Washington, D.C. – May is Building Safety Month. This year marks the International Code Council’s 44^th annual campaign to raise awareness about the importance of building codes and the role that building safety professionals play in keeping our communities safe. Building Safety Month includes five weekly themes, each addressing how building safety impacts us on a personal, local and global level. This year’s theme, “Mission Possible,” encourages people to get involved in all aspects of building safety.

Week One: Understanding the Mission, includes an introduction to building safety and how it affects us all.

“Building Safety Month provides an opportunity to educate yourself on the importance of building safety,” said Stuart Tom, CBO, President of the Code Council Board of Directors. “This week we’re highlighting the responsibility everyone has to keep the places we live in safe. From installing smoke alarms and securing handrails to creating an emergency safety plan, there are easy things people can do every day to maintain a safe home.”

To participate in Building Safety Month:

• Visit www.buildingsafetymonth.org/
• Issue a proclamation declaring May 2024 as Building Safety Month. View the proclamations here and submit one here.
• Join us on social media and help spread the word. #BuildingSafety365
• Download the promotional toolkit.
• Discover resources for planning Building Safety Month events.

American Gas Association is the foundation sponsor of 2024 Building Safety Month. Week One sponsors include 4 Leaf, Inc. and NCARB. To learn about sponsorship, click here.

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About the International Code Council
The International Code Council is the leading global source of model codes and standards and building safety solutions. Code Council codes, standards and solutions are used to ensure safe, affordable and sustainable communities and buildings worldwide.

Washington, D.C.– The International Code Council announced today that Executive Vice President of Global Strategy and Business Development Shahin Moinian has decided to leave the organization after thirteen years of service.

Moinian began his career with the Code Council as its Executive Director of Service Certification Programs in 2010. In 2012, he became the President of ICC Evaluation Service (ICC-ES), which experienced significant growth under his leadership. Moinian then served as the Code Council’s Executive Vice President of Conformity Assessment Group, which includes ICC-ES and ICC-NTA, and most recently he became the Executive Vice President of Global Strategy and Business Development – Conformity Assessment Group.

“The ICC family of solutions employs so many talented people,” said Moinian. “I know that they will continue to serve the Code Council’s mission and advance building safety in all ways possible.”

Moinian oversaw all product evaluation and product certification activities within ICC-ES including plumbing, mechanical, fuel gas, swimming pools and spas, private sewage disposals and other related products. Under Moinian’s leadership, ICC-ES recently became a member of the TIC Council, a global organization that engages governments and key stakeholders to advocate for effective solutions that protect the public, support innovation and facilitate trade. His leadership was critical to the growth of the Conformity Assessment business and his years with the Code Council family of solutions were highly impactful.

“I speak on behalf of all of the entire Code Council family of solutions when thanking Shahin for his leadership and dedication,” said Code Council Chief Executive Officer Dominic Sims, CBO. “We wish him well in his future endeavors.”

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About the International Code Council
The International Code Council is the leading global source of model codes and standards and building safety solutions. Code Council codes, standards and solutions are used to ensure safe, affordable and sustainable communities and buildings worldwide.

The ICC NTA Midwest Testing Laboratory welcomed Congressman Rudy Yakym for a campus tour and education on impact testing as it relates to the resilience of building materials relative to hurricanes and tornadoes, which are common in many parts of the country.

NTA has a rich history in Nappanee (which wholly resides within Indiana’s 2nd Congressional District which Yakym represents), operating as a business there since 1976. The company employs 199 staff at its Nappanee facility, plus 25 at the Goshen lab and 10 at the large-scale fire testing lab in Bryan, Texas.

The visit included a live demonstration of an impact test procedure, commonly used in test standards like TAS 201 and ASTM E1886/E1996, to simulate windborne debris during a hurricane event by shooting a 2×4 missile from an air cannon at a building product/assembly designed for impact resistance. The minimum missile speed is 34 miles per hour (MPH), or 50 feet per second.

Among hundreds of other building product tests, the ICC NTA Nappanee lab also performs ANSI/ICC-500 storm shelter testing (adopted by FEMA). This standard uses the same test equipment and evaluates impact resistance of storm shelters from tornadoes at designed wind speeds of up to 250 MPH, using a missile speed of 100 MPH (147 feet per second).

“As part of the Code Council family, NTA is dedicated to innovation and building safety,” said Executive Vice President of the ICC Conformity Assessment group David Tompos. “Construction methods are evolving all the time, and we are always happy to educate stakeholders of any kind on our testing and evaluation services and how they play a key role in building safety.”

“For policymakers, having a firsthand look at state-of-the-art facilities like these is essential to producing commonsense solutions that help our constituents,” said Representative Rudy Yakym (IN-02). “I appreciate the good men and women at ICC NTA in Nappanee for the economic opportunity they are providing to Hoosiers and their commitment to excellence in building up our District’s manufacturing base.”

ICC NTA anticipates a future expansion of its footprint in Indiana in order to better provide third-party testing, broader support of off-site construction, third-party plan review, and conformity assessment services.

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About the International Code Council
The International Code Council is the leading global source of model codes and standards and building safety solutions. Code Council codes, standards and solutions are used to ensure safe, affordable and sustainable communities and buildings worldwide.

About NTA

As an accredited third-party agency and part of the ICC family of solutions, ICC NTA provides testing, inspection, engineering, and plan review services as well as independent quality and standards compliance verification for building product manufacturers. ICC NTA serves residential and commercial builders, code officials, manufacturers, and suppliers throughout the building industry.

 In 2019, NTA was acquired by the International Code Council and became ICC NTA, LLC. NTA is part of the ICC Conformity Assessment Solutions group which includes ICC-ES.

About ICC-ES

ICC Evaluation Service (ICC-ES) is the leading evaluation service for innovative building materials, components and systems. ICC-ES Evaluation Reports (ESRs), Building Product Listings and PMG Listings provide evidence that products and systems meet requirements of codes and technical standards worldwide, including the US, Canada, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand, and the MENA region. ICC-ES is a member of the ICC family of solutions.

Washington, D.C. –  On Thursday, April 25, 2024, the White House announced the finalization of updated energy efficiency requirements for housing supported by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The final determination was published on the Federal Register on Friday, April 26, 2024, with effective dates varying between 18 to 24 months for many programs.  

With this announcement, HUD and USDA will adopt and require the 2021 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) for single family and low-rise (less than 3 story) multi-family housing and ASHRAE 90.1-2019 for remaining multi-family housing. HUD and USDA will accept the 2024 IECC, or future editions of the IECC that, pursuant to a U.S. Department of Energy’s determination, meet or exceed the performance of the 2021 edition, as an alternative compliance path.   

The Code Council previously wrote to HUD and USDA in support of updating the 15-year-old standards and encouraged an extended compliance period to facilitate the update. The final rule more than triples the compliance timeline in many instances and permits a phase in of up to two years in high-poverty rural areas to allow for increased training needs of builders, appraisers and code officials in these communities.  

“Ensuring federal tax dollars support construction to current building codes that minimize costs for those with the greatest energy burdens is a great milestone and step in the right direction,” said Code Council Chief Executive Officer Dominic Sims, CBO. “I encourage DOE to quickly finalize its determination concerning the 2024 IECC’s energy conservation benefits, to maximize the tools available and ease the final rule’s implementation.”   

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About the International Code Council 
The International Code Council is the leading global source of model codes and standards and building safety solutions. Code Council codes, standards and solutions are used to ensure safe, affordable and sustainable communities and buildings worldwide.