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To provide appropriate health, safety, welfare, and social and economic value, while promoting innovative, flexible and responsive solutions that optimize the expenditure and consumption of resources.
To provide an acceptable level of health, safety, and welfare and to limit damage to property from events that are expected to impact buildings and structures. Accordingly, Part II of this code intends buildings and structures to provide for:
- An environment free of unreasonable risk of death and injury from fires.
- A structure that will withstand loads associated with normal use and of the severity associated with the location in which the structure is constructed.
- Means of egress and access for normal and emergency circumstances.
- Limited spread of fire both within the building and to adjacent properties.
- Ventilation and sanitation facilities to maintain the health of the occupants.
- Natural light, heating, cooking and other amenities necessary for the well being of the occupants.
- Efficient use of energy.
- Safety to fire fighters and emergency responders during emergency operations.
Part III of this code establishes requirements necessary to provide an acceptable level of life safety and property protection from the hazards of fire, explosion or dangerous conditions in all facilities, equipment and processes.
Part II of this code provides requirements for buildings and structures and includes provisions for structural strength, stability, sanitation, means of access and egress, light and ventilation, safety to life and protection of property from fire and, in general, to secure life and property from other hazards affecting the built environment. This code includes provisions for the use and occupancy of buildings, structures, facilities and premises, their alteration, repair, maintenance, removal, demolition, and the installation and maintenance of all amenities including, but not limited to, such services as the electrical, gas, mechanical, plumbing, energy conservation and building transportation systems.
Part III of this code establishes requirements applicable to the use and occupancy of buildings, structures and facilities; and to the prevention, control and mitigation of fire, life safety and property hazards arising from this use and from the storage, handling and use of explosive, flammable and combustible materials, hazardous materials and dangerous operations and processes.
To achieve and maintain the level of safety intended by the code.
Design professionals shall possess the knowledge, skills and abilities necessary to demonstrate compliance with this code.
Design documents required by this code shall be prepared in adequate detail and submitted for review and approval.
Design documents submitted in accordance with this code shall be reviewed for code compliance with the appropriate code provisions.
Construction shall comply with approved design documents submitted in accordance with this code, and shall be verified and approved to demonstrate compliance with this code.
Facilities and premises shall comply with approved design documents submitted in accordance with this code, and shall be verified and approved to demonstrate compliance with this code.
Equipment and processes and their installation and operation shall comply with approved design documents submitted in accordance with this code, and shall be verified and approved to demonstrate compliance with this code.
Materials and contents shall comply with approved design documents submitted in accordance with this code, and shall be verified and approved to demonstrate compliance with this code.
Policies, operations, training and procedures shall comply with approved documents submitted in accordance with this code, and shall be verified and approved to demonstrate compliance with this code.
Administrative provisions of the International Code Council's family of codes regarding plan review, permit issue, inspection and enforcement shall supplement these provisions.
Maintenance of the performance-based design shall be ensured through the issuance and renewal of certificates over the life of the building.
Written procedures managing change to original design documents, system processes, technology, equipment and facilities shall be established and implemented.
Design documents shall clearly describe the level of response expected by emergency responders.
The owner shall have the responsibility of retaining and furnishing the services of a design professional, who shall be in responsible charge of preparing and coordinating a complete and comprehensive set of design documents and other services required to prepare reports and other documents in accordance with this code. If the services required by this section are not provided, the use of this code is prohibited.
When the project requires the services of multiple design professionals, a principal design professional shall be retained and furnished, who shall have the contractual responsibility and authority over all required design professional disciplines to prepare and coordinate a complete and comprehensive set of design documents for the project.
The owner shall be responsible for retaining and furnishing the services of a design professional or recognized expert, who will perform as a peer reviewer, when required and approved by the code official. See Section 103.3.6.3 of this code.
The costs of all special services, including contract review, when required by the code official, shall be borne by the owner.
The owner shall retain on the premises all documents and reports required by this code and make them available to the code official upon request.
The owner is responsible to operate and maintain a building, structure or facility designed and built under this code in accordance with the bounding conditions and the operations and maintenance manual.
The owner shall be responsible to ensure that any change to the facility, process or system does not increase the hazard level beyond that originally designed without approval and that all changes shall be documented in accordance with this code.
Where the scope of work is limited or focused in an area that does not require the services of a design professional or the special knowledge and skills associated with the practice of architecture or engineering, a special expert may be employed by the owner as the person in responsible charge of the limited or focused activity. It is the intent of this code that the individual shall possess the qualification characteristics required in Appendix D.
The owner is responsible and accountable to ensure that all occupants and employees who are required to take certain actions or perform certain functions in accordance with a performance-based design possess the required knowledge and skills and are empowered to perform those actions.
The principal design professional, architects, engineers and other design professionals in responsible charge of their discipline as a member of a design team shall be responsible and accountable to possess the required knowledge and skills to perform design, analysis and verification in accordance with the provisions of this code and applicable professional standards of practice. It is the intent of this code that these individuals possess the qualification characteristics as stated in Appendix D. Qualification statements shall be submitted to the code official for the principal design professional, design professionals and special experts to demonstrate compliance with Appendix D.
When multiple design disciplines are involved, the principal design professional is responsible to ensure that all design elements are comprehensive and complete before submittals are made to the code official. During the code review process all designated reports, drawings and design documents necessary to demonstrate compliance with the code shall be submitted by the principal design professional. The principal design professional's responsibilities include those of a design professional.
Design professionals are responsible to apply the performance requirements and acceptable methods approach in Section 104.3 for performance-based designs when using this code. This code requires design analysis and support documentation to demonstrate the design approach and to verify design objectives and compliance with this code.
Design professionals have the responsibility to provide the appropriate design analysis, research, computations and documentation to demonstrate compliance with applicable performance requirements of this code and applicable prescriptive code provisions.
Design professionals shall use authoritative documents or design guides to determine testing and verification methods for selecting building materials that are compatible with the building systems approach selected.
Design professionals are responsible to document applicable design guides or authoritative documents for a performance-based design and demonstrate how these documents are utilized to substantiate design solutions to show compliance with the provisions of this code. The use of documents that are not accepted as authoritative documents or design guides requires substantiation with the code official to obtain acceptance.
The design professional shall document all bounding conditions and establish thresholds that determine when changes must be approved by the code official.
The design professional(s) shall review the completed construction elements, equipment, furnishings, processes, and contents to verify compliance with the bounding conditions and the critical design features identified in the approved design documents. The code official may require that the principal design professional file a report to verify compliance with the bounding conditions and the critical design features at the completion of the project as a condition of obtaining required certificates.
The scope of work of a special expert shall be limited to the area of expertise as demonstrated in the documentation submitted to the code official for review and approval. Where a special expert performs functions of a design, the special expert shall assume the responsibilities of that phase of the design.
The design professional shall prepare appropriate documentation for the project that clearly provides the design approach and rationale for design submittal, construction and future use of the building, facility or process.
The documentation for the project shall identify the goals and objectives; the steps undertaken in the analytical analysis; the facility maintenance and testing requirements; and limitations and restrictions on the use of the facility in order to stay within bounding conditions. When requirements for documentation are specified in applicable engineering or design guides, documentation shall be included in the design documents. Computer modeling documentation shall comply with Appendix E.
The level of documentation provided shall be adequate to convey the required information clearly to the involved parties and shall be commensurate with the scope and complexity of the project.
Documentation shall be prepared that clearly verifies that all applicable performance and all applicable prescriptive code provisions have been met.
Design features with bounding conditions that require continued maintenance or supervision by the owner throughout the life of the building, facility or process as conditions of compliance with the objectives of this code, shall be recorded as a deed restriction until released by the code official. When required by the code official, the deed restriction shall be modified to reflect specific changes.
The design documents shall include an evaluation of hazards and proposed resolution of associated risks during construction in advance of a request for phased or partial occupancy.
Design documentation shall clearly describe the level of response expected by emergency responders under the direct control of the owner. Emergency response capabilities, staffing levels, training requirements and equipment availability shall be documented as a bounding condition.
When required by the code official, design documentation shall include a concept report, design report and operations and maintenance manual.
The concept report shall document the preliminary details of the project, identify the parties involved in the project, and define the goals and objectives to be utilized in the performance-based design analysis. The concept report shall be submitted to the code official as a means of communicating the programming and early schematic phase of a proposed project and to obtain concurrence between the code official and the project design team on the goals and objectives to be utilized in the analysis. The concept report shall address but not be limited to the following:
- General project information, including schematic layout and site plan.
- Definition of project scope.
- Description of building and occupant characteristics.
- Project goals and objectives.
- Selected event scenarios.
- Methods of evaluation.
- Qualification statements for principal design professional, design professionals and special experts.
- Proposed performance and prescriptive code usage.
- Conceptual site and building plan.
The design report shall document the steps taken in the design analysis, clearly identifying the criteria, parameters, inputs, assumptions, sensitivities and limitations involved in the analysis. The design report shall clearly identify bounding conditions, assumptions and sensitivities that clarify the expected uses and limitations of the performance analysis. This report shall verify that the design approach is in compliance with the applicable codes and acceptable methods and shall be submitted for concurrence by the code official prior to the design documents being completed. The report shall also document the design features to be incorporated based upon the analysis. The design report shall address but not be limited to the following:
- Project scope.
- Goals and objectives.
- Performance criteria.
- Hazard scenarios.
- Design fire loads and hazards.
- Final design.
- Evaluation.
- Bounding conditions and critical design assumptions.
- Critical design features.
- System design and operational requirements.
- Operational and maintenance requirements.
- Commissioning testing requirements and acceptance criteria.
- Frequency of certificate renewal.
- Supporting documents and references.
- Preliminary site and floor plans.
The operations and maintenance manual shall identify system and component commissioning requirements and the required interactions between these systems. The manual shall identify for the facility owner and the facility operator those actions that need to be performed on a regular basis to ensure that the components of the performance-based design are in place and operating properly. Furthermore, the operations and maintenance manual shall identify the restrictions or limitations placed upon the use and operation of the facility in order to stay within the bounding conditions of the performance-based design. The operations and maintenance manual shall be submitted at the time of the design documents submittal, unless the code official approves another time based upon the type of project and data needed for a composite review. The operations and maintenance manual shall address but not be limited to the following:
- Description of critical systems.
- Description of required system interactions.
- Occupant responsibilities.
- Occupant and staff training requirements.
- Periodic operational requirements.
- Periodic maintenance requirements.
- Periodic testing requirements.
- Limitations on facility operations
(Due to bounding conditions). - Report format for recording maintenance and operation data.
- System and component commissioning requirements.
Applicable design documents required in Sections 103.3.2, 103.3.3 and 103.3.4 for submittal in this code and other applicable codes under the jurisdiction of the code official shall be submitted to the code official for review. The documents shall be submitted in accordance with the jurisdiction's procedures and in sufficient detail to obtain appropriate permits.
Design documents shall be coordinated by the principal design professional for consistency, compatibility and completeness prior to submittal. Documentation shall be provided to the code official to demonstrate compliance with the performance provisions, including acceptable methods.
The design documents shall clearly indicate those areas of the design that are performance-based and shall be provided to the code official.
The code official shall be provided with sufficient documentation to support the validity, accuracy, relevance and precision of the proposed methods. Copies of referenced documentation shall be made available to the code official.
The design documents shall specify when and where special inspection and testing are required, the standards of acceptance for demonstrating compliance with the design documents, and operations and maintenance requirements for future use of the building.
The submittal shall include appropriate management of change protocol to address how changes in the design documents will be managed for construction, operation and maintenance activities.
Document review and approval shall be accomplished in accordance with the code official's procedures.
The code official shall be responsible to perform a knowledgeable review of the proposed design project to verify compliance with this code, or the code official shall retain competent assistance to perform the review in accordance with acceptable standards of practice.
Review may be accomplished by a contract reviewer when the reviewer is assigned by the code official. In addition, the code official may require a peer review process to review design criteria and supporting documents and design documents.
After documents and other supporting data are reviewed and approved by the code official to verify compliance with the applicable codes, permits may be issued.
Prior to the start of construction, appropriate permits shall be obtained in accordance with the jurisdiction's procedures and applicable codes.
Approved inspections shall be obtained in accordance with the design documents, jurisdiction's procedures and applicable codes.
Inspection, testing and related verification reports shall be filed with the code official to verify compliance with approved design documents and applicable prescriptive code provisions.
Compliance shall be verified for materials, fabrication, manufacturer's and engineer's installation procedures by product labeling, certification, quality assurance processes and testing, as applicable, to verify compliance.
At the completion of construction, the code official shall verify that inspection and testing reports demonstrate compliance with the applicable codes and approved design documents.
Prior to initiating facility uses and processes regulated under Part III of this code, appropriate permits shall be obtained.
Upon completion of the project, documentation shall be prepared that verifies all performance and prescriptive code provisions have been met. When required by the code official in accordance with Section 103.3.3.6, the principal design professional shall file a report that verifies bounding conditions are met.
All approved design documents, the operations and maintenance manual, inspection and testing records, and certificates of occupancy with conditions shall be included in the project documentation of the code official's records.
Design features with bounding conditions determined by the design professional to require continued operation and maintenance by the owner throughout the life of the building as conditions of compliance with the objectives of this code shall be recorded as a deed restriction as required by the code official until released by the code official.
The code official has the authority to require a technical opinion and report from an individual or organization with special expertise to identify and develop methods of protection from special hazards and to determine the acceptability of technologies, processes, products, equipment, materials and uses applicable to the design, operation or use of a building or facility. The intent of this code is that the technical opinion and report shall be prepared by a qualified individual. See Appendix D.
Prior to occupancy of a building, a certificate of occupancy shall be obtained from the code official.
A certificate of occupancy is required for the continued occupancy of a building.
The code official has the authority to issue a temporary certificate of occupancy for a limited time with specified conditions, providing all life-safety items are accepted.
The code official has the authority to issue a certificate of occupancy with conditions valid for a specified time period that requires continued compliance with bounding conditions and the operations and maintenance manual. Failure to maintain compliance with the conditions of the certificate of occupancy is a violation of this code.
Prior to use of a building, facility, process or premises subject to Part III of this code, a certificate of compliance shall be obtained from the code official.
The certificate of compliance issued subject to Part III of this code shall be renewed at a frequency as determined in the design and approved by the code official.
Failure of the owner to demonstrate compliance with this section is cause to revoke or not renew the certificate of compliance.
The owner is responsible for maintaining the building or facility in accordance with the approved documents.
Compliance with the operations and maintenance manual and bounding conditions shall be verified throughout the life of the building or facility at a frequency in accordance with the approved documents.
Documents verifying that the building, facilities, premises, processes and contents are in compliance with the approved design documents and are maintained in a safe manner shall be filed with the code official at a frequency approved by the code official.
The design professional shall evaluate the existing building, facilities, premises, processes, contents and the applicable documentation of the proposed change as it affects portions of the building, facility, premises, processes and contents that were previously designed for compliance under a performance- based code. Prior to any change that was not documented in a previously approved design, the principal design professional shall examine the applicable design documents, bounding conditions, operation and maintenance manuals, and deed restrictions.
When multiple design disciplines are involved, one design professional shall be responsible to ensure that all design elements are comprehensive and complete before submittals are made to the code official. During the code review process all designated reports, drawings and design documents necessary to demonstrate compliance with the code shall be submitted by the design professional.
Any change in activity or contents that results in an increase in hazard or risk that exceeds the bounding conditions requires an evaluation and approval. The code official shall have the authority to require a full evaluation of the design.
Construction activities in existing buildings, facilities, premises or processes shall be evaluated by a design professional and documented in a written report, which shall be submitted for review and approval in conjunction with the permit request. The report shall identify whether or not the proposed construction exceeds the bounding conditions, which will result in an increase in hazard or risk beyond that expected in the approved original design documents. When bounding conditions are not exceeded, the original design documents need not be revised. When bounding conditions are exceeded, the original design documents shall be revised so that compliance with this code is perpetuated.
Where a proposed change exceeds the bounding conditions and does not result in an increase to hazard or risk, as approved by the code official, any person authorized by the laws of the jurisdiction is allowed to prepare design documents and reports for submittal.
When changes are proposed to the design objectives and bounding conditions of an existing building, facility, process or contents, a written report by the design professional shall be prepared to specify the new design objectives and demonstrate compliance with the current code.
Administrative provisions of the International Code Council's family of codes shall supplement the performance provisions for plan review, permit issuance, inspection, certificate of occupancy or compliance, and enforcement.
It shall be unlawful for any person, firm or corporation to erect, construct, alter, extend, repair, move, remove, demolish or occupy any building, structure or facility regulated by this code, or cause same to be done, in conflict with or in violation of any of the provisions of this code.
The code official shall serve a notice of violation or order on the person responsible for the erection, construction, alteration, extension, repair, moving, removal, demolition or occupancy of a building or facility in violation of the provisions of this code or in violation of a detail statement or construction documents approved thereunder, or in violation of a permit or certificate issued under the provisions of this code. Such order shall direct the discontinuance of the illegal action or condition and the abatement of the violation.
If the notice of violation is not complied with promptly, the code official has the authority to request the legal counsel of the jurisdiction to institute the appropriate proceeding at law or in equity to restrain, correct or abate such violation, or to require the removal or termination of the unlawful occupancy of the building or structure in violation of the provisions of this code or of the order or direction made pursuant thereto.
Any person who violates a provision of this code or fails to comply with any of the requirements thereof or who erects, constructs, alters or repairs a building, structure or facility in violation of the approved design documents or directive of the code official or of a permit or certificate issued under the provisions of this code shall be subject to penalties as prescribed by law.
To require the use of recognized authoritative documents or design guides for analysis, measurement of performance and determination of criteria used to evaluate compliance with the performance requirements of this code. See Chapter 2 for definitions.
Design approaches shall utilize authoritative documents and design guides to demonstrate that designs are based on applicable and valid technical and scientific methodologies.
Design documents shall indicate the method by which the design and construction are to be verified and applicable systems are to be measured.
Testing and inspection of materials and systems shall be based upon applicable authoritative documents and design guides.
Design professionals shall utilize acceptable methods. Construction documents shall contain the design approach, analysis, research, computation and criteria for acceptance that specify the applicable design guides, and authoritative documents utilized to demonstrate that design objectives are met.
Design documents shall include design verification methods that are required to demonstrate compliance with design objectives and applicable authoritative documents and design guides.
Documents that do not meet the criteria for authoritative documents or design guides shall comply with the individually substantiated design method criteria in Appendix C.
Designs that propose to use documents that do not meet the criteria for authoritative documents or design guides shall not be permitted unless approval is given by the code official. The resulting performance-based design shall undergo an independent peer review process.
