BJM/001b Factors Affecting the Transition from Prescriptive to Performance- Fire Codes in Korea, Poland and Brazil Interactive Qualifying Project Report (C Term) Submitted to the Faculty of WORCESTER POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Bachelor of Science By Jin Kyung Kim Cing Lun Thang Andrew Canniff DATE: March 1, 2012 Approved: Professor Brian J. Meacham, Faculty Advisor Abstract Economic growth, increased urbanization and construction volume can place pressure on building regulatory systems and influence building fire safety. The more rapid or widespread the changes, the larger the pressures can be. One solution is to move to performance-based approaches. This requires appropriate regulatory, education and research infrastructure. Criteria for successful transition to performance-based approach to fire safety are suggested. Using the criteria, three countries moving toward performance are evaluated, and a roadmap for successful transition to performance is suggested. i Acknowledgements The whole IQP team would like to acknowledge and sincerely thank our project advisor, Professor Brian Meacham, for his assistance, guidance and patience throughout the entire project. By sharing his expertise, profound knowledge and experiences, each members of the team gained an invaluable experience in terms of research and problem solving methods. This project would not have been possible without all his help. Jin Kyung Kim would like to express his gratitude to Professor Keum-Ran Choi, a research professor at the University of Seoul, for acquiescing to his interview request and providing essential information and resources on Korean fire codes. Andrew Canniff would also like to thank Professor Piotr Tofilo, a Professor at the Main School of Fire Services in Poland, for answering numerous research questions which provided crucial information on the current atmosphere of fire protection engineering in the country of Poland. Without his expertise, the analysis of Poland for this report would not have been possible. Cing Lun Thang would like to express her gratitude to Professor Rosaria Ono of the university of Sao Paulo for her correspondence that provided a background for the fire codes in Brazil, to Dr Rodrigo Machado Tavares for his helpful insight into the fire code situation in Brazil, and to Dr. George Braga of the Brazilian National Region Fire Brigade for his detailed update of the Brazil’s progress for the transition to performance-based codes. ii Authorship Jin Kyung Kim was responsible for writing all information relating to Korea, the introduction, scoring rubric for urban environment settings, the conclusion and all information in Appendix A. Andrew Canniff was responsible for writing all information relating to Poland, the abstract, rubric for education, and all information in Appendix B. Cing Lun Thang was responsible for writing all information relating to Brazil, the executive summary, scoring rubric for fire code policies, and all information in Appendix C. iii Executive Summary Prescriptive building codes have long served as the primary instrument influencing the level of safety in buildings. These codes have typically been developed over decades and often encompass several hundred pages of detailed requirements. While such codes work well for ‘typical’ building design, they can be unwieldy for innovative designs, and the regulatory infrastructure can be poorly equipped to address alternative designs. This can be problematic when rapid changes occur in the construction sector, including development of more and taller buildings and unique structures: factors associated with rapid urbanization, densification, and the desire to have ‘world class’ buildings. To facilitate a better regulatory response to the changing needs of the construction sector, and to address the pressures of urbanization and densification, many industrialized countries have recognized the need for regulation reform. In particular, a transition from prescriptive-based to performance-based regulations and design approaches. The argument is that such reforms can result in an increase in the flexibility of building design options, greater innovation, and higher levels of safety in buildings, all with lower costs and a decrease of the regulatory burden. However, such a performance-based system needs an underlying infrastructure of its own. This includes the need for a strong number of trained individuals who will competently judge the safety factor of a building, an education that includes the fundamentals of fire protection engineering in a curriculum that will supply the demand for fire experts and a regulatory structure that is capable of effectively enforcing the fire codes. This project identifies some potential factors which might drive a country to consider a transition to performance, suggests some critical infrastructure factors which should be in place to support the transition, and analyzes the situation in Korea, Poland and Brazil with respect to building fire safety performance. A comparative analysis is performed on these factors to distinguish the areas that the respective country is greatly contributing to the performance-based codes and to highlight the deficient areas. Lastly, as a result of this analysis, a road map is generated to serve as a guideline for countries that will transition to performance-based codes in the future. iv Table of Contents Abstract ............................................................................................................................................ i Acknowledgements ......................................................................................................................... ii Authorship...................................................................................................................................... iii Executive Summary ....................................................................................................................... iv Table of Contents ............................................................................................................................ v List of Tables ............................................................................................................................... viii List of Figures ................................................................................................................................ ix Chapter 1: Introduction ................................................................................................................... 1 Chapter 2: Background ................................................................................................................... 3 2.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 3 2.2 Korea ..................................................................................................................................... 4 2.2.1 Urbanization ................................................................................................................... 4 2.2.2 Building and Fire Code Policies ................................................................................... 13 2.2.3 Education and Market Capacity ................................................................................... 16 2.2.4. Summary...................................................................................................................... 16 2.3 Poland .................................................................................................................................. 17 2.3.1 Urbanization ................................................................................................................. 17 2.3.2 Building and Fire Code Policies ................................................................................... 22 2.3.3 Education and Market Capacity ................................................................................... 25 2.3.4 Summary....................................................................................................................... 27 2.4 Brazil ................................................................................................................................... 28 2.4.1 Urbanization ................................................................................................................. 28 2.4.3 Building and Fire Code Policies ................................................................................... 33 2.4.4 Education and Market Capacity ................................................................................... 35 2.4.4. Summary...................................................................................................................... 36 Chapter 3: Assessment Methodology ........................................................................................... 38 3.1 Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 38 3.2 Urbanization ........................................................................................................................ 38 3.2.1 Rubric Development Process ....................................................................................... 38 3.2.1 Urbanization Scoring Rubric ........................................................................................ 39 3.3 Building