IAS March 2021 Newsletter - Flipbook - Page 4
IAS NEWSLETTER March 2021
Building Officials benefit form IAS AC472 and AC478 in low-rise construction
Program for the Endorsement
of Forest Certification (PEFC)
by Sandi McCracken, Director of Construction and Industrial Relations, IAS and Walter Mershon, Senior Technical
Assessor of FA-MB-MBA programs, IAS.
It is common for building officials to
hone in on the inspection of high-rise
structures to ensure absolute safety in
design and construction. But officials must
also carefully inspect low-rise structures
such as strip centers, warehouses and
manufacturing facilities. When focused on
the low-rise construction market, building
officials can benefit from knowing about
specific accreditation programs from the
International Accreditation Service (IAS).
Accreditation programs
IAS provides two major accreditation
programs that support building departments and industry
professionals involved with the design, fabrication, installation,
inspection and approval of engineered metal building systems
The IAS Metal Building Systems Inspection Accreditation Program,
also known as AC472 which is the accreditation criteria used to
assess companies, audits the integrity of design engineering
and manufacturing processes in metal building manufacturing
facilities. IAS AC472 is the program to accredit the metal building
manufacturers’ inspection program. The program is based on
the requirements in Chapter 17 of the International Building Code
(IBC) for special inspection of fabricated items (Section 1704.2.5)
and fabricator approval (Section 1704.2.5.1). Therefore, building
officials can accept IAS accreditation as sufficient evidence that
manufacturers have demonstrated effective implementation of
a documented inspection program and are in compliance with
those requirements of the International Code, eliminating the need
for redundant in-shop inspections because AC472 attests the
fabricator’s inspection program is implemented and documented to
assure the fabricated members and components quality is built into
the final construction according to approved plans.
Accreditation bodies play an important
role in assuring the independence and
performance of certification bodies issuing
PEFC certificates.
While AC472 applies to design, fabrication and inspection of the
engineered metal building system before it arrives on the job site,
IAS offers the Metal Building Assemblers Inspection Accreditation
for companies that do the onsite assembly of metal buildings. This
program is known as IAS AC478, the accreditation criteria developed
by IAS to assess companies.
Certification Bodies in the United States can
apply to IAS for accreditation against a PEFC
endorsed forest management standard and/
or the PEFC Chain of Custody standard.
At the construction site, a building official can also reduce
redundancy when observing a construction team whose standards
and practices have been vetted through inspections required by
AC478, the Inspection Practices of Metal Building Assemblers. It
is the recognized benchmark for best practices for the inspection
of metal building assemblers and is provided for all companies
qualified to assemble metal buildings.
IAS provides accreditation to certification
bodies against PEFC standard ST 1003
Sustainable Forest management under the
Management Systems Certification Bodies
Program (ISO/IEC Standard 17021-1).
IAS also provides accreditation to
certification bodies against PEFC standard
ST 2002 Chain of Custody under the Product
Certification Agencies Program (ISO/IEC
Standard 17065).
Both accreditation programs (AC472 and AC478) are recognized as
a measure of quality endorsed by the Metal Building Contractors
and Erectors Association, the North American Iron Workers/IMPACT
Labor-Management, the Metal Building Manufacturers Association
(MBMA) and the International Code Council.
“We see building owners and contractors using metal buildings for
their affordability, efficiency in construction and precise engineering
as they are manufactured. IAS adds reassurance for building
officials and building departments who focus on code-compliant
structures utilizing the IAS accredited programs,” said Selso Mata,
chief building official in Plano, Texas. “Our approval process is
much smoother because the IAS accreditation of the metal building
manufacturers inspection program, AC472, combined with the IAS
accreditation of the assembly of those metal buildings, AC478,
aligns and assists us with our approval process. Our building
department appreciates the professionalism and technical expertise
IAS accreditation adds to our process.”
Read the full article here
Sales, project management, field and
office support of Halme Builders,
Inc., have called this state-of-the-art
building their home base since 2017.
Located in Davenport, Wash., this
building contains a beautiful reception
area, six spacious offices, a lunchroom
and a board room complete with the
latest technology. The large shop
provides easy access for equipment
through three overhead rolling doors
and the mezzanine above acts as a
training area for field staff and shop
storage. The pre-engineered metal
building system for this building
was designed and fabricated by
Behlen Manufacturing, an IAS AC472
accredited company (IAS Certificate of
Accreditation MB-102). The building
was erected by Halme Builders Inc., an
IAS accredited AC478 company (IAS
Certificate of Accreditation MBA-106).
Read more
Training and Certificate Program Recognition. Options and Possibilities
by Dr. George
Anastasopoulos, VP,
Global Development
& Compliance, IAS
The recognition
of Training and/
or Certification
Programs remains a
common requirement for Training Providers
and Personnel Certification Bodies (PCBs).
In this article, we’ll explore some options for
such recognition and their applicability.
It is important to note that this article is
only referring to training and/or certification
programs excluding traditional education
degrees that are usually regulated by
Education Departments and Ministries.
This training can be offered by private
or public organizations, institutions,
unions, government agencies, employers,
independent training organizations,
community colleges, universities,
professional and trade associations.
This article presents three distinct
recognition options for training and/or
certification programs. The key differences
between the three programs are presented
in Table 1.
Option 1: Utilizing ISO/IEC 17024,
“Conformity assessment — General
requirements for bodies operating
certification of persons”;
The first option is only applicable to
Personnel Certification Bodies (PCBs) that
are operating a personnel certification
program that includes “certified training” as
a requirement. Recognition of such training
programs is limited only to the ones aimed
at achieving personnel certification. This
certification is provided under a scheme
(certification program) that is included in the
PCB’s scope of accreditation. A sole training
provider cannot be recognized/accredited
under this option.
Option 2: Utilizing IPC SC-11-002
“Specification on Recognition of Training
Courses and Training Providers”
The second option is available
to Training Providers,
Certificate Program
Developers, Certificate
Issuers and/or Personnel
Certification Bodies (PCBs) that
wish to approve their Training Programs.
This option provides more flexibility since
it doesn’t limit the fields of the training
programs and doesn’t interrelate them to
personnel certification scheme(s), which,
remains an option, if applicable.
Option 3: Utilizing ASTM E2659-18:
“Standard Practice for Certificate Programs”.
This option is available to Training
Providers, Certificate Program Developers
and Certificate Issuers. It doesn’t limit the
fields of the training programs and doesn’t
interrelate them to personnel certification
scheme(s).
Read full article here
Table 1. Key differences between the three programs:
RECOGNITION STANDARD
FOR ORGANIZATION TYPES
CERTIFICATE PROGRAM
TYPES
INTERNATIONALLY
RECOGNIZED?
RECOGNIZED BY WHO?
ISO/IEC 17024
PCBs
Competence Based personnel
certification
Yes
IAF
IPC SC-11-002
PCBs and/or Training Agencies
Competence Based personnel
certification
Yes
IPC
ASTM E2659-18
Training Agencies
Knowledge based personnel
recognition
Yes*
Accreditation Bodies that
operate such program
*Not supported by IAF MLA.
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