- Author
- Meacham, B. J.
- Title
- Concepts of a Performance-Based Building Regulatory System for the United States. Report of the 1996 Activities of the SFPE Focus Group on Concepts of a Performance-Based System for the United States.
- Coporate
- Society of Fire Protection Engineers, Bethesda, MD
- Sponsor
- National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD
- Report
- NIST GCR 98-762, November 1998; January 1997, 51 p.
- Distribution
- AVAILABLE FROM: National Technical Information Service (NTIS), Technology Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, Springfield, VA 22161. Telephone: 1-800-553-6847 or 703-605-6000; Fax: 703-605-6900; Rush Service (Telephone Orders Only) 800-553-6847; Website: http://www.ntis.gov CAN BE DOWNLOADED FROM: Website - http://www.bfrl.gov -- click on publications
- Contract
- NIST-GRANT-60NANB5DO138
- Keywords
- building codes | computer models | fire codes | fire protection engineering | fire safety | fire safety evaluation system | histories | International Standards Org. | life safety code | NFPA 101 | performance based codes | risk analysis
- Identifiers
- performance based regulatory system; regulatory system; United States
- Abstract
- The United States' building and fire communities have recently begun transitioning towards the implementation of performance-based building regulations and the use of performance-based fire safety engineering. As a means to facilitate discussion and gain insight as to the potential structure of a performance-based building regulatory system for the United States, and to help the Society of Fire Protection Engineers place the engineering aspects of such a system into perspective, the SFPE Focus Group on Concepts of a Performance-Based System for the United States was created in March 1996. This group, which represents a wide cross-section of the United States' building and fire communities, provided key input on such issues as why the United States is moving towards a performance-based system, how such a system might be structured, what components will be required for such a system to work, and what education and qualification issues need to be addressed. The conceptual framework for a performance-based system that was used as the basis of discussion, the comments received on that conceptual framework, and a summary of the focus group discussion and consensus on a performance-based system for the United States are provided.