The IAS Accreditation Committee convened May 14 at the Marriott Hotel in Norwalk, California. The Accreditation Committee is IAS's decision-making body that approves Accreditation Criteria (AC), which form the basis for all of IAS's accreditation programs. The committee meets regularly in a forum that is open to IAS stakeholders and to any party interested in IAS Accreditation Criteria. The IAS open hearing process is unique to accreditation bodies in the U.S. in that it provides all interested parties with the opportunity to voice their opinions, contribute ideas, and object to or propose revisions to any item on the committee agenda. The spring meeting hosted a full slate of accreditation criteria and included discussion of a miscellaneous item related to IAS's policies and documentation under ISO/IEC Standard 17011, General Requirements for Accreditation Bodies Providing Accreditation of Conformity Assessment Bodies.

The committee heard public testimony regarding proposed revisions to the following accreditation criteria: AC89 Testing Laboratories; AC204 Calibration Laboratories; AC472 Inspection Programs for Manufacturers of Metal Building Systems; new criteria AC473 Inspection Programs for Manufacturers of Structural and Nonstructural Components; AC281 IBC Special Inspection Agencies and AC251 Building Departments/Code Enforcement Agencies. A new category of "registration criteria" (RC) was proposed for the first time at the meeting concerning the Registration for Building Departments/Code Enforcement Agencies. The new "registration" category will allow building departments with limited budgets to undergo independent evaluation of their building department operations and quality management systems as a precursor to full accreditation under IAS's AC251 Building Department Accreditation Program. Registration will denote that a building department has demonstrated compliance with the administrative requirements of the code and the accreditation criteria enabling it to be eligible for a registration listing on the IAS website. The listing provides evidence that a department's administrative provisions have undergone an independent evaluation as a first step toward accreditation.

Of particular note were revisions to the IAS Accreditation Criteria for Building Departments/Code Enforcement Agencies AC251, which was approved to incorporate changes requested by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).The revisions enable complying IAS-accredited building departments who participate in the National Flood Insurance Program Community Rating Service (CRS) to gain points under the FEMA CRS program. Ultimately, these changes and implementation by building departments will lead to insurance discounts for communities nationwide whose building departments maintain accreditation with IAS.

Also of note was a miscellaneous item that IAS placed on the public agenda to address the findings of an evaluation of IAS by the Pacific Accreditation Cooperation (PAC). PAC is a regional body of the International Accreditation Forum (IAF) that recently sent a team of evaluators to determine IAS' compliance with international standards and ILAC/IAF requirements for entrance into the PAC Multilateral Mutual Recognition Arrangement for the accreditation of product certification agencies (PCAs). In the interest of transparency of the IAS PCA accreditation program, IAS provided all documentation related to the PCA program, including policies, applications, rules of procedure, accreditation criteria, and IAS's internal standard operating procedures for public comment and committee review. This disclosure demonstrated IAS's commitment to involvement by interested parties within the structure used by the IAS Accreditation Committee as regards developing and maintaining the principles and major policies of operation.

Lastly, during the meeting, Paul Brooks, Executive Director of the Center for Public Safety Excellence (CPSE), gave a presentation on the joint efforts of CPSE and IAS in developing an accreditation program for Fire Prevention and Life Safety Organizations. The two organizations have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding to work toward development of the program. The joint efforts will provide an accreditation model where one does not currently exist for state, county and local fire marshal offices. The intent of the program is to establish industry best practices and appropriate performance benchmarks. The goal of the program is to provide recognition and accreditation on a national and international level for fire prevention agencies.

The IAS Accreditation Committee is currently chaired by William Dumbaugh, Broward County, Florida. Members of the Committee include: William D. Gregory, Yorktown Heights, New York; Thomas J. Phillips, Salem, Oregon; Jonathan A. Bahr, P.E., Clark County, Nevada; Alan Price, P.E., New York, New York; and Lawrence (Larry) A. Rude, Maple Valley, Washington.

Pictured in the foreground are IAS Accreditation Committee members (left to right): Alan Price, P.E., New York, New York; Lawrence (Larry) A. Rude, Maple Valley, Washington; William Dumbaugh—Chair, Broward County, Florida; Thomas J. Phillips, Salem, Oregon; William D. Gregory, Yorktown Heights, New York; and Jonathan A. Bahr, P.E., Clark County, Nevada. Also pictured are Chuck Ramani—IAS President and John Barrios—IAS Board Chair.

The last two days of "Committee Week" (Saturday and Sunday) were reserved for the spring meeting of the IAS Board of Directors under the chairmanship of John Barrios, Construction Services Manager for the City of Tampa, Florida. A brief summary of board actions is as follows:

There was an in-depth discussion of IAS's financial performance in 2009 and for the first quarter of 2010. The board was very pleased to note that IAS had performed well during this current period of economic uncertainty. IAS management and staff were complimented by board members on IAS's fiscal performance and staff efforts to reduce expenses.

A presentation on IAS's proposed 2010-2015 business plan was provided to the board, which resulted in extensive comments and good input. The board suggestions will be discussed internally in detail and appropriate revisions will be made prior to presentation of the report at the fall board meeting in Charlotte, North Carolina. It was agreed that our business plan must be synchronized with ICC's new strategic initiative "The Blueprint to 2015".

The board was briefed on the recently concluded peer evaluation of IAS by the Pacific Accreditation Cooperation (PAC).

Another significant step taken by the board was to transfer responsibility for issuance of administrative documents (applications, rules of procedure, fee schedules, etc.) related to the organization's accreditation programs to the president.

IAS Marketing Manager Greg West briefed the board on the new marketing plan envisaged for the next year, which resulted in extensive comments from Board members.

Overall, the Board felt that the corporate health of IAS was excellent and that the organization would continue to be the "shining star" of the ICC family.

IAS Board of Directors and staff (left to right) Raj Nathan, Pat McCullen, Selso Mata, James Toscas, Greg Johnson, Chuck Ramani, Isam Hasenin, John Barrios, Cindy Davis, Majed Dabdoub and Ixx Eddin Katkhuda.

IAS Board of Directors
John L. Barrios, C.B.O., Chair
Isam Hasenin, P.E., C.B.O., Vice Chair
Tim Bradley
Majed A. Dabdoub, P.E.
Cindy Davis, C.B.O.
Greg Johnson
Dr. Izz Eddin Katkhuda
Selso A. Mata, A.I.A, C.B.O.
James G. Toscas, P.E.

Get full IAS Board bios here.

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