New Additions to ES Website

George E. Walker

Bios and photographs of the ES Board of Directors, as well as ES Board of Directors Chair George E. Walker, Sr., are now available.

Member bios and photographs of the newly appointed ES Industry Advisory Committee (ESAC) are now available.

Public Discussion Fosters
Cooperative Efforts

“We had a representative at the meeting last week in Chicago on preparing packages for ICC-ES review and have taken that to heart. I believe you will find that we will be submitting a package that is organized and concise. It is our desire once we have submitted the package to meet with the engineer assigned as soon as possible and review the package with them to make sure they understand the product. It is not our desire to influence the engineer regarding the data, but more to make sure the engineer has no questions about the data package and product.”
John Lawton, VELUX

At a forum on data submittal, held in conjunction with the June ES Evaluation Committee meeting in Chicago, senior staff members discussed how the technical review process could be accelerated through a cooperative effort. Over 70 report holders, laboratory representatives, consultants and others discussed in detail on how this effort could be implemented within the practical limitations that all parties experience.

There was mutual agreement that the more precise the applicant's request was in reference to the product presented, along with relating test data to specific acceptance criteria requirements or providing justification for alternate data, the quicker ES would be able to significantly help. Much time is lost if ES must make this determination.

The PowerPoint presentation and handouts from the Public Discussion are available here.

WFTAO Annual Meeting
in November

ICC-ES will host the World Federation of Technical Assessment Organizations (WFTAO) annual meeting in Pasadena, California, November 1-3. The full-day session will highlight the ES process for technical recognition of building products in the U.S., as well as other accreditation and evaluation topics. The seminar is dedicated to U.S. speakers representing manufacturers, consultants, testing laboratories, inspection agencies and code officials involved in this process. The seminars will be held November 1 at the Westin Pasadena Hotel, 191 North Los Robles Avenue, Pasadena, CA, 91101, 626-792-2727. Please continue to check our website for registration information. The seminars will be open to WFTAO members and the public.

Use the ES Mark to
Promote Your Product

Your ES Report has been published, and now you want to include the report number and ES mark in your marketing literature. Complete ES guidelines are available to guide you. Please remember to use the appropriate, permitted language for your specific type of report. Helpful information regarding product labeling may be found in the ID Section of your report and approval letter.

Complete guidelines for New Reports
(last page, section 13.0).

Complete guidelines for Legacy Reports
(page 5, section 15.0).

Apply for an Evaluation Report
on Your Building Product

New ES Industry
Advisory Committee

The initial meeting of the ES Industry Advisory Committee (ESAC) has been scheduled for 1:30 p.m. on September 19, to coincide with the ICC 2006 Annual Meeting in Orlando, Florida. Please continue to check our website for additional information.

ES Evaluation Committee
2006 Meetings

New building products and technologies are constantly being developed. When there are no clear requirements in the code for new products and methods, the ES Evaluation Committee approves acceptance criteria used to evaluate new products. Committee Meetings are held three times a year in Los Angeles, Birmingham and Chicago; the next meeting will be held October 4-6 in Birmingham, Alabama.

ICC Evaluation Service, Inc. Ensuring that building products meet code requirements. ICC-ES eNews July 2006 Vol. II, Issue 3

Chicago Meeting Produces Results

	Twenty-two acceptance criteria were approved in Chicago.

The June 2006 ICC Evaluation Service (ICC-ES) Evaluation Committee hearing had a very busy agenda. There were approximately 50 participants at the hearing each day, in addition to the committee and staff. In all, 22 items were approved. Click here to read some of the more contentious issues that were on the agenda.

More Products Receive ES
Evaluation Reports
Numerous companies have been issued new ES evaluation reports on products for the months of April, May and June. Each listing includes the report number and the name of the product(s) recognized for code compliance. A complete list of ES Evaluation Reports is available online.

Staff Participate in Louisiana
Recovery Effort Symposium

	Nichols and Johnson in Baton Rouge for Louisiana Recovery Effort Symposium.

ES Vice President of Internal Operations Gary Nichols and ICC Senior Staff Engineer of Technical Services Barry Johnson, P.E., attended the Louisiana Factory Building Systems Symposium in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Sponsored by the Louisiana Economic Development, the Louisiana Recovery Authority and the Louisiana Home Builders Association, the symposium brought together parties involved in southern Louisiana’s housing-recovery efforts.

The new Louisiana building codes were one of the main topics of the symposium. Nichols presented a slide show on ES and the role that new and innovative ES-evaluated building products could play in rebuilding efforts after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

Simplify and Expedite the
Evaluation Report Process
There are several ways that potential evaluation report holders (applicants) can reduce the time for issuance of evaluation reports, including becoming familiar with the code requirements for their product(s), determining whether the code requirements are sufficiently detailed so that their product(s) can be evaluated based solely on code provisions, and investigating whether ES has issued an acceptance criteria or an evaluation guideline that can serve as a basis for the evaluation. ES staff is always available to help applicants regarding new products and how they are to be evaluated for code compliance. Click here to read more.

ES, CSTB to Cooperate on Wood-Based Products and Systems Assessment
ES and CSTB (the French Scientific and Technical Building Center) have agreed to extend their cooperation on the assessment of mechanical and adhesive anchors for concrete through to 2006. As evaluators of construction products with regard to the relevant standards and approvals for the US and European markets, ES and CSTB have a long-standing relationship in the field of information exchange. For the benefit of American and European construction product manufacturers engaged in the trade between the two areas, ES and CSTB are now considering enlarging their cooperation to additional types of construction products for inclusion in the agreement; in particular, to wood-based construction products and systems. Click here to read more.

Nichols Meets with Leading
Egyptian Authority

	ES Internal Operations VP Gary Nichols and Professor Omaima Ahmed Salah El-Din, Ph.D., met to discuss ICC-ES.

ES Internal Operations Vice President Gary Nichols met recently with Professor Omaima Ahmed Salah El-Din, Ph.D., from the Arab Republic of Egypt. Nichols was invited to give a PowerPoint presentation that highlighted important aspects of the ES program, and answered questions regarding the differences that exist between the decentralized U.S. regulatory system and other governmental systems of other countries, which rely heavily on central government for enforcement.

Dr. Omaima also met with ES and ICC staff in Birmingham for meetings with ICC Certification and Testing Vice President David Nelson and ICC Training and Education Vice President Lorri Rosenfeldt. Dr. Omaima—a former Egyptian Senator and former CEO of the Housing, Building National Research Center—is actively involved in the development of building codes for the entire Middle East and is on the oversight board for a new national construction regulatory agency.

ES Sponsors WCTE Timber
Engineering Conference

Credit: Portland Oregon Visitors Association

Catering to practicing engineers and architects, researchers, educators and manufacturers in the field of timber engineering, the 9th World Conference on Timber Engineering (WCTE) in Portland, Oregon, provides a forum for the exchange of the latest technological advances, research results and design innovations. ES is one of the sponsors of the August 6-10 conference, and ES External Operations Vice President Kurt Stochlia is coauthoring one of the papers that will be presented entitled, “Modern Quality Systems and New Enforcement Solutions for Engineered Wood Products.”

Successful Outcome to Senior Staff Meeting

	Senior staff and management discuss ways to improve service to applicants.

On April 6, 2006 the opportunity was afforded for Senior Staff to meet and discuss issues of concern among ourselves, and subsequently to discuss some of these items with Management. Senior staff endeavored to select issues which held promise for improving the functioning of ES and included some specific technical issues which merited the attention of our group as a whole. Discussion centered on techniques for improving communication, the quantity of acceptance criteria developed, and customer markets.

The goal of the meeting was to improve working relationships among the senior staff. On this front we achieved great success. Clearly the goal of each member of the Senior Staff remains to provide great customer service to our report holders and applicants.

ICC-ES in the News . . .
Building Safety Journal June issue: “ICC-ES — The Building Official’s Partner in Building Product Evaluation.”

Structural Engineer Magazine July issue: “Acceptance Criteria for Steel Moment Frame Connections (AC129)” by Bohdan N. Horeczko, ES Manager of Professional Services.

Alabama BCSC Meets with ICC and ES

	(L-R) Jason Smart, ICC-ES Senior Evaluation Specialist, Jeff Feid, State Farm Insurance, Larry Franks, ICC Senior Staff Engineer.

ES Senior Evaluation Specialist Jason Smart attended a June 2 meeting with representatives from ICC, ES, State Farm Insurance and the insurance industry representative on the Alabama Building Code Study Commission (BCSC). The BCSC was recently established as the result of House Joint Resolution 653 passed by the Alabama Legislature during the past legislative session to provide an assessment of the state of building codes (and their effectiveness and enforcement) in Alabama, and make recommendations for future direction.

The assessments and recommendations will be included in a
report to be presented to the state legislature during the next session. The meeting was held to allow BCSC insurance industry representative David Fountain to become familiar with how the I-Codes are developed, adopted and enforced; how building products are evaluated (by ES)
to ensure code compliance; and to establish contacts with ICC and
ICC-ES.

ES Evaluation Committee
Members Appointed

	Evaluation committee members discuss proposed acceptance criteria.

ICC-ES Bylaws require that a minimum of three new members be appointed each term to ensure the continuity of a wellrounded, experienced committee in overseeing public hearings. The 2006-2007 ES Evaluation Committee members have been appointed. It is with appreciation that we recognize the hard work and dedication of the outgoing members of the 2005–2006 ES Evaluation Committee. Their expertise, industry knowledge and input have been vital to the continued progress of ES. We thank each of you for your service and continued support.