridge 20 Earthquake Symposium Jan. 16–17, 2014, in Los Angeles brought together policy makers, government officials, building officials, engineers, earth scientists, emergency managers, building owners, neighborhood and community leaders, and financial services industry professionals to share the impacts of the 1994 earthquake, highlight accomplishments of the past two decades to better understand and reduce earthquake risks, and identify necessary steps forward to make our communities more resilient to future earthquakes. Read more

Lessons learned from the Southern California natural disaster have helped ICC Members develop improved codes to create more resilient structures and save lives. The Code Council supported the symposium and salutes those who have worked to improve seismic safety. Read the Building Safety Journal Online article, "How the Northridge Earthquake Shook the Structural Engineering World."

IRC Named Primary Standard for U.S. DOE Weatherization
Assistance Program Standard Work Specs

Demonstrating how the I-Codes support the construction industry and government, the National Renewable Energy Lab says the 2012 International Residential Code for One- and Two-Family Dwellings serves as the primary referenced standard. The specifications are based on 30 years of building science expertise. Read more

U.S. Treasury Department Report Advocates Statewide Codes

The report from the Federal Insurance Office says data supports the adoption of statewide building codes to save lives and reduce the cost of property damage. The report cites a study that estimates building codes would have reduced wind damage from Hurricane Katrina by 80 percent, saving as much as $8 billion. Read more

Who Pays Certification Fees?

Who pays for your certification fees? According to an early 2013 ICC Member certification survey, 37 percent of respondents pay for their own certification exam registration fees, 57 percent of respondents' fees are paid by their employer. Exam preparation fees are typically paid by the employee: 47 percent of respondents reported paying. According to the survey, as tenure in a code-related field increases, the likelihood that employers pay 100 percent of exam preparation or registration fees decreases. Learn more about ICC's Certification program.

ICC's Top Call Centers Receive Recognition

Reports from 2013 revealed top levels of Member service from subject-specific call centers throughout the International Code Council. Three call centers, however, outshined the rest. The Customer Service/Order department, Accounts Receivable and Evaluation Services were spotlighted as the year's best performers.

"Every department in ICC is encouraged to out-perform the industry standards when it comes to answering customers' calls," explains the Code Council's Chief Executive Officer Dominic Sims. "Consistently exceeding expectations in this area is one meaningful way we show that providing top-level service to our Members and stakeholders is a priority every day."

A fully staffed Customer Call Center replaced an automated attendant in April 2012. Positive reaction to the switch was overwhelming. The Call Center provided personal customer service for more than 179,000 calls.

"The main call center operators do a tremendous job answering the calls that come in through our primary phone number," said ICC Board President Stephen Jones. "We wanted to also recognize staff who assist callers in need of a subject matter expertise. They often have multiple tasks to complete each day, but they remain focused on Member Service."

Online Campus Reveals Updates and Enhancements

As we ring in 2014, the ICC Online Campus welcomes some exciting news for the New Year.

ICC's Online Campus has a new look and feel. We have made a few updates and enhancements to make the site more user friendly. These small modifications will make preparing for your certification exam, earning CEUs and viewing rich code training content even easier than before. Read more

Commercial Fire Sprinkler and Fire Alarm Exam Development Underway

The Certification and Testing department is pleased to report that development of the Commercial Fire Sprinkler and Commercial Fire Alarm exams is on schedule. The exam development committee members, selected for their subject matter expertise, have already defined the scope of the exam and its intended audience. Currently, practicing individuals in the intended audiences as well as the Code Council's Membership have been invited to complete a survey on their job tasks as it relates to commercial fire sprinklers or commercial fire alarms. The survey results will be used to finalize the specifications for the test. Both exams will be available July 1, 2014.

Hall Retires after 25 Years of Service

Government Relations (GR) Senior Regional Manager Roland Hall, P.E., retired in December after 25 years of service with the Code Council. In addition to Pennsylvania, Hall represented the states of Connecticut, Delaware, New Jersey and West Virginia for ICC's GR Team.

"The best asset any association can have is it's skilled and dedicated staff," said Code Council Chief Executive Officer Dominic Sims. "We thank Roland for his important contributions to the growth of our association, and for serving public safety through the strong professional relationships he created and nurtured with ICC Members, Chapters and other stakeholders."

A retirement dinner was held in Hall's honor in Washington, D.C., where he was presented a plaque of commendation from ICC's Board of Directors and staff. Hall is pictured with Vice President of State & Local Government Relations Dorothy Harris (center) and Senior Vice President of Government Relations Sara Yerkes.

Share Your Chapter News with Us

Have a recent meeting you'd like to share with your fellow Chapters? Did you start a new program, elect new officers, have a successful training session or recognize a fellow Chapter member? Let's show our Chapter pride by sharing all the great things chapters do throughout the year in the name of public safety. Send your photos, captions and Chapter news items to chapters@iccsafe.org. We'll see that they are published in an upcoming edition of ICC eNews.

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ICC and ICC-ES Share Optimistic Outlook for 2014

With the start of the new year the International Code Council (ICC) and ICC Evaluation Service (ICC-ES) are optimistic about the progress and developments within ICC-ES that are aimed at improving the process for each manufacturer.

"Every manufacturer that ICC-ES provides services to is important," said ICC-ES President Shahin Moinian. "And as we hope you have noticed, ICC-ES staff is making great strides in efforts to improve the speed of issuing reports, reducing costs and improving overall customer service."

Having an ICC-ES report is an investment in the safety of people and a company's brand. For ICC, the revenue received from ES services not only offsets ES operating expenses, it also helps contribute to the overall mission of the Code Council.

"Thanks to ICC-ES report holders, the Code Council is able to continuously maintain the codes that have become the model in all 50 states in the U.S. and a growing number of countries around the world," said ICC CEO Dominic Sims.

Working with other Standards Developing Organizations (SDOs) whose standards are referenced in the International Codes, the ICC process has become the most effective way to address the changing needs of the construction industry on a large scale. "Manufacturers' support for the building safety environment, in turn, ensures their ability to do business effectively in thousands of jurisdictions by turning a patchwork of regulations into a single market," Sims added.

As designers, contractors and code officials face the need for product research reports for traditional, new and innovative products, or those not defined in the I-Codes, they look first to ICC-ES reports and listings. They know an ICC ES Evaluation Report, Building Product Listing or PMG Listing is issued only after a rigorous technical evaluation. They also recognize that ICC engineering resources stand behind the ICC-ES evaluation process.

"In 2014 we plan to increase our investment in improving our service and strengthening our brand to maximize the value of ES reports and listings for all our customers," Moinian said. "We are bringing on new staff while maintaining our commitment to exceptional technical capabilities. Your feedback on how we’re doing is essential and we want to encourage you to contact us any time directly about issues or ideas you have that would improve ES services or further increase their value to you. Again, thank you for your business and continued support of ICC and ICC-ES. We wish you and your organization great continued success in 2014."

IAS Accreditation Committee Meeting Webcast February 10

IAS will hold its upcoming accreditation committee meeting February 10, at the Sheraton Gateway Hotel Los Angeles in Los Angeles, California. The purpose of the hearing is to establish or revise accreditation criteria pertaining to IAS accreditation programs and to inform the public on IAS principles and major policies. The open hearing process provides all interested parties with the opportunity to contribute ideas or voice their opinions on any item posted on the agenda. For details about the meeting, which will be webcast, click here.