{"id":6924,"date":"2012-12-01T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2012-12-01T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/insulation.org\/io\/articles\/rethinking-compliance-verification\/"},"modified":"2012-12-01T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2012-12-01T00:00:00","slug":"rethinking-compliance-verification","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/insulation.org\/io\/articles\/rethinking-compliance-verification\/","title":{"rendered":"Rethinking Compliance Verification"},"content":{"rendered":"

As
\ndemand increases for high-performance buildings, new methods and standards for
\nregulation are required.<\/span><\/p>\n

Society demands a lot of buildings, and buildings require a
\nlot to meet those demands. Society expects buildings to provide a safe, secure,
\nhealthy, and productive environment. To provide those features and peace of
\nmind, buildings use approximately 40 percent of the nation’s primary energy, 70
\npercent of the electricity generated in the United States, and around 10
\npercent of the nation’s water.1<\/sup><\/span><\/p>\n

The increasing desire for safer, more secure, healthier
\nbuildings in the face of growing energy, environmental, and economic challenges
\nheightens demand for high-performance buildings.<\/span><\/p>\n

As recognized by Congress, a high-performance building means
\na building that “integrates and optimizes on a life cycle basis all major high
\nperformance attributes, including energy conservation, environment, safety,
\nsecurity, durability, accessibility, cost-benefit, productivity,
\nsustainability, functionality, and operational considerations.”2<\/sup> To
\nindividually and collectively consider, integrate, and optimize these diverse
\nattributes requires significant changes across the building industry.3<\/sup>
\nAs a consequence, the building industry is evolving. Information technology has
\nplayed a role in streamlining historical processes.<\/span><\/p>\n

Concepts such as integrated design, building information
\nmodeling, building energy modeling, and alternative
\nmethods of building construction project delivery (e.g., design-build,
\nconstruction manager\/general contractor, performance contracting) are some of
\nthe innovations that have emerged to actually change those processes. Public
\ndemand for accountability and transparency also has grown.<\/span><\/p>\n

However, the processes for communities and governments to
\nmake sure buildings achieve the desired characteristics, whether high
\nperformance or not, have remained largely unchanged, with the notable exception
\nof streamlining those processes through the use of information technology.<\/span><\/p>\n

Adoption and
\nEnforcement of Building Regulations<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

Building
\nconstruction regulations (e.g., codes and standards governing the design,
\nconstruction, and even operation of buildings) have long served as the main
\ntool of governments in setting agreed-upon norms in a jurisdiction. Compliance
\nwith those norms is generally secured through their enforcement by governments
\nor their designated agents in the design and construction of buildings. The
\nconcept of building codes goes as far back as Hammurabi (circa 1772 B.C.), who
\nestablished a performance-based code4<\/sup> with strict penalties for
\nnoncompliance.5<\/sup> Codes were developed and adopted in Europe as it was
\nsettled, and evolved over many decades. Those codes were imported to the new
\nworld and formed the basis for city codes as the United States was formed and
\ngrew. Significant fires in Chicago and Baltimore,
\nand a San Francisco earthquake, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries
\nspurred further development of codes for the design and construction of
\nbuildings. These efforts were fostered by the insurance industry. The primary
\nfocus at that time was to avoid loss of life and property. Codes have increased
\nin stringency since then to address a myriad of new technologies and design concepts,
\nand they have expanded beyond health and safety requirements to include other
\nsocietal values such as accessibility, energy efficiency, indoor air quality,
\nand sustainability.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Codes typically contain two types of requirements:
\nprescriptive and performance. Prescriptive requirements provide minimum
\nstandards for building materials, products, systems, etc. They stipulate
\nspecifically what to provide and often represent a checklist of items and the
\nminimum acceptable specifications for those items. In contrast,
\nperformance-based requirements set a desired end state and do not provide
\nminimum characteristics, per se?they set the desired result without specifying
\nhow to achieve that result. In most instances, a measure of achieving the
\ndesired result is based on the anticipated results associated with following
\nthe prescriptive requirements. Both types of requirements are generally applied
\nwhen designing and constructing buildings with the premise that, if followed,
\nthe building will perform at an acceptable level. <\/span><\/p>\n

A third type of requirement is gaining traction:
\noutcome-based requirements. In this case, the performance outcome is
\nestablished. It is not aligned with any particular prescriptive provisions, and
\ncompliance is verified after rather than before occupancy. Discussion of this
\napproach and its relationship to compliance verification methods appears later
\nin this article.<\/span><\/p>\n

Today, several private-sector organizations develop model
\ncodes and standards that are used as a basis for building construction regulations.
\nThese documents provide the necessary criteria to make sure buildings are
\ndesigned and constructed to be considered safe, secure, healthy, energy
\nefficient, accessible, etc. They are then available for adoption by federal,
\nstate, and local government as laws or regulations, or by anyone through
\ncontracting or other mechanisms that can secure their application and use.
\nWhile the development process is slightly different within each organization,
\nthe process is intended to comply with several key criteria:<\/span><\/p>\n