Building Safety Month kicks off on May 1

Washington, D.C. — May 2018 is the 38th annual Building Safety Month, an international campaign that highlights the importance of building safety, building codes and the officials who maintain them.

Starting May 1, the International Code Council, its 64,000 members and a diverse partnership of public and private entities will host events at town halls, community centers, schools and elsewhere to remind us that building codes save lives and money and reduce recovery times after a disaster. Governors, local leaders, Code Council chapters and partners have issued over 270 proclamations in support of Building Safety Month so far this year.

During the first week of May, we celebrate “Partnering with Code Officials to Build Stronger, Safer Communities.” Code officials play a special role in our society. They are engaged in the building process from the initial building plan to the finished product, and their work impacts every building in every community. Because of their commitment to building safety, our buildings stand, our communities prosper and our homes are safe. To better understand the role of the code official in making our homes safer and more resilient, see the new, Interactive, digital poster, “Code Officials and Your Home” at https://media.iccsafe.org/BSM-posters/week1.

Week 1 sponsors the American Concrete Institute (ACI), American Gas Association (AGA), American Wood Council (AWC), National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB) and Simpson Strong-Tie share why they support building safety:

“As a global society of 20,000 members dedicated to the development, dissemination and adoption of concrete technology, ACI supports Building Safety Month to highlight the important role of building codes in creating safe and sustainable communities,” stated ACI Code Advocacy Engineer Stephen S. Szoke, PE, IOM, LEED-AP, F.ACI, F.ASCE, F.SEI.

“AGA represents over 200 natural gas utilities that provide service to 70 million customers in the U.S.  The safe use of natural gas is a partnership between our utility members and the customers that use our product. We sponsor Building Safety Month to remind everyone that safety depends on all of us,” said AGA Senior Director of the National Fuel Gas Code Paul Carbot.

AWC President and CEO Robert Glowinski shared, “Wood-framed structures have built America since the 1700s—from single-family homes to multi-story apartment buildings, townhouses, commercial and industrial properties. At AWC, we regularly work with building and fire code officials, helping to make their science-based codes stronger and buildings safer.”

“Understanding building codes is essential to creating safe and energy efficient built environments. It is critical to the evolution of an architectural project from concept through construction, and to safe and successful occupancy by the building’s occupants,” said NCARB President/Chair of the Board Gregory L. Erny, FAIA, NCARB.

Simpson Strong-Tie Engineering Director, Codes and Compliance, Jeff Ellis stated, “Building officials are at the front lines of reasonable and effective code development and ensuring compliance with the codes. It’s important that all of us in the construction industry work with building officials to help develop better comprehensive solutions and continually improve the effectiveness of building codes and the construction process overall.”

For more resources and to see events happening in your area, visit www.buildingsafetymonth.org and join the online conversation using the hashtag #ICCBSM18.