NEWS RELEASE

For more information contact:

Carolyn Fitch (703) 437-0100 ext. 238

In this time of heightened homeland security and economic competitiveness, state and local governments are challenged to provide effective and efficient services, including the oversight of the design and construction of the nation’s over $1.1 billion of new building construction and renovation each year.

To help state and local governments with their building code administration and enforcement functions, a final report is now available on the results of a national survey that documents the enhanced program efficiency and cost effectiveness of applying information technology to one or more building department programs.

Prepared by the National Conference of States on Building Codes and Standards on behalf of state and local governments, the report describes the results of a survey conducted in February and March to collect cost and benefit data from state and local jurisdictions using information technology. The purpose of the survey and report is to provide an unbiased source of data on the costs and savings being achieved to those considering the purchase or development of I.T. Prior to the survey, the only such data available was either anecdotal information or provided by software firms.

Jurisdictions providing such data ranged from Chicago and Los Angeles; to mid-sized cities such as Louisville, KY, and Santa Clara, CA; and a dozen local jurisdictions with populations of 20,000 or less. Five states, California, Florida, Maryland, Ohio and Texas, also provided data. Out of the 101 jurisdictions responding, 70 reported increased efficiency and cost savings, and 31 jurisdictions provided input on barriers to their application and use of I.T.

The report includes guidance to jurisdictions on actions they should take to assure they retain control of their data and how to benefit from the experiences of other jurisdictions that have applied I.T. to their programs. A list of individuals from responding jurisdictions who may be contacted for more information is provided.

The report identified the following major findings from the 101 jurisdictions that responded:

• Enhanced efficiency and substantive and documented savings are being achieved in jurisdictions of all sizes.
• Information technology does not need to be expensive.
• I.T. is being applied to a wide-range of administrative and enforcement functions.
• Major benefits include sharing data with other government agencies and enhancing the ability of a jurisdiction to prepare for, respond to, and recover from disasters.
• Jurisdictions are willing to share their experience with others.
• The greatest barriers to I.T. are a lack of funding and lack of understanding and access to reliable information on what I.T. can and cannot do.

Among the administration and enforcement programs to which information technology is being applied are: online permit submission and processing; plans submission, tracking and review; inspection scheduling and field inspections; contractor licensing; document handling; GIS; complaint and enforcement records tracking and workflow processing.

The survey was conducted with funding from the Institute for Building Technology and Safety (IBTS). IBTS is a partner with NCSBCS in the Alliance for Building Regulatory Reform in the Digital Age - a public-private partnership comprised of state and local government associations and construction industry.

The Final Report on the NCSBCS/Alliance Survey on Savings from the Application of Information Technology to Building Codes Administration and Enforcement Processes is available by contacting Carolyn Fitch at NCSBCS (cfitch@ncsbcs.org – 703 437-0100 ext. 238) or by going to the NCSBCS website (www.ncsbcs.org).

ABOUT NCSBCS:  NCSBCS was founded by the nation’s governors in 1967 to promote the development of an efficient, cooperative system of building regulations to ensure the health, safety and welfare of the public within the built environment. NCSBCS provides technical support to the National Governors Association under a 24-year-old executive branch agreement. Members of NCSBCS are state and local building officials and associations and individuals from the construction industry. Among the services offered to NCSBCS members are monthly important issues call, monthly e-bulletin on national issues relevant to effective and efficient codes administration and enforcement, and a message board for code administrators. Visit the NCSBCS website for more information on membership benefits.

ABOUT IBTS:  This survey was funded by the Institute for Building Technology and Safety (IBTS). Headquartered in Herndon, Virginia, IBTS is a not-for-profit 501c(3) corporation jointly governed by the National Governors Association, Council of State Governments, National Association of Counties, National League of Cities, and National Conference of States on Building Codes and Standards. IBTS exists to provide impartial evaluations, research and technical assistance to federal, state and local government agencies. The Institute’s purpose is to reduce the burden of government and fulfill its needs by improving efficiency and offering technical support. More information about IBTS can be found at www.ibts.org.