Building Codes

Building Codes:
A building code (also building control or building regulations) is a set of rules that specify the
standards for constructed objects such as buildings and nonbuilding structures. Buildings must
conform to the code to obtain planning permission, usually from a local council. The main purpose
of building codes is to protect public health, safety and general welfare as they relate to the
construction and occupancy of buildings and structures. The building code becomes law of a
particular jurisdiction when formally enacted by the appropriate governmental or private authority.
Building codes are generally intended to be applied by architects, engineers, interior designers,
constructors and regulators but are also used for various purposes by safety inspectors,
environmental scientists, real estate developers, subcontractors, manufacturers of building
products and materials, insurance companies, facility managers, tenants, and others. Codes
regulate the design and construction of structures where adopted into law.
Examples of building codes began in ancient times. In the USA the main codes are the International
Building Code or International Residential Code [IBC/IRC], electrical codes and plumbing,
mechanical codes. Fifty states and the District of Columbia have adopted the I-Codes at the state
or jurisdictional level. In Canada, national model codes are published by the National Research
Council of Canada.
What is Specification Codes?
The adequacy of a structural member is determined by a set of design rules, called
specification codes.
These include formulas that guide the designer in checking strength, stiffness, proportions
and other criteria that may govern the acceptability of the member.
There are variety of specification that have been developed for both materials and
structures.
Each is based on years of research and experience gained through actual structure usage.

Followings are Some Specifications:

AISC-American Institute of Steel Construction

AISI-American Iron and Steel Institute
AWS-American Welding Society
AASHTO-American Association of State Highway & Transportation Officials
AREA-American Railway Engineering Association
ASTM-American Society for Testing and Materials
ASCE-American Society of Civil Engineering
B.S. Code-Steel Designers Manual
AISC-American Institute of Steel Construction:

The American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC) is a not-for-profit technical institute and
trade association for the use of structural steel in the construction industry of the United States.
AISC publishes the AISC 360 Specification for Structural Steel Buildings, an authoritive volume
on steel building structure design that is referenced in all U.S. building codes.

AISI-American Iron and Steel Institute:

The SAE steel grades system is a standard alloy numbering system for steel grades maintained by
SAE International.
In the 1930s and 1940s, the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) and SAE were both involved
in efforts to standardize such a numbering system for steels. These efforts were similar and
overlapped significantly. For several decades the systems were united into a joint system
designated the AISI/SAE steel grades. In 1995 the AISI turned over future maintenance of the
system to SAE because the AISI never wrote any of the specifications.
Today steel quotes and certifications commonly make reference to both SAE and AISI, not always
with precise differentiation. For example, in the alloy/grade field, a cert might say "4140", "AISI
4140", or "SAE 4140", and in most light-industrial applications any of the above is accepted as
adequate, and considered equivalent, for the job at hand, as long as the specific specification called
out by the designer (for example, "4140 bar per ASTM-A108" or "4140 bar per AMS 6349") is
certified to on the certificate. The alloy number is simply a general classifier, whereas it is the
specification itself that narrows down the steel to a very specific standard.
The SAE steel grade system's correspondence to other alloy numbering systems, such as the
ASTM-SAE unified numbering system (UNS), can be seen in cross-referencing tables (including
the ones given below).
The AISI system uses a letter prefix to denote the steelmaking process. The prefix "C" denotes
open-hearth furnace, electric arc furnace or basic oxygen furnace, while "E" denotes electric arc
furnace steel. A letter "L" within the grade name indicates lead as an added ingredient; for example,
12L14 is a common grade that is 1214 with lead added for machinability.

AWS-American Welding Society:

The American Welding Society (AWS) publishes specifications for a wide variety of welding
filler metals. These specifications are a series of rules and standards used by the welding industry
to classify welding electrodes.

The A5 group of specifications provides requirements for:

Electrode classification including mechanical properties and the composition of the weld
metal or the filler metal itself.
Electrode sizes and identification
Manufacturer's identification and packaging
AASHTO-American Association of State Highway & Transportation Officials:

The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) is a

standards setting body which publishes specifications, test protocols and guidelines which are used
in highway design and construction throughout the United States. Despite its name, the association
represents not only highways but air, rail, water, and public transportation as well.
Although AASHTO sets transportation standards and policy for the United States as a whole,
AASHTO is not an agency of the federal government; rather it is an organization of the states
themselves. Policies of AASHTO are not federal laws or policies, but rather are ways to coordinate
state laws and policies in the field of transportation.
Purpose:
The American Association of State Highway Officials (AASHO) was founded on December 12,
1914. Its name was changed to American Association of State Highway and Transportation
Officials on November 13, 1973. The name change reflects a broadened scope to cover all modes
of transportation, although most of its activities are still specific to highways.
While AASHTO is not a government body, it does possess quasi-governmental powers in the sense
that the organizations that supply its members customarily obey most AASHTO decisions.
Membership:
The voting membership of AASHTO consists of the Department of Transportation of each state
in the United States, as well as those of Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia.
The United States Department of Transportation, some U.S. cities, counties, and toll-road
operators, most Canadian provinces as well as the Hong Kong Highways Department, the Turkish
Ministry of Public Works and Settlement, and the Nigerian Association of Public Highway and
Transportation Officials have non-voting associate memberships.
Publications:
Some noteworthy AASHTO publications are:

A Policy on Geometric Design of Highways and Streets, often called "The Green Book"
because of the color of its cover. This book covers the functional design of roads and
highways including such things as the layout of intersections, horizontal curves and
vertical curves.
Standard Specifications for Transportation Materials and Methods of Sampling and
Testing.
AASHTO LRFD Bridge Design Specifications. This manual is the base bridge design
manual that all DOTs use across the US.
Manual for Assessing Safety Hardware (MASH), crash testing criteria for safety hardware
devices for use on highways; it updates and replaces NCHRP Report 350.
In addition to its publications, AASHTO performs or cooperates in research projects. One such
project is the AASHTO Road Test, which is a primary source of data used when considering
transport policies and the structural design of roads. Much of AASHTO's current research is
performed by the National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) which is
administered by the Transportation Research Board (TRB) of the National Research Council.
AASHTO resource, formerly the AASHTO Materials Reference Laboratory (AMRL), accredits
laboratories. Accreditation is often required to submit test results to state DOTs. For example, a
contract for the construction of a highway bridge may require a minimum compressive strength
for the concrete used. The contract will specify AASHTO Test Designation T 22, "Compressive
Strength of Cylindrical Concrete Specimens," as the means of determining compressive strength.
The laboratory performing T 22 will be required to be accredited in that test.
AASHTO coordinates the numbering of Interstate Highways, U.S. Highways and U.S. Bicycle
Routes.

AREA-American Railway Engineering Association:

The American Railway Engineering and Maintenance-of-Way Association (AREMA) is a
North American railway industry group. It publishes recommended practices for the design,
construction and maintenance of railway infrastructure, which are requirements in the United
States and Canada.
Overview:
AREMA is headquartered in Lanham, Maryland, a suburb of Washington, DC. As stated in their
mission statement, AREMA promotes "The development and advancement of both technical and
practical knowledge and recommended practices pertaining to the design, construction and
maintenance of railway infrastructure."
Beth Caruso was appointed as AREMA's Executive Director/CEO in September 2015. Prior to
this appointment, she served as AREMA's Director of Administration. Brian A. Lindamood is the
AREMA President and Chairman of the Board of Governors for 2015-2016.
History:
AREMA was established on October 1, 1997, by the merger of three engineering support
associations:

the American Railway Bridge and Building Association

the Roadmasters and Maintenance of Way Association
the Communications and Signal Division of the Association of American Railroads
Each of these organizations have devoted over 100 years of service to the rail industry to AREMA.
American Railway Bridge and Building Association:
Formed in 1891 in St. Louis, Missouri, as the American International Association of Railway
Superintendents of Bridges and Buildings, the Association initially represented 40 railroads. The
name was changed in 1907 to the American Railway Bridge and Building Association. The group
provided a forum to exchange information and create solutions to problems that confront the
railway industry.
Road masters and Maintenance of Way Association:
The oldest of the groups was organized in 1883 by 61 road masters representing 24 railways. The
Association provided a means for maintenance officers to meet and discuss their mutual problems.
Rail joints, switches, frogs and ties were among the subjects studied, leading to the standardization
of maintenance practices.
Communications and Signal Division of the Association of American Railroads:
In 1885, the Association of Telegraph and Telephone Superintendents was formed by the telegraph
superintendents of the major railroads. In 1895, the Railway Signaling Club was organized at a
meeting in Chicago, Illinois, and created a code of rules governing the operation of interlockings.
In 1919, the Signaling Club became the Signal Division of the newly created American Railway
Association (ARA) and the Telegraph Superintendents became its Telegraph and Telephone
Section. The ARA became the Association of American Railroads (AAR) in 1934; the Signal
Division was renamed the Signal Section and the Telegraph and Telephone was renamed the
Communications Section. The two sections merged in 1961 to become the Communications and
Signal Division of the AAR, which has now been merged into AREMA.

ASTM-American Society for Testing and Materials:

ASTM International, formerly known as American Society for Testing and Materials, is an
international standards organization that develops and publishes voluntary consensus technical
standards for a wide range of materials, products, systems, and services. Some 12,575 ASTM
voluntary consensus standards operate globally. The organization's headquarters is in West
Conshohocken, Pennsylvania, about 5 mi (8.0 km) northwest of Philadelphia.
Founded in 1898 as the American Section of the International Association for Testing Materials,
ASTM International predates other standards organizations such as the BSI (1901), IEC (1906),
DIN (1917), ANSI (1918), AFNOR (1926), and ISO (1947).
History:
A group of scientists and engineers, led by Charles Dudley, formed ASTM in 1898 to address the
frequent rail breaks affecting the fast-growing railroad industry. The group developed a standard
for the steel used to fabricate rails. Originally called the "American Society for Testing Materials"
in 1902, it became the "American Society for Testing and Materials" in 1961 before it changed its
name to “ASTM International” in 2001 and added the tagline "Standards Worldwide". In 2014, it
changed the tagline to "Helping our World Work better". Now, ASTM International has offices in
Belgium, Canada, China, Peru, and Washington, D.C.
Membership and Organization:
Membership in the organization is open to anyone with an interest in its activities. Standards are
developed within committees, and new committees are formed as needed, upon request of
interested members. Membership in most committees is voluntary and is initiated by the member's
own request, not by appointment nor by invitation. Members are classified as users, producers,
consumers, and "general interest". The latter includes academics and consultants. Users include
industry users, who may be producers in the context of other technical committees, and end-users
such as consumers. In order to meet the requirements of antitrust laws, producers must constitute
less than 50% of every committee or subcommittee, and votes are limited to one per producer
company. Because of these restrictions, there can be a substantial waiting-list of producers seeking
organizational memberships on the more popular committees. Members can, however, participate
without a formal vote and their input will be fully considered.
As of 2015, ASTM has more than 30,000 members, including over 1,150 organizational members,
from more than 140 countries. The members serve on one or more of 140+ ASTM Technical
Committees. ASTM International has several awards for contributions to standards authorship,
including the ASTM International Award of Merit (the organization's highest award) ASTM
International is classified by the United States Internal Revenue Service as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit
organization.
Standards Compliance:
ASTM International has no role in requiring or enforcing compliance with its standards. The
standards, however, may become mandatory when referenced by an external contract, corporation,
or government.

In the United States, ASTM standards have been adopted, by incorporation or by reference,
in many federal, state, and municipal government regulations. The National Technology
Transfer and Advancement Act, passed in 1995, requires the federal government to use
privately developed consensus standards whenever possible. The Act reflects what had
long been recommended as best practice within the federal government.
Other governments (local and worldwide) also have referenced ASTM standards.
Corporations doing international business may choose to reference an ASTM standard.
All toys sold in the United States must meet the safety requirements of ASTM F963,
Standard Consumer Safety Specification for Toy Safety, as part of the Consumer Product
Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (CPSIA). The law makes the ASTM F963 standard a
mandatory requirement for toys while the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC)
studies the standard's effectiveness and issues final consumer guidelines for toy safety.

ASCE-American Society of Civil Engineering:

The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) is a tax-exempt professional body founded in
1852 to represent members of the civil engineering profession worldwide. Headquartered in
Reston, Virginia, it is the oldest national engineering society in the United States. Its constitution
was based on the older Boston Society of Civil Engineers from 1848.
ASCE is dedicated to the advancement of the science and profession of civil engineering and the
enhancement of human welfare through the activities of society members. It has about 152,000
members in about 177 countries. Its mission is to provide essential value to members, their careers,
partners, and the public; facilitate the advancement of technology; encourage and provide the tools
for lifelong learning; promote professionalism and the profession; develop and support civil
engineers.
History:
The first serious and documented attempts to organize civil engineers as a professional society in
the newly created United States were in the early 19th century. In 1828, John Kilbourn of Ohio,
managed a short-lived "Civil Engineering Journal", editorializing about the recent incorporation
of the Institution of Civil Engineers in Great Britain that same year, Kilbourn suggested that the
American corps of engineers could constitute an American society of civil engineers. Later, in
1834, an American trade periodical, the "American Railroad Journal" advocated for similar
national organization of civil engineers.
Institution of American Civil Engineers:
On December 17, 1838, a petition started circulating asking civil engineers to meet in 1839 in
Baltimore, Maryland to organize a permanent society of civil engineers. Prior to that, thirteen
notable civil engineers largely identifiable as being from New York, Pennsylvania, or Maryland
met in Philadelphia. This group presented the Franklin Institute of Philadelphia with a formal
proposal that an Institution of American Civil Engineers be established as an adjunct of the
Franklin" Some of them were:

Benjamin Wright. In 1969, the American Society of Civil Engineers declared Wright to be
the 'Father of American Civil Engineering'.
William Strickland
Pennsylvanians Edward Miller and Solomon. W. Roberts, the latter being Chief Engineer
for the Allegheny Portage railroad, the first crossing of the Allegheny mountains (1831-
1834)
Forty engineers actually appeared at the February 1839 meeting Baltimore including J. Edgar
Thomson (Future Chief Engineer and later President of the Pennsylvania Railroad), Wright,
Roberts, Edward Miller, and the Maryland engineers Isaac Trimble and architect Benjamin H.
Latrobe and attendees from as far as Massachusetts, Illinois, and Louisiana. Subsequently, a group
met again in Philadelphia, led by its Secretary, Edward Miller to take steps to formalize the society,
participants now included such other notable engineers as:

John B. Jervis
Claudius Crozet
William Gibbs McNeill
George Washington Whistler
Walter Gwynn
J. Edgar Thompson
Sylvester Welch, brother of future ASCE president Ashbel Welch
Other members included Jonathan Knight and Moncure Robinson.
Miller drafted up a proposed constitution which gave the society's purpose as "the collection and
diffusion of professional knowledge, the advancement of mechanical philosophy, and the elevation
of the character and standing of the Civil Engineers of the United States." Membership in the new
society restricted membership to engineers and "architects and eminent machinists were to be
admitted only as Associates." The proposed constitution failed, and no further attempts were made
to form another society. Miller later ascribed the failure due to the difficulties of assembling
members due available means for traveling in the country at time. One of the other difficulties
members would have to contend with was the requirement to produce each year, one previously
unpublished paper or " present a scientific book, map, plan or model, not already in the possession
of the Society, under the penalty of $10." In that same period, the editor of the American Railroad
Journal commented that effort had failed in part due to certain jealousies which arose due to the
proposed affiliation with the Franklin Institute. That journal continued discussion on forming an
engineers' organization from 1839 thru 1843 serving its own self interests in advocating its journal
as a replacement for a professional society but to no avail.
The American Society of Civil Engineers and Architects:
During the 1840s, professional organizations continued to develop and organize in the United
States. The organizers motives were largely to "improve common standards, foster research, and
disseminate knowledge through meetings and publications." Unlike earlier associations such as
the American Philosophical Society, these newer associations were not seeking to limit
membership as much as pursue "more specialized interests." Examples of this surge in new
professional organizations in America were the American Statistical Association (1839),
American Ethnological Society (1842), American Medical Association (1847), American
Association for the Advancement of Science, (1848) and National Education Association (1852).
During this same period of association incorporations on the 1840s, attempts were again made at
organizing an American engineer association. They succeeded at first with the Boston Society of
Civil Engineers, organized in 1848 and then in October 1852, with an effort to organize a Society
of Civil Engineers and Architects in New York. Led by Alfred W. Craven, Chief Engineer of the
Croton Aqueduct and future ASCE president, the meeting resolved to incorporate the society under
the name "American Society of Civil Engineers And Architects". Membership eligibility was
restricted to “civil, geological, mining and mechanical Engineers, architects, and other persons
who, by profession, are interested in the advancement of science.” James Laurie was elected the
society's first president. The meetings only went through 1855 and with the advent of the American
Civil War, the society suspended its activities. The next meeting was more than twelve years later
in 1867. A number of the original founders such as James Laurie, J.W. Adams, C. W. Copeland
and W. H. Talcott were at this meeting and were dedicated to the objective of resuscitating the
Society. They also planned to put the society on a more permanent footing as well as electing fifty-
four new members to the Society. With success in that effort, the young engineering society passed
a resolution noting that its preservation was mainly due to the persevering efforts of its first
president, James Laurie. The address of President James Pugh Kirkwood delivered at that meeting
in 1867 was the first publication of the Society, appearing in Volume 1 of “Transactions,” bearing
date of 1872.
19th century:
At an early meeting of the Board of Direction in 1852, instructions were given for the incorporation
of the “American Society of Civil Engineers and Architects” but this was the proper steps were
never taken, and therefore this name never legally belonged to the Association. On March 4, 1868,
by a vote of 17 to 4, the name was changed to “American Society of Civil Engineers,” but it was
not until April 17, 1877, that the lack of incorporation was discovered and the proper steps taken
to remedy the defect. The society was then chartered and incorporated in New York state.
20th century:
Nora Stanton Barney was among the first women in the United States to earn a civil engineering
degree, graduating from Cornell University in 1905 with a degree in civil engineering. In the same
year, she was accepted as a junior member of the organization and began work for the New York
City Board of Water Supply. She was the first female member of ASCE, where she was allowed
to be a junior member, but was denied advancement to associate member in 1916 because of her
gender. In 2015, she was posthumously advanced to ASCE Fellow status.
In 1999, the ASCE elected the top-ten "civil engineering achievements that had the greatest
positive impact on life in the 20th century" in "broad categories". Monuments of the Millennium
were a "combination of technical engineering achievement, courage and inspiration, and a
dramatic influence on the development of [their] communities". The achievements and monuments
that best exemplified them included:

Airport design and development the Kansai International Airport in Osaka, Japan
Dams the Hoover Dam on the Colorado River in the United States
Interstate Highway System "the system overall"
Long-span bridges like the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, California
Rail transportation as exemplified by the Eurotunnel rail system connecting the UK and
France
Sanitary landfills and solid waste disposal "sanitary waste disposal advances overall"
Skyscrapers the Empire State Building in Midtown Manhattan, New York City
Wastewater treatment the Chicago wastewater system
Water supply and distribution the California State Water Project
Water transportation the Panama Canal