News
ICC-ES acceptance criteria
The code officials' building product recognition process is changing.
In past years, recognized listing agencies have provided a needed service
on products covered by standards referenced in building codes. Fire doors,
basic foam plastic insulation, conventional roofing materials and solid-fuel-burning
appliances are just a few traditional products addressed in this manner.
In recent months there has been an extension of this as testing laboratories
and a listing agency have begun listing to ICC-ES acceptance criteria. However,
ICC-ES cautions code officials and others about relying on these listings
when it comes to building product recognition.
The acceptance criteria are developed to address innovative building products
not addressed by codes, or to more specifically address other products for
recognition in ICC-ES evaluation reports. An acceptance criteria is created
based on ICC-ES staff knowledge of the codes, supplemented with public hearings
conducted by an evaluation committee composed of code officials whose sole
interest is to provide an independent venue in which the most current technical
information on specific products can be considered. Owned and directed by
the ICC, the ICC-ES has immediate access to resources that maintain the International
Codes, and has a professional technical staff solely dedicated to product
evaluation. In fact, the organization expends significant time and expense
in developing the acceptance criteria by seeking input from experts in the
particular technical fields involved.
Once completed, the acceptance criteria are used as the basis of recognizing
products as complying with the codes. The interests of the building jurisdictions
are further reinforced by independent ICC-ES technical review of data submitted
by an applicant.
To maintain this independence, ICC-ES does not operate a testing laboratory
or provide consulting services on products. With this policy, ICC-ES eliminates
potential conflicts of interest commonly perceived when a single party creates
data and passes judgment on it as to compliance with acceptance criteria requirements.
It's ICC-ES' responsibility to minimize challenges and legal exposure to
code officials and the governmental jurisdictions they represent through acceptance
criteria and evaluation reports.
In this regard, ICC-ES determination of product compliance with an acceptance
criteria is in total as opposed to other sources that may refer to only portions
of the acceptance criteria.
The acceptance criteria are the safeguard that ICC-ES offers to the building
enforcement agency, specifier and product manufacturer through recognition
in an ICC-ES evaluation report.
