Among the actions discussed were: the development of a secure database for first responders of as-built building designs and evacuation plans for critical structures; retrofit actions to make buildings more resistant to bioterrorism; savings to the public, government and industry by streamlining building codes administrative procedures through the use of information technology; and the need for a common family of coordinated building codes.

The venue for these discussions was the combined joint annual conference of the National Conference of States on Building Codes and Standards (NCSBCS) and the Association of Major City/County Building Officials (AMCBO). The program included the 2^nd National Forum on Building Smarter in the Digital Age and special work sessions on homeland security. (NCSBCS and AMCBO respectively represent the building code and public safety concerns of the states and largest cities and counties in our nation.)

The three-day conference opened on Sunday, October 20, with an overview on NCSBCS programs and a "New Products" Reception. The new products program featured hands-on demonstrations of software systems that building departments are using to: increase the effectiveness and the efficiency of permit processing, field inspections, plans review, and providing critical building information to first responders.

"Thanks to your work, you [the building regulatory community] helped us to turn around projects quickly and efficiently, making this city competitive" [in the region’s economy]. With these words, Louisville Mayor David Armstrong opened the 2^nd National Forum on Building Smarter in the Digital Age on Monday, October 21. As an expression of his appreciation for holding the National Forum in Louisville, Mayor Armstrong declared October 20-22, "NCSBCS Days" in Louisville.

Speakers at the National Forum challenged attendees to "become more actively involved in public/ private partnerships" (Michael Fisher, Director of Codes and Regulatory Compliance of the Window & Door Manufacturers Association) to streamline the nation’s building regulatory process and to "streamline the business processes of government across all the silos of government." (Doug Robinson, Executive Director of the Kentucky Governor’s Office of Technology and representative from the National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO)). Attendees were challenged by speakers to work together to build streamlining systems that have multi-public purposes, including homeland security, better customer service, and enhancing economic competitiveness.

Accounts of savings achieved through regulatory streamlining in Los Angeles, California, and the need for applying information technology to the building regulatory process in Pennsylvania (the newest state to adopt a statewide building code), were provided by speakers on the opening public sector panel. The presentation by the General Manager of the City of Los Angeles Department of Building & Safety, Andrew Adelman, described how the application of information technology to his program has reduced: waits for service at the permitting centers from 2-3 hours to 7 minutes; the amount of time it takes most permits to be issued from several days to 30 to 60 minutes; the average plans check time from 6 weeks to 10 days; and the 4-5 day wait for an inspection to 24 hours. In addition, Mr. Adelman noted that the application of information technology in his agency enabled him to handle an 88% increase in building regulatory activity with only a 1.4% increase in staff.

The opening panel was followed by a detailed progress report on the achievements of the National Alliance on Building Regulatory Reform in the Digital Age since the first National Forum held in June 2001. The work of the Alliance’s Steering Committee and three Task Forces were described in their efforts to strengthen public safety and economic competitiveness by applying information technology to streamline the building regulatory process to enable the nation’s construction industry to "build faster, safer, better and at less cost." Attendees learned about the Alliance’s proposed work agenda for 2002-2003 and were provided information on how to join this public/private partnership.

Model regulatory streamlining processes (like that described by the City of Los Angeles) and information technology supported by the Alliance are located on this website under the Technology Tab and were shared with attendees. Among those demonstrated were: the Industrialized Buildings Commission – an interstate compact; online permitting and inspection processes of the city of Santa Clara, California; city of Louisville, Kentucky; Arlington County, Virginia; and Montgomery County, Maryland; a tri-county streamlining effort in the metropolitan Portland, Oregon area; and the Commonwealth of Kentucky’s online plans submittal system. A glimpse of future streamlining was provided by Dr. Qi Zhong from Singapore who demonstrated an extensive online plans review system.

Several of these models featured online one-stop permit processes and other uses of the internet to provide businesses with a single point of access to information concerning what building regulations they must comply with, how to understand those regulations, and what to do to successfully comply with them.

On Tuesday, October 22, the National Forum and Joint NCSBCS/AMCBO Annual Conference shifted its focus to homeland security. The "Lessons from 9/11" session provided timely information on actions being taken by state and local governments, the Bush Administration and the nation’s construction community to better prepare, prevent, and mitigate future terrorist attacks on our nation’s infrastructure and our citizens who live, work and play in buildings.

Nine NCSBCS member-generated questions were asked of the nation’s two model building codes, the International Code Council’s International Building Code and the National Fire Protection Association’s Building Construction and Safety Code in a Tuesday morning session designed to identify areas of similarity and differences. Representatives from both the ICC and NFPA fielded the pre-assigned questions regarding how their respective code addresses different technical provisions, and why the two organizations are not considering the development of a coordinated family of model codes.

The Joint NCSBCS/AMCBO meeting concluded with an awards luncheon, officer elections, and the business meetings of both organizations. Recipients of the NCSBCS Gene Rowland Award for service to the public were New York Governor George Pataki and New York Assistant Secretary of State Dottie Harris. The Charles Mahaffey Award for the private sector member contributing the most to the Conference was presented to Don Boehmer, President of Performance Technology Consulting Ltd. Cynthia Wilk, New Jersey Department of Community of Affairs; Gary Higbee, New York Department of State; and the members of NCSBCS staff received NCSBCS President’s Awards

Members elected the following to the NCSBCS Board of Directors: Richard Conrad, State of California, as Western Regional Director; Dennis Langford, Commonwealth of Kentucky, as Southern Regional Director; and Tom Weekes, Underwriter Laboratories, as the Private Sector Member to the NCSBCS Board.

NCSBCS Officers for 2002-2003 are: President, Tom Joachim, State of Minnesota; Vice President, Cynthia Wilk, State of New Jersey; Treasurer, Richard Conrad, State of California; and Secretary, Dennis Langford, Commonwealth of Kentucky.

Copies of the PowerPoint presentations of the presenters at the Louisville conference will soon be available on this website.

The Joint NCSBCS/AMCBO Annual Conference and the National Forum was closed on Tuesday afternoon with special thanks to the meeting’s host Dennis Langford, Commissioner of the Kentucky Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: Carolyn Fitch at NCSBCS – phone: 703-481-2038 or e-mail at cfitch@ncsbcs.org.