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Pictured (left-right, standing): Eric France, Doug Hatch (ICC staff liaison), Robert Andrews and Larry Totten; (left-right, sitting) Oscar Duckworth, Ryan Huxley and Mark Cuthbert.

New Shotcrete Special Inspector Certification exam

The California Division of the State Architect (DSA) relies on ICC to provide testing on plan reading skills necessary to perform shotcrete inspection. A new Shotcrete Special Inspector Certification exam will be available in August to help inspectors read and interpret plans and specifications.

Learn as you earn at this year's conference

This year's conference provides education programs for building safety professionals at all levels of experience. Don't miss these opportunities to earn continuing education units and learning units during this year's extended schedule. View the full schedule.

Applications accepted for ICC Board of Directors

Applications are currently being accepted for individuals to serve on the 2017-2018 International Code Council Board of Directors. Applications, letters of interest and other related information must be submitted by July 13. Elections to the ICC Board will be held Sept. 11 during the Annual Business Meeting at the 2017 Annual Conference in Columbus, Ohio.

Florida legislature updates code adoption procedures

Florida Governor Rick Scott signed into law House Bill 1021 to modify the code adoption process for Florida. This law provides that the Florida Building Commission continue to update the Florida Building Code on a three-year cycle and adopt updates based on ICC's International Codes and the National Electrical Code.

ICC key sponsor of Building Innovation 2018

For the third year in a row, the International Code Council has renewed its commitment to serve as the Conference Sponsor for Building Innovation 2018, which unites industry representatives to discuss strategies and seek solutions to improve the safety of U.S. communities.

Pictured (left-right): Fox News Journalist Chris Wallace, International Code Council Government Relations Senior Vice President Sara Yerkes and Chief Executive Officer Dominic Sims.

ICC celebrates NAHB's 75th anniversary

International Code Council staff and board members joined Lowes, Kohler, Wells Fargo, Professional Builder and others from the building community to celebrate with the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) at its 75th Anniversary gala. In addition to stories from homeowners and NAHB programs highlights, the evening included a keynote address from Chris Wallace, television anchor, political commentator and host of Fox News Sunday, who shared his personal experiences with home ownership. NAHB is one of ICC's founding strategic partners and shares a common mission to create safe buildings and resilient communities; ICC looks forward to continuing this partnership in the coming years.

premiumACCESS: Cracking the codes

Join ICC for a 60-minute webinar offering a walkthrough of the features found on ICC's digital library. Learn how to use this powerful online tool to get the most out of the codes. The next webinar is July 12 at 12:00 p.m. Central. Join by phone (U.S. toll-free) at 1-240-454-0879 (access code 923 222 362).

Significant changes to the 2015 PMG codes

An addition to Section 404.18 (Pipe Cleaning) now specifically prohibits the practice of using fuel gas as a medium for flushing foreign matter and debris from fuel-supply piping.

New House of Codes update

International Code Council Governmental Relations Vice President for Federal Activities Chris Ochoa wraps up this year's Building Safety Month and discusses President Trump's 2018 Federal Budget.

The fully solar-powered surviv(AL) house is being constructed at the University of Alabama at Birmingham for the U.S. Department of Energy's Solar Decathlon competition in Denver.

Alabama university unveils surviv(AL) resilient housing

It's a solar house with Southern flair. Built by University of Alabama at Birmingham students for the U.S. Department of Energy's 2017 Solar Decathlon, the surviv[AL] House features sprawling porches on both sides, two bedrooms and two baths, plus a safe room wrapped in steel and built to withstand winds of up to 250 miles per hour. The whole thing is powered by the 9.9 kilowatt rooftop solar panels.

Brock Long confirmed as FEMA Administrator

The U.S. Senate confirmed William B. "Brock" Long to lead the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Long was the director of Alabama's Emergency Management Agency from 2008–2011. He developed Alabama's response to the H1N1 influenza and served as the state incident commander during the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

Expand your knowledge of flood resistant design and construction

A free course on the FEMA Coastal Construction Manual is being offered August 28-31. Designed to provide a comprehensive approach to planning, siting, designing, constructing and maintaining homes in the coastal environment, this course is perfectly timed for the apex of hurricane season. Contact Course Manager Prasad Inmula at 301-447-1374 for details.

Take the 2018 Cross Border Builder Challenge

The RESNET Cross Border Challenge is a friendly competition between American and Canadian home builders to determine just how energy efficient builders can get. Based on achieving the lowest HERS Index Score — the nationally recognized system for inspecting and calculating a home's energy performance — builders have until January 26, 2018, to submit builder information, a Home Energy Rating Certificate Report (including HERS Index Score), and a house photo to rod@renewability.com.

What we're reading, following & covering

There's a lot happening — domestically and globally — in building safety, fire prevention, sustainability and resiliency right now. Our aim is to provide busy professionals like you with a weekly run-down of the most compelling industry news stories concerning the safety, science and performance of the built environment.

Interesting global construction trivia

There are about 3,700 oil derricks located throughout southern California, disguised by fake structures. The Packard Well site looks like a plain, windowless office building, but below the ground there are 51 wells producing 491,000 barrels of crude oil annually. Oil derricks are listed under structures that are exempt from a building permit in the California Building Code.

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