WASHINGTON — The National Institute of Building Sciences (NIBS) National Council of Governments on Building Codes and Standards (NCGBCS) is calling for public comment on the content of a new code taxonomy of building codes and standards. Code officials; codes and standards developers; federal, state, and local agencies; architects, engineers, and contractors; consumer advocates; and others are all encouraged to provide input by the March 8 deadline.

This compilation of codes and standards relating to the built environment is intended to serve as a resource when educating the industry, government, and the public about the regulations and referenced documents that are used when constructing buildings and facilities.

The NCGBCS works to expand understanding; facilitate education and training; and promote the efficient administration of codes and standards. Given the numerous topics and the various agencies — at the federal, state, and local levels — that impact and are impacted by codes, the council felt it was important to identify the connections between the codes and these agencies.

While useful on its own, the finalized code taxonomy will be included in the WBDG Whole Building Design Guide in a new resource section entitled “Code Administration and Enforcement,” which is expected to be available later this year.

Individuals and organizations interested in providing comments are encouraged to make any edits directly to the draft Excel document using “track changes” and send the updated version as an attachment via email to rcolker@nibs.org. General comments and recommendations should be sent in the body of an email to the same address.

To download the draft document, go to www.nibs.org/resource/resmgr/NCGBCS/taxonomy.xlsx.

Publication date: 2/18/2013