In This Issue
Las Vegas Adopts Inspection Standard
ICC-IAS Publication Now Available
Important Notice to Inspection Agencies
Building Department Accreditation—Realistic or Idealistic?
All Fabricator Accreditation Bodies Are Not Alike
West Speaks on Building Department Accreditation
Find Accredited Organizations Online
Transitioning to ISO/IEC 17025:2005
White Mountain Labs Gains Accreditation
Brewer Leads Tutorial at Measurement Conference
PSES Presentation Stresses Fire Testing
2006 Training Schedule Has Successful Start
McCullen Elected to NACLA Board
IAS Board Committee on Accreditation Meets

ICC-IAS Publication
Now Available
The Model Program for Special Inspection, co-published by ICC and IAS, is a guideline to assist building officials in the administration and enforcement of special inspection code provisions. IAS Vice President Pat McCullen added several sections on accreditation to the new edition. The publication is a valuable resource for building officials concerned with implementing the special inspection requirements of IBC Chapter 17, and requirements for approving agencies involved in the special inspection process. To order, visit the ICC book store online.

Important Notice to
Inspection Agencies
All IAS-accredited inspection agencies that inspect product manufacturers recognized in ICC-Evaluation Service, Inc. evaluation reports should be aware of some new requirements. For more information, click here.

Find Accredited
Organizations Online
The IAS website lists IAS-accredited fabricator inspection programs (FA listings), testing laboratories (TL listings), calibration laboratories (CL listings) and inspection agencies (AA listings). To determine if an organization is accredited, click here.

Transitioning to ISO/IEC 17025:2005
Beginning in 2006, IAS assessors will issue Corrective Action Requests to help laboratories identify the areas in their quality management systems in need of revision to comply with ISO/IEC Standard 17025:2005 General Requirements for the Competence of Calibration and Testing Laboratories. For more information about this transition process, click here.

IAS Staff Metrologist B. N. Taranath served as one of the instructors for the sold-out training class on Measurement Uncertainty.

2006 Training Schedule
Has Successful Start
IAS commenced its 2006 training schedule with a sold-out class on Measurement Uncertainty. The first class was held Feb. 1–2 in Whittier, California, and was conducted by IAS Staff Metrologist B. N. Taranath and Rick Curkeet of Intertek Testing Services, internationally known experts in the field. The two-day, statistics-based course included hands-on examples from the metrology and testing worlds. The next class on Measurement Uncertainty will be March 30–31, in Country Club Hills, Illinois. For more information on attending, click here.

Vol. 2, Issue 1

Las Vegas Adopts Inspection Standard
The City of Las Vegas has adopted requirements for agencies that conduct special inspections under Chapter 17 of the International Building Code (IBC). The City of Las Vegas Building and Safety Department is now requiring special inspection agencies to meet the Accreditation Criteria for IBC Special Inspection Agencies (AC291).
The accreditation criteria was developed in public hearings by the IAS Accreditation Committee at the request of the City of Las Vegas. The IAS program is aimed at assuring building departments that special inspection agencies that have achieved accreditation are fully competent to determine if construction meets the material and workmanship requirements under Chapter 17 of the IBC.
To read more about the accreditation program, click here.

Building Department Accreditation–
Realistic or Idealistic?

	Chuck Ramani

Why should there be building department accreditation? Is the IAS accreditation program only for large building departments serving major jurisdictions? What is involved in the building department accreditation process?
In a one-on-one interview, IAS President Chuck Ramani answers these questions and more concerning the Building Department Accreditation program. Click here to read more.

All Fabricator Accreditation Bodies Are Not Alike
Who does your jurisdiction use to approve fabricators under Chapter 17 of the IBC? In Chapter 17, the building official is provided with alternatives for approving the work of fabricators. The first option is to have a special inspector who has been approved and who has demonstrated competence to the satisfaction of the building official inspect the fabricator's work on a continuous basis at the job site. The second alternative comes under Section 1704.2.2, which permits fabricators that have been registered and approved to perform the work without special inspection.
The problem is that many building departments have never compared the organizations that accredit fabricators to determine if they are truly qualified to evaluate and accredit fabricators for compliance with Section 1704.2.2 of the IBC. Compare for yourself and see which fabricator accreditation program meets the necessary requirements by clicking here.

West Speaks on Building Department Accreditation

	Greg West

During the Building Officials Association of Texas (BOAT) Annual Meeting, which will be held Feb. 22–24 at the Sheraton South Padre Island Beach Hotel & Condominiums, IAS Marketing Manager Greg West will speak on the IAS Building Department Accreditation Program. The presentation will cover the purpose, process, costs and benefits of attaining building department accreditation. Following the 1:00 pm presentation on Feb. 23, West will answer questions about the program. For more information, click here.

White Mountain Labs Gains Accreditation

	IAS President Chuck Ramani presents White Mountains Labs President Brenda McCaffrey with ISO 17025 Accreditation Certificate.

White Mountain Labs, a state-of-the-art laboratory serving the semiconductor industry, has received IAS testing laboratory accreditation. The lab performs electrostatic discharge testing using human body modeling, evaluating the survivability of electronic semiconductors and microchips.
"This is a rare opportunity to help benchmark our industry with respect to the ISO 17025 accreditation, enhance our credibility with clients and demonstrate our leadership in the industry. This is particularly noticeable with our semiconductor clients," said White Mountain Labs President Brenda McCaffrey. "Many of these companies are required to meet ISO/TS 16949 standards, which recommends that their suppliers must be ISO 17025 accredited. To meet these requirements, these companies would have to set up elaborate mechanisms to audit labs like ours. Our accreditation eliminates that need and guarantees product quality. This process has really opened doors to new business and significant opportunity for future growth." Click here to read more.

Brewer Leads Tutorial at Measurement Conference
IAS Accreditation Officer and noted author and auditor Hershal Brewer will lead the Laboratory Accreditation to ISO/IEC 17025 tutorial at the 36th Annual Measurement Science Conference, March 1, at the Disneyland Hotel in Anaheim, California. This unique tutorial is designed to help attendees understand the impact of the new ISO/IEC Standard 17025:2005 on laboratories.
The Measurement Science Conference, held Feb. 27–March 3, offers a range of tutorials, seminars and technical sessions on the challenges of the business of metrology and calibration. IAS will also have an exhibit booth at the Expo. Click here for more information about the conference.

PSES Presentation Stresses Fire Testing
IAS Accreditation Officer Hershal Brewer and Vijay Ruikar from Intertek Testing Services spoke at the IEEE Product Safety Engineering Society (PSES), in Orange County, California, about the critical importance of fire testing.
From the clothes we wear to the buildings we work in and live, fire safety is important to all of us. During the presentation, Brewer and Ruikar outlined the three basic types of fire testing—flame propagation, flame penetration, and calorimetry— and talked about how these fire-testing procedures are applied to public safety today, and emerging trends in the industry.

McCullen Elected to NACLA Board

	Patrick McCullen

IAS Vice President Patrick McCullen was elected to the 22-member 2006 National Cooperation for Laboratory Accreditation (NACLA) Board of Directors/Operations Council. In this role, McCullen will rely on his 30-years-plus experience in testing, inspection, quality control and conformity assessment to offer input and guidance to NACLA operations and policies. The board includes representation from industry, government, laboratories and accreditation bodies.
The NACLA Annual Forum on Accreditation will be held March 28–29, at the Columbia Sheraton Hotel in Columbia, Maryland. IAS will be a sponsor of this event.

IAS Board Committee on Accreditation Meets
A meeting of the IAS Board Committee on Accreditation (BCA) will be held on April 7, 2006, in Las Vegas, Nevada. The BCA is meeting to consider the evaluation report and to render a decision on the findings of the IAS team that conducted the evaluation of the City of Las Vegas Building and Safety Department to determine its compliance with the IAS Accreditation Criteria for Building Departments AC251. The BCA is comprised of practicing building officials that are independent of the evaluation process.

How to reach us
If you have questions or comments about IAS eNews, please call the International Accreditation Service (IAS) at 1-866-427-4422, send letters to 5360 Workman Mill Road, Whittier, CA 90601, send an e-mail to info@iasonline.org, or go to www.iasonline.org.
For specific questions about IAS accreditation programs, contact:

About IAS
The International Accreditation Service (IAS), a subsidiary of the International Code Council, assesses and accredits competent testing and calibration laboratories, building departments, inspection agencies and fabricator inspection programs. In operation since 1975, IAS is one of the oldest accreditation bodies of its type and is a nonprofit, public-benefit corporation recognized worldwide.

IAS is one of three subsidiary organizations of the International Code Council (ICC). For more information on ICC, call 1-888-ICC-SAFE (422-7233) or go to www.iccsafe.org.

To make sure you continue to receive ICC's monthly newsletter in your inbox (not sent to bulk or junk folders), please add IASenews@iccsafe.org to your address book.

To subscribe to IAS eNews, click here.

ICC and its affiliates and subsidiaries respect your right to privacy. If you no longer wish to receive e-mail from us, please click here.

©2006 International Code Council, Headquarters; 5203 Leesburg Pike, Suite 600; Falls Church, VA 22041 USA