On April 29, 2011 Ramtech’s Roland Brown attended his first meeting of the Texas Industrialized Building Code Council since his re-appointment to the Council by Texas Governor Rick Perry earlier in the month. Along with existing members of the Council, Mr. Brown was joined by new members Doug Robinson of Williams Scotsman, and Scott McDonald, a building official from the city of Amarillo.
One of the main items on the agenda with implications for the modular building industry was an explanation of the current progress in the review of the 2009 International Code Council I-Codes. After a presentation by IHB Manager Donna Lipke, a task force was formed consisting of Council members Randy Childers, a building official from Waco, Doug Robinson of Williams Scotsman, and Mr. Brown.
Along with representatives from the residential and commercial building industries, the task force will compile comments to the code and conduct meetings to determine if any amendments should be considered by the full Council. Their review is scheduled to be completed by the next meeting of the Council scheduled for October 26, 2011, where the adoption of the 2009 I-Codes will be finalized. After adoption, a notice of at least 180 days must be provided to the modular manufacturers, builders and third parties prior to the implementation of the code. Currently the IHB operates under the 2006 I-Codes.
Another issue potentially impacting the modular building industry, the International Green Construction Code (IGCC) was also discussed at the meeting. Currently under development, a presentation on the status of the code was made by Ravi Shaw, the Director of Urban Development for the city of Carrolton. A board member of the International Code Council and Chair of the ICC’s Sustainable Building Technology Committee, Mr. Shaw noted that the intent of the proposed code is to provide a nationwide program that, if adopted by a local jurisdiction, would assist their communities in becoming more green.
