To: VBCOA Board of Directors

From: Roger Robertson, VBCOA Appointee to the Building Coad Academy Advisory Committee (BCAAC)

Subject: Report of the BCAAC Meeting of March 31, 2015

The Building Code Academy Advisory Committee met on March 31, 2015 in Richmond at the office of the Department of Housing and Community Development, Jack A. Proctor Virginia Building Code Academy. DHCD staff in attendance: Sandi Morris, Director of the Jack A. Proctor Virginia Building Code Academy, and Emory Rodgers, Deputy Director of Building and Fire Regulations.

In the order of items discussed at the meeting, here are the topics discussed:

BCAAC Purpose and Scope Review

The meeting began with a review of the BCAAC operational guidelines, with a focus on the purpose, intent, and scope of the committee. The BCAAC is an advisory committee to the Board of Housing and Community Development as set out in 36-137(7) of the Code of Virginia which states “The Committee shall advise the Board and the Director on policies, procedures, operations, and other matters pertinent to enhancing the delivery of training services provided by the Building Code Academy." The purpose of the BCAAC is to advise the Board of Housing and Community Development (the "Board") and the Director of the Department of Housing and Community Development on matters related to the Building Code Academy.”

The BCAAC schedule includes at least one in-person meeting per year followed by quarterly meetings as necessary, or teleconference.

Membership of the Committee

The membership of BCAAC consists of one member each from the following: a. American Institute of Architects, Virginia Society b. Amusement Device Technical Advisory Committee c. Apartment and Office Building Association d. Associated Builders and Contractors, Virginia Chapter e. Fairfax County Code Academy f. Home Builders Association of Virginia g. International Association of Electrical Inspectors, Virginia Chapter h. Plumbing and Mechanical Professionals of Virginia i. Prince William County Code Academy j. Virginia Association of Counties k. Virginia Association of Realtors l. Virginia Building and Code Officials Association m. Virginia Cross Connection Control Association n. Virginia Fire Prevention Association o. Virginia Municipal League p. Virginia Plumbing and Mechanical Inspectors Association q. Virginia Structural Engineers Council r. Virginia Elevator Safety Association

In addition to the DHCD staff in attendance, the organizations represented at the March 31st meeting were:

Virginia Structural Engineers Council (VSEC) Chris Snidow

Prince William County Code Academy (PWCCA) Donna Rubino

Virginia Elevator Safety Association (VESA) Mike Henley

Virginia Plumbing and Mechanical Inspectors Association (VPMIA) Randy Pearce

Virginia Building and Code Officials Association (VBCOA) Roger Robertson

Fairfax County Code Academy (FFXCCA) David Sharp

Virginia Fire Prevention Association (VFPA) Ernie Little

DHCD staff reviewed the current BCAAC membership roster. The committee recommended, since only seven of eighteen organizations were represented, that a mailing list be established to facilitate mailing out copies of meeting minutes and other related notices to all BCAAC members in the hope that this would improve interest among those absent. The committee further recommended that DHCD staff take a more aggressive member recruitment effort with the Homebuilders Association, citing that the upcoming DPOR Home Inspector requirement for training could be a motivator.

Training and Certification Statistics Update

The live presentations of the 2012 code change training are completed. There are no additional live code academy classes scheduled, however the online code update training remains available and there are some live code update classes still being offered by DHCD approved providers, including those being offered by VBCOA in several regions.

The Core Module continues to experience high attendance, but a similar increase in attendees isn’t being seen in the technical modules. This may be due to the 18 month window allowed for certification.

Development Activity

DHCD staff reports that there is active development of a Rehabilitation Code Module – a curriculum committee has met and begun work on a multi-day module. The module should be available in early 2016 and will be mandatory for all Code Officials. There was some discussion about which existing certifications might be modified to include a requirement to attend the Rehabilitation Code Module.

A multi-day Elevator Inspection Module is planned and requests have gone out for subject matter experts to participate in its development. The Code Academy hopes to have this module ready in 2016.

The Code Academy will be developing an online asbestos class which will be available for continuing education credit. Code Academy staff requests anyone interested in assisting in the development of this course to contact Rajan Engh.

The Code Academy is also developing an online “Chapter 1 Refresher” course.

IT Update

DHCD staff reports upgrades to the VBCA (Virginia Building Code Academy) online registration system, including electronic application for certification, and continuing education. Training module participant lists are now available on line to those who are registered for a particular module of the code academy. The committee suggested clarification of the function of the knowledge center and the online registration system to help with understanding those systems. (The knowledge center, while functional, is lacking an intuitive interface.) The VBCOA Board and members are solicited for feedback to assist DHCD in making the improvements.

ICC Preferred Provider Program

The Code Academy has been approved as an ICC Preferred Provider. Since ICC’s revised continuing education criteria include a requirement that a percentage of a certificate-holders continuing education hours come from ICC Preferred Providers, the code academy being approved as such will make it more convenient for ICC certificate holders to meet ICC’s revised requirement. Training offered by ICC Preferred Providers is listed on the ICC calendar, thus giving the Code Academy greater visibility.

Matrix Review and Recommendations

The training requirement matrix is being considered for a comprehensive review and several potential changes were discussed, including the expansion of required training for certain categories. There was discussion about potential changes that include adding the energy conservation module as a requirement for some of the trade modules, adding the Commercial Building Inspector module as a requirement for certification as a Fire Protection Inspector, adding Fire Protection System Inspection to the requirement for Fire Protection Plan Reviewer, and adding or incorporating Rehabilitation Code training into the Commercial Plan Review module. The committee brought up recent concerns voiced by attendees at the Residential Plan Review module who have to take an ICC certification examination that includes sections associated with the trades while such is not part of their duties as a residential plan reviewer. The committee asked DHCD staff to determine if the Residential Building Inspector examination could be considered equivalent for certification as a Residential Plans Examiner. Sandi Morris agreed to look into this issue.

Virginia Master Official Program DHCD staff introduced the concept of offering a Virginia Master Official certification, similar to the ICC Master Code Professional designation. This would be a way of acknowledging accomplishments of code officials who excel in the industry. The committee was favorable of the concept, but expressed concern that such a designation might exclude Fire Officials. The program is not a definite, and feedback is needed to assure its broad applicability.

Training Waiver Requests

DHCD has received several requests from in and out-of-state applicants to waive some of its training and certification requirements or consider alternative education and/or certification. DHCD staff planned to ask the committee for input but time became an issue and the requests will be discussed during a future committee conference call. Your BCAAC appointee sees one of the out-of-state requests as an attempt to circumvent the local third-party inspector policy requirement found in the USBC, and would not look favorably on that specific request.