One More Step to Composites Acceptance
The American Composites Manufacturers Association (ACMA) earned another small victory on the road to acceptance last week at the International Code Council (ICC).
The hearings, held in Baltimore on November 4-7, were part of a code development hearing by the ICC Fire Safety Committee to address comments on new proposals for inclusion in the International Building Code (IBC) published by the ICC and used by architects and engineers in building construction.
In July 2009, the ACMA’s IBC Working Group submitted two change proposals. “The proposals refined our initial code language from 2008 and added core materials to the definition of FRP,” explained John Busel, ACMA’s director of Composites Growth Initiative (CGI).
Busel was accompanied to the hearings by Working Group members Nick Dembsey, Bill Kreysler, Bob Pierson, Robert Mazza, Mike Stevens and code consultant Jesse Beitel. “Things didn’t go as planned at first. The Fire Safety Committee got a late start due to lengthy code discussions earlier in the week,” said Busel. “Code hearings ran over, and our group’s hearing was delayed.”
When the group finally met in front of the Fire Safety Committee, four proposals were heard; two for the proposal and two against. “We argued that the proposed changes were an effort to further regulate safe practice for the use of composites in buildings,” says Busel. And the arguments paid off. Those in opposition to the group’s changes left empty handed when their proposals were voted down and ACMA’s modification to remove limiting types of FRP and add core to the current IBC Code definitions were passed 12-1 and 12-0 respectively.
The proposals are now open for public comment until the final hearings, to be held May 2010.
For more information on the IBC Working Group, contact ACMA’s Director of CGI John Busel.
