As a building official, you have to shoulder an immense number of responsibilities to ensure safety within your jurisdiction’s built environment. The International Accreditation Service (IAS) provides a free resource, from an organization you can trust, that can help reduce your workload and save you valuable time.
How we provide this service for free.
As a wholly owned subsidiary of the International Code Council (ICC), IAS aligns with its parent company’s goal of supporting the code enforcement community. Accreditation fees are charged to the applicant for accreditation who, after meeting IAS accreditation requirements, will be listed on the IAS website as a service to building officials. We provide listings of accredited organizations and related information at no charge on the IAS website, or by a toll-free call to 1-866-427-4422.
Specific assistance IAS can provide to building officials.
IAS can directly assist building officials in their code enforcement duties by providing services that would otherwise cost code officials vast amounts of time and/or resources. Take, for example, some of the requirements imposed by Section 104.11 of the International Building Code (IBC):
When there is insufficient evidence of compliance with the code, the building official may require tests as evidence of compliance. The Code requires such tests to be performed by an approved agency.
Approving the level of quality and technical expertise present in a given test laboratory can be a burdensome job for the building official, especially when you consider the number of laboratories conducting tests as well as the sheer volume of recognized standards. IAS makes the job easier by providing you with a list of accredited testing laboratories on its website that have satisfied the rigorous conditions of the IAS Accreditation Criteria for Testing Laboratories (AC89). As a matter of fact, many research report providers, such as the ICC Evaluation Service, require laboratories accredited by IAS or its equivalent to conduct tests.
Another example of how IAS can help building officials enforce code requirements again comes from Section 104.11 of the IBC:
When there is insufficient evidence of compliance with the code, the building official may require tests as evidence of compliance. In the absence of recognized standards, the building official is charged with approving the test procedures.
What happens when you, as building official, encounter the installation of a custom, one-of-a kind appliance for which no equivalent standards exist? Is there an uncomplicated way for a building official to ensure that the intent of the code is satisfied?
IAS offers a solution to this question in the form of its Field Evaluation Body (FEB) program. This program is exclusive to electrical installations, which may be as simple as a pizza oven or as complex as a shipyard crane. IAS-accredited FEBs have demonstrated compliance with the requirements of the IAS Accreditation Criteria for Field Evaluation Bodies (AC354) and so offer an additional measure of confidence as they conduct safety evaluations onsite.
The IBC contains several clauses that address requirements for quality or listing identification. Section 2303.1.8.1 of the IBC specifies that wood requiring preservative treatment must “bear the mark of an inspection agency that maintains continuing supervision, testing and inspection over the quality” of the wood. But can you trust the quality mark on the wood? Is there some simple way for a building official to verify that the inspection agency is doing a satisfactory job?
For this purpose, IAS maintains a list of accredited inspection agencies. The IAS Accredited Agency (AA) Program specifies strict requirements for accreditation, as listed in the IAS Accreditation Criteria for Inspection Agencies (AC98), and fills a need for building departments who would otherwise need to maintain staff dedicated to assessing inspection agencies.
What about code requirements for “listed” products? How can you, the building official, be assured that the listing agency is performing to expectations in the quality of factory inspection it is providing for its listed products?
IAS launched its Product Certification Agency (PCA) program to meet just such a need. PCAs must demonstrate performance at or beyond the levels required by the IAS Accreditation Criteria for Product Certification Agencies (AC370) before being approved and listed on the IAS website.
Then there is Section 1704.2 of the IBC, which first specifies that special inspection of the fabricated items is required where structural load-bearing members and assemblies are produced at a fabricator’s shop. But if the fabricator is approved in accordance with Section 1704.2.2 of the IBC, special inspection is not required. So, how would a building official go about approving a fabricator? Approval would be based upon review of the fabricator’s written shop procedures, their quality control manual, and periodic auditing of their practices by an approved agency. Isn’t there an easier way for the building official to “approve” a fabricator?
In answer to this, IAS has created its Fabricator Inspection (FA) and Metal Building Fabricator Inspection (MBMA) programs. The FA program requires applicants to satisfy the requirements set forth in the IAS Accreditation Criteria for Fabricator Inspection Programs that is applicable to them: AC157 for Reinforced Concrete; AC172 for Structural Steel; or AC196 for Wood Wall Panels. The Metal Building Fabricator Inspection program requires applicants to satisfy the conditions of AC472 (Accreditation Criteria for Inspection Programs for Manufacturers of Metal Building Systems). The IAS website will list applicants meeting the above accreditation conditions for your reference.
Chapter 17 of the IBC provides details of the multiple requirements for special inspections. If a building official allows the hire of a special inspector from a special inspection agency, how can he or she be certain that the agency is doing all that the building official would do to verify the skill, knowledge and qualifications of the agency’s special inspection staff?
IAS-accredited special inspection agencies are required not only to provide evidence of the qualifications of the inspectors under their employ, but also to demonstrate their competence under the observation of IAS’ technical experts while they are inspecting in the field. The agencies themselves must meet the stringent quality management requirements imposed by the IAS Accreditation Criteria for Special Inspection Agencies (AC291). You can put your faith in the quality of work provided by the Special Inspection Agency (SIA) listings accredited by IAS.
Many of the accreditation programs available from IAS are knit together to support the integrity of code enforcement activities in general.
For instance, the IAS Calibration Laboratory Accreditation Program webpage may not find its way to the “favorites” list on many building officials’ web browsers, but nonetheless its existence is crucial to the quality of many IAS programs regarding things encountered in everyday life. If certain gauges, tools and equipment are not properly calibrated, test reports, research reports and quality management systems immediately begin to lose value.
IAS also offers programs that can benefit the built environment by ensuring quality at all levels—starting with the construction work force. IAS accredits organizations that develop the curriculum used in training programs. IAS also accredits training providers who teach the men and women who may become your jurisdiction’s construction work force.
IAS provides programs for the accreditation of building departments and for third-party building department service providers, and is the first accreditation body in the nation to do so. These programs have been lauded as a boon to the building official’s image and perceived role in the realm of building safety.
IAS provides information you can trust.
You count on ICC to provide you with the highest quality of code enforcement information and services. As a subsidiary of ICC, IAS functions to support the goal of its parent company while maintaining a completely separate not-for-profit corporation in order to ensure true independence and a lack of bias in its role as an internationally recognized third-party accreditation body. In addition, IAS is subject to evaluation by Asia Pacific Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (APLAC) under terms of its own recognition. IAS is part of a partnership recognized by an APLAC Mutual Recognition Arrangement (MRA) in which accreditation by any MRA signatory is accepted by one and all MRA signatories.
IAS welcomes you to visit our website at www.iasonline.org or call toll-free at 1-866-427-4422 to find out more about the services we can provide to you, the building official, to support you in your goals to ensure safety in our built environment.
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