IAS eNews
Building Department Accreditation—Realistic or Idealistic?
A one-on-one interview with
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Q: We've never had building department accreditation before—why now?
A: Accreditation is an indicator of competence. Building departments, including inspectors, plan checkers, permit technicians, etc., are professionals working within very specific standards. There should be a well-defined level of competence that is equivalent to the same standards that regulators apply in enforcing building laws.
Q: What is the need for building department accreditation?
A: While the need for certification of building inspectors was recognized many years ago and most inspectors carry such certification, there has been a lack of accreditation of the processes of a building department to determine if it meets community needs. Accreditation helps establish confidence with the public and the construction industry; improves customer service, provides value to the city government, and promotes the value and importance of building departments to the jurisdictions they serve. Accreditation may even help lower insurance premiums based on effective code administration and fewer claims.
Q. Does ICC endorse the IAS Building Department Accreditation Program?
A. Yes. IAS is a subsidiary of ICC, which fully supports and endorses the IAS Building Department Accreditation Program. In fact, the IAS evaluation teams are comprised of individuals from ICC.
Q. Is the building department accreditation program only for large building departments serving major jurisdictions?
A. No. The accreditation process is adaptable to any size building department. The process is tailored to meet the needs of large and small jurisdictions based on the information provided by the applicant building department describing the scope of services it provides to its community.
Q: Is anyone in the industry really asking for accreditation?
A: In 2003, the State of Florida recognized the need for establishing a statewide program for evaluating the competence of building departments. IAS assisted in establishing a voluntary accreditation standard, which formed the foundation for IAS' Building Department Accreditation program. Since the launching of the new program, IAS has received several applications for accreditation and over one-hundred inquiries by interested building departments.
Q: What is involved in the building department accreditation process?
A: Accreditation requirements are contained in the IAS Accreditation Criteria for Building Departments AC251, which is available on the IAS website. There is a basic application fee for a comprehensive questionnaire sent by IAS. Building departments complete the questionnaire, which provides IAS with documentation regarding the size of the jurisdiction; technical details on its processes for plan reviews, permits, inspections, construction codes, personnel; and various other aspects of the department's operations. Once IAS completes its review of this documentation, an IAS team of evaluators conducts a two-day pre-evaluation visit to determine the department's readiness for accreditation. Following the pre-evaluation visit, a full on-site evaluation is conducted to review the building department's practices against 12 main categories outlined in the accreditation criteria. Depending on the size of the building department, the on-site evaluation can take three to five days. Once the department has submitted complete documentation addressing the questionnaire, the overall accreditation process is expected to take three to six months. Timely and complete responses by the building department to any corrective action requests or concerns/comments noted in the report of the full evaluation will shorten the process.
Q. Can a building department request a preliminary IAS visit to determine readiness for accreditation?
A. Yes. Upon request from an applicant building department, IAS may allow for a pre-evaluation visit by the team leader and an evaluator lasting one or two days.
Q: Is there a list of qualifications that a jurisdiction can obtain regarding how close they are to receiving accreditation?
A. Yes. IAS publishes the Acceptance Criteria for Building Department Accreditation AC251 that can be freely downloaded from the IAS website, which contains the requirements for building department accreditation.
Q: What are the costs involved with becoming accredited?
A: The basic accreditation fees range from $2,000 to $5,000 depending on the size of the building department, and on-site visit expenses for the lead evaluator must be covered by the building department. IAS will provide a written quotation of the costs upon request.
Q: Who actually performs the on-site evaluations?
A: The IAS accreditation process is modeled on an international peer review process that has been in place for many years. Practicing building officials, that have volunteered to go through extensive in-class and field training, comprise IAS evaluation teams. The in-class training covers the IAS accreditation criteria, sample corrective action logs from past on-site evaluations, general building department operations and a written examination. Evaluators-in-training must achieve a minimum grade of 80 percent to pass. Field training consists of two demonstration evaluations where trainee performance is judged by experts and community volunteers.
Q: What happens if a building department fails the evaluation?
A: There is no "failure." If the evaluation determines that there are deficiencies that must be resolved, building departments are given time to change and improve their processes. The IAS accreditation program is a partnership—our goal is to help building departments determine what they do well and what areas they need to improve upon to come up to the level of competency required by the national standard and help them achieve their accreditation goals.
Q: How long does the accreditation last?
A: Accreditation lasts three years once all accreditation criteria have been met. To maintain accredited status, building departments must be in compliance at all times with the IAS rules of procedure and the accreditation criteria. Annual reports addressing key elements of the criteria must be prepared by the department and submitted to IAS. On-site re-evaluation is conducted by IAS every three years to confirm continued compliance.
Q. If a building department sub-contracts certain duties, can it still become accredited?
A. Yes. Sub-contracting of certain aspects of the building department's functions is permitted under the accreditation criteria. However, all sub-contracted activities must be reviewed by IAS evaluation teams and are subject to the same accreditation requirements as if they were being conducted by the department itself.