Imagine submitting a plan to a building department that you are certain complies with codes and getting approval in hours instead of weeks. Think of the time, money and resources it could save design-build teams.
Currently, most building departments conduct plan reviews manually because building designs are submitted on paper. Similarly, designers and builders refer to code books to ensure projects comply with local, state, and federal building regulations. What if there was a different option — automated code compliance checking. It may sound too be good to be true, but it could be reality in the not-too-distant future thanks to a new, cutting-edge effort to automate code compliance known as SMARTcodes.
With SMARTcodes, designers can instantly check code compliance during the design process before submitting plans to jurisdictions for approval. Building departments could conduct plan reviews using SMARTcodes, which would reduce turnaround time, increase code compliance, and allow code officials to focus more on inspections and improving public safety.
The International Code Council’s SMARTcodes project brings together a variety of stakeholders: standards developing organizations; architects, engineers and other designers; builders; specifiers; manufacturers; and federal, state and local agencies. It truly encompasses the length and breadth of the building industry.
The SMARTcodes project aligns with buildingSMART, an international endeavor fostered through the International Alliance for Interoperability (IAI). The buildingSMART initiative is based on the idea that everyone in the construction process should be able to readily access and share information. It is a whole new way of conducting business because it embraces the full range of possibilities offered by current technology. Interoperability — the transparent flow of data and other information between users — is key and serves as the foundation of the buildingSMART initiative.
Much of the progress is due to the International Alliance for Interoperability’s development of Industry Foundation Classes (IFC), a kind of universal data model for buildings that provides a foundation for a Building Information Model (BIM); a source of data covering the physical and functional characteristics of a building. The IFC model is a platform for communication between different software applications to address building design and construction preferences. Credit is also due to the National Institute of Building Sciences (NIBS) for leading the effort to draft a BIM Standard. The BIM standard organizes the resulting information, facilitating the ready application of a variety of valuable functions, one of which is automated code checking.
The goal of the SMARTcodes project is to automate code compliance checking for the International Codes, and federal, state and locally adopted amendments to the I-Codes. Instead of the lengthy, time-consuming, paper-based process currently in place, designers would see immediate benefits with SMARTcodes, such as enhanced communication with the building department; more timely and accurate validation of the building design, construction and operation; better delivery of service from the public sector; improved building safety through code compliance; and a reduction in construction costs.
The Code Council is working to make the 2006 IECC SMARTcodes available for further demonstration by the summer of 2007. It is also developing a BIM guide for code officials and is slated to begin work on other I-Codes, including the International Building, Fire, Plumbing, Mechanical and Fuel Gas Codes later this year.
INFO: SMARTcodes (www.smartcodes.org)