IAPMO, Partners Chart Bold Course for Codes in 2012

As the year 2011 came to a close, several projects were initiated that will certainly carry on through 2012 and beyond.

Probably the best news that IAPMO received late last year was the announcement from ANSI (the American National Standards Institute) that IAPMO was awarded Audited Designator status. This status, given to only six of ANSI’s 225 standards developing organizations, allows IAPMO to self-designate its Uniform Codes upon their completion.  IAPMO has already taken advantage of this important status with the 2012 editions of the Uniform Plumbing Code® (UPC) and Uniform Mechanical Code® (UMC).

After the Standards Council held its meeting in early November, its members proceeded to issue the 2012 editions of the UPC and UMC. Prior to achieving this status, the codes would then have needed to be provided to ANSI’s Board of Standards Review along with a voluminous amount of paperwork illustrating that the proper and necessary steps were taken to develop the codes. This step has traditionally taken a few months, as there is quite a bit of information to review with a three-year code development process.  However, as an Audited Designator, in this cycle the 2012 editions of the UPC and UMC were self-designated as American National Standards by IAPMO and will be printed and available by early February 2012.

By the third quarter of this year, the 2012 editions of the Uniform Solar Energy Code® (USEC) and Uniform Swimming Pool, Spa and Hot Tube Code® (USPC) will complete their development cycle and, at the end of the process, be self-designated as American National Standards. For those of you who were present at my report in San Antonio and who viewed the live Webcast, you heard me discuss how this is a great accomplishment for IAPMO and one that could not have been possible without the excellent work of the many volunteer committee members and excellent staff. A job well done to all of you!

Further on the subject of codes, the latter part of 2011 introduced new adoptions of the Uniform Codes in various U.S. territories. The town of Cibolo, Texas, located about 20 miles west of San Antonio, will soon be using the UPC to provide for safe, sanitary plumbing systems for its constituents. Cibolo was previously on the International Plumbing Code and International Fuel Gas Code.

Falls City, Neb., which borders on the states of Kansas and Missouri, also made the decision late in 2011 to adopt the UPC and UMC. The town previously used the International Plumbing Code and International Mechanical Code.

Wrapping up adoptions, the U.S. Virgin Islands announced that it will replace the International Mechanical Code with the UMC and is researching the USEC, as well.  Throughout 2012, IAPMO will work with the U.S. Virgin Islands, Falls City and Cibolo to finalize these adoptions.

Following the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between IAPMO and Plumbing Manufacturers International (PMI) in October 2011, IAPMO will continue to coordinate with PMI to jointly advance and promote mutual industry interests as related to education, training and advocacy. I look forward to working with Barb Higgens and exploring the various ways in which our organizations can work closer together, especially with regard to education.

Another project already underway is the Green Plumbing Design program. Resulting from the November 2011 signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between IAPMO and the American Society of Plumbing Engineers (ASPE), the two organizations will work together to train, test and certify qualified plumbing engineers and designers in the United States to perform green plumbing design work, to design systems that conserve and protect water supplies and reduce energy consumption in the delivery and use of water. Under the direction of Jim Kendzel, executive director/CEO of ASPE, the organization has already come a long way. I am so pleased that the two organizations have found yet another way to work together in assisting industry personnel with additional tools to further their profession.

On the international front, IAPMO hosted a delegation from the Philippine Society of Sanitary Engineering (PSSE) to the World Headquarters West facility. In October, IAPMO and the Philippines Society of Sanitary Engineers (PSSE) signed an MOU to work together to develop the Uniform Plumbing Code of the Philippines (UPC-P). The UPC-P is an adaptation of the 2009 Uniform Plumbing Code with modifications to suit the local practice of plumbing in the Philippines. In December, Dave Viola, IAPMO director of Special Services, presented the first edition of the UPC-P in a ceremony during the PSSE Annual Conference in Pasay City, Philippines. Moving forward, IAPMO and PSSE will cooperate to maintain and update the UPC-P on a three-year cycle and provide technical support and training.

IAPMO will also be working with the country of Brazil toward the development of plumbing and mechanical codes — both of which will include certain provisions from the Green Plumbing and Mechanical Code Supplement. IAPMO will also work with the Brazilians toward the development of solar provisions. As the codes will be new to the inspectors, contractors and installers within the country, IAPMO will also work with them toward the development of appropriate education and training programs. As I’ve written in previous articles, the codes are only one step in the process of protecting health and safety. The codes must be learned and properly adhered to or the system simply won’t work. Lastly, the importance of product testing and certification will be addressed as yet another means to protect the plumbing, mechanical and solar systems in Brazil. I look forward to reporting more on this project throughout 2012.

In late November, I had the pleasure of traveling to New Delhi, India, to take part in the release of the second edition of the Uniform Plumbing Code-India (2011 edition). Released along with the 2011 edition of the UPC-I was the 2011 UPC-I Illustrated Training Manual. These comprehensive documents are packaged together in an effort to assist Indian code users in their understanding of how to apply this newly updated Indian plumbing code. My congratulations go out to the members of the Indian Plumbing Association Technical Committee that toiled to produce this updated version of the UPC-I and UPC-I ITM.

In closing, I would like to recognize one of the newest staff members to join The IAPMO Group — Richard Beck. Bringing with him more than 30 years experience in the construction industry, Richard understands all aspects of building codes, including the evaluation of products. Richard is the new Director of IAPMO ES, joining Amir Zamanian and staff of IAPMO Evaluation Services. I am pleased to welcome Richard both to Southern California and to The IAPMO Group.