Importance of Building Codes to Be Taught in High School Programs

An established training program supported by the International Code Council addresses a presidential challenge to meet the demands of a high-tech economy. The High School Technical Training Program teaches high school students the importance of building codes and provides graduates with an advantage in the job market.

The challenge is to redesign America’s high schools so they better equip graduates for the demands of a high-tech economy. Schools will be rewarded to develop new partnerships with colleges and employers, and create classes that focus on science, technology, engineering, and math—the skills today’s employers are looking for to fill jobs.

“Mastering building science, technology, engineering and math is a must for a successful career in working with building codes to create safe structures,” says ICC Board VP Stephen Jones. “Technology includes new building materials and products, cdp ACCESS—the online code development process of the future—plan review, permitting, and digital codes and standards.” 

The pilot program for the High School Technical Training Program began in 2009 in Maryland. The curriculum covers four major construction fields contained in the ICC’s International Residential Code: building, electrical, plumbing and mechanical. Forty students earned at least one certificate in the four areas of study in 2012. This year, masonry was added to the curriculum. 

About 200 students currently are enrolled in the program at nine high schools and eight more schools committed to starting the program during the 2013-2014 school year. Another 16 code officials or school administrators are reviewing the program. 

Jim Ellwood, Senior Plans Examiner, Building Service Division, Harford County, is the originator of the pilot program at Harford Technical High School. 

“Building officials joining together and mentoring this program will provide the ICC and building code communities an opportunity to contribute to the workforce of the future, and ensure that the ICC remains a leader in code development and code education,” Ellwood says.

For more information about the High School Technical Training Program, contact Sara Yerkes, ICC Senior Vice President for Government Relations, at syerkes@iccsafe.org or go to www.iccsafe.org/HSTTP.

Code Council App Provides Egress Details

The International Code Council’s new iPad app provides egress-focused text, figures and tables from several ICC publications, including the widely adopted 2009 International Building Code (IBC). The app was designed to offer relevant, practical and valuable safety information, related to means of egress.
 
The easy-to-use Means of Egress App: 2009 IBC assists with the design, application and compliance of egress requirements by compiling related information from multiple resources into a single digital tool. 2009 IBC details and helpful references such as the IBC Commentary, IBC Code Opinions Q&A, IBC Study Companion and Significant Changes to the IBC are included to allow users to access egress provisions in any of these documents directly or search the documents by topic.
 
“This new app places an impressive amount of need-to-know information in the hands of the architect, inspector, contractor or student,” says ICC Senior Staff Architect Jay Woodward. “By including the IBC code text and commentary for the egress provisions, as well as the egress-related pages from IBC references, users can review code requirements and access supporting information to easily understand how to properly design, construct, inspect or perform plan review of an egress system. The ability to search by topic or code section is an added convenience along with the ability to move between documents.”
 
Helpful to designers, contractors and code officials, the app is affordably priced at $13.99 and available for immediate download from the Apple Store.

Series of Books to Help Learn the 2012 International Codes

The International Code Council (ICC), publisher of the family of International Codes, and Delmar, part of Cengage Learning and a provider of learning solutions for ongoing career development and education, announce the Code Basics series, a new series of books that break down the language within the 2012 I-Codes and makes the content more user friendly for building professionals.
 

The series consists of four titles focusing on the new commercial, green, residential and energy codes recently released by the ICC. With two currently available, and two to be released by the end of 2012, these new books will feature illustrations highlighting key updates and changes in the 2012 codes, practical on-the-job scenarios for real-world applications and straight-forward explanations. These features help to facilitate the learning of technical terms and clarify the meaning behind important vocabulary. The books in the series include:

• Building Code Basics Residential: Based on the 2012 International Residential Code – The first book in the series and currently available for purchase features code references and descriptive illustrations and tables to explain the fundamentals of the 2012 International Residential Code. Chapters progress in the order of construction – from site-work and foundations, to fire and life safety and environmental requirements of a finished residence. Building Code Basics Residential is an ideal resource for both beginning and experienced code users to ensure compliance.
• Building Code Basics Commercial: Based on the 2012 International Building Code – Also currently available, this book covers the basic concepts of the 2012 International Building Code (IBC) and was created to benefit both first-time and experienced users. It explores base requirements in a straightforward, easy-to-read format and simplifies the IBC's regulations and critical concepts so that users can build a foundation for learning and applying the codes.
• Building Code Basics Green: Based on the 2012 International Green Construction Code – Green, environmentally-conscious construction is the driving force behind many of today’s new construction projects. This book, which will be available in the fall of 2012, prepares users to work with the 2012 International Green Construction Code (IgCC). It is a practical guide to green and sustainable construction and was designed to appeal to anyone with an interest in green and sustainable construction. It introduces the mandatory provisions of the IgCC, while also extending its scope to tackle project electives and jurisdictional requirements, designed to promote the construction of buildings beyond the code's minimum requirements to higher performance thresholds. 
• Building Code Basics Energy: Based on the 2012 International Energy Code – Available in the winter of 2012, this book covers a critical topic, as energy conservation continues to become an increasingly important factor in building construction. Based on the 2012 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC), it fills a need for information that instructs how to properly apply the energy provisions of the code in a real-world setting. The book provides solid, working information on important energy code applications for residential and commercial construction, with a reliance on color graphics, charts and photos that help to deepen understanding of the material.
  
  

Code Council, SEAOSC Offer Structural Engineering Webinars

The International Code Council (ICC) and the Structural Engineers Association of Southern California (SEAOSC) have collaborated to bring a series of timely, discipline-specific educational webinars on Structural Engineering and code-related topics to the ICC Campus Online. The initial offering includes six webinars:

• Code Application of Slender Wall and Wall Pier Design
• External Post-Tensioning of Glue-Laminated Beams
• How Codes Change the Way We Construct Masonry
• Christchurch Earthquake 2011 – A Study of Post-disaster Response
• Overview & Application 2010 California Building Code (CBC)
• Sustainable Case Studies

Webinar descriptions, pricing, and registration information can be found on ICC’s Campus Online. The webinars are available 24/7 to ICC Members and non-members. Additional webinars, created from live SEAOSC online events, will be added on a regular basis going forward. The new webinars add to the role ICC plays to serve its Members and the industry by providing expert training and certification in a wide variety of disciplines.