News
TAC Outlines BDA Program Improvements
The Building Department Accreditation—Technical Advisory Council (BDA-TAC) sought ways to improve the accreditation process at the recent session on October 3, 2007, in Reno, Nevada. Chaired by Earl Russell, Deputy Director of the Department of Building and Safety for the City of Las Vegas, Nevada, the BDA-TAC meeting was attended by participants from states far and near, including Texas, California, Oregon, Florida, Tennessee, Michigan and Ohio.
During the course of the brainstorming session, the 19 attendees proposed solutions to address a range of building department accreditation-related issues. For instance, jurisdictions often voice concerns about cost, the volume of documentation required to apply for accreditation, the time it takes to achieve accreditation once information is submitted, and the subjectivity of the actual evaluations. Key recommendations highlighted the need for IAS to set service goals for timeliness and quality, add more staff to respond to growing industry demand, and reduce the number and frequency of revisions to the accreditation criteria. The BDA-TAC also proposed that the Code Council recognize lead evaluators who generously volunteer their time to the BDA program at events such as the International Code Council Annual Conference.
The BDA-TAC meeting participants included:
Rick Archer, IAS
John L. Barrios, Tampa, Florida
Michael Bouse, Henderson, Nevada
Dana Brems, Henderson, Nevada
Scott Cope, Rochester Hills, Michigan
Majed Dabdoub, Cincinnati, Ohio
Roy Fewell, La Habra, California
Tom Hogarth, Palm Beach County School District, Florida
Sheila Lee, Santa Clara, California
Linda Lichtenberger, Metro Nashville, Tennessee
Kellee Lostaunau, IAS
Selso Mata, Plano, Texas
Pat McCullen, IAS
Neil Melick, West Palm Beach, Florida
Dave Nelson, IAS
Tom Phillips, Salem, Oregon
C.P. (Chuck) Ramani, IAS
Earl Russell, Las Vegas, Nevada
Ravi Shah, Carrollton, Texas