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Entertainment Occupancies

2025 GROUP B PROPOSED CHANGES TO THE I-CODES | Complete Monograph 2630 Pages

N.B.

G73-25 Section 410: Stages, Platforms and Technical Production Areas (Page 591-…) Submitted by the American Society of Theater Consultants

G77-25: Emergency ventilation  (Pages 601-…)

G27-25: Type A and B stage definition (Page 490)

G78-25: Technical Production areas (Page 602)

American Society of Theater Consultants | Oberlin College

2024 GROUP A PROPOSED CHANGES TO THE I-CODES | Complete Monograph 2658 Pages

2024/2025/2026 ICC CODE DEVELOPMENT SCHEDULE

“View from the Ancient Theater in Taormina to Mount Etna” c. 1880 Carl Wuttke

Safety and sustainability for any facility begins with an understanding of who shall occupy it.  University settings, with mixed-use phenomenon arising spontaneously and temporarily, present challenges and no less so in  square-footage identified as performing arts facilities.  Education communities present the largest installed base of mixed use and performing arts facilities.  A distinction is made between supervised occupants that are in secondary schools (generally under age 18) and unsupervised occupants that are in university facilities (generally above age 18).

First principles regarding occupancy classifications for performing arts facilities appear in Section 303 of the International Building Code Assembly Group A-1.  The public edition of the 2021 IBC is linked below:

2024 IBC Chapter 3: Occupancy Classification and Use

Each of the International Code Council code development groups A, B and C; fetch back to these classifications.   You can sample the safety concepts in play with an examination of the document linked below:

2019 GROUP B PROPOSED CHANGES TO THE GROUP B I-CODES

2019 GROUP B PUBLIC COMMENT AGENDA

Each of the foregoing documents are lengthy so we recommend using search terms such as “school”, “college”, ‘”university”, “auditorium”, “theater”, “children”, “student” to hasten your cut through it.

We find continuation of lowering of the lighting power densities as noteworthy.  Technical committees assembled and managed by the International Code Council, the American Society of Heating & Refrigeration Engineers and the Illumination Engineering Society are leaders in developing consensus products that drive the LED illumination transformation.

 

The revision schedule for the next tranche of ICC titles that are built upon the foundation of the IBC is linked below:

2024/2025/2026 ICC CODE DEVELOPMENT SCHEDULE

We encourage experts in education communities — facility managers, research and teaching staff, architectural and engineering students — to participate directly in the ICC Code Development process at the link below:

https://www.iccsafe.org/cdpaccess/

We reserve a place on the agenda of our standing Lively 200 colloquia on this topic.  See our CALENDAR for the next online meeting; open to everyone.

 

Issue: [18-166]

Category: Architectural, Healthcare Facilities, Facility Asset Management

Colleagues: Mike Anthony, Jim Harvey, Richard Robben

The International Code Council (ICC) develops its codes and standards through a consensus-driven process. The ICC Code Development Process follows these major stages:

Code Change Proposal Submission

Stakeholders (e.g., government officials, industry professionals, and the public) submit proposals to modify existing codes or introduce new provisions.

Committee Action Hearing (CAH)

Expert committees review and evaluate submitted proposals.
Public testimony is allowed, and committees vote on whether to approve, disapprove, or modify the proposals.

Public Comment Period

After the CAH, the public can submit comments or suggest modifications to the committee’s decisions.
These comments help refine the proposed changes before final voting.

Public Comment Hearing (PCH)

ICC members discuss and vote on public comments.
This step ensures that all voices are heard and debated before finalizing changes.

Online Governmental Consensus Vote (OGCV)

Governmental members vote on the final code changes electronically.
Only governmental voting members (e.g., code officials) participate in this stage to ensure the process remains unbiased.

Publication of New Code Edition

Approved code changes are incorporated into the next edition of the ICC codes.
The ICC updates its codes every three years (e.g., 2021, 2024, 2027 editions).

This structured process ensures that ICC codes remain comprehensive, up-to-date, and responsive to industry needs while maintaining safety and functionality.

Audio Standards

“A Dance to the Music of Time” 1640 Nicolas Poussin

 

 

“The voice of the intellect is a soft one,

but it does not rest until it has gained a hearing.”

— Sigmund Freud

 

The education industry provides a large market for occupancy classes — athletic stadiums, student assembly spaces, performance theaters, large lecture halls– that depend upon effective audio systems*.   To an unexpected degree the structural engineering, specification of materials and electrical system design and operation is informed by acoustical considerations.  So does the integration of fire safety and mass notification systems into normal state enterprises so it is wise to follow and, ideally, participate in leading practice discovery and promulgation of audio standards.

The Audio Engineering Society — one of the first names in this space — has a due process platform that welcomes public participation.   All of its standards open for public comment completed their revision cycle mid-November as can be seen on its standards development landing page below:

AES Standards Development

Note that AES permits access to those revision even after the comment deadline.  You are encouraged to communicate directly with the Direct communication with the standards staff at Audio Engineering Society International Headquarters, 551 Fifth Avenue, Suite 1225, New York NY 10176,  Tel: +1 212 661 8528

We keep the AES suite on the standing agenda of our periodic Lively Arts teleconference.  See our CALENDAR for the next online meeting.

This facility class is one of most complex occupancy classes in education facilities industry so we also collaborate with experts active in the IEEE Education & Healthcare Facilities Committee. Much of the AES suite references, and borrows from, International Electrotechnical Commission system integration and interoperability standards.   The IEEE E&H committee meets online again four times monthly in European and American time zones.  The meeting dates are available on the IEEE E&H website

Media production audio visual

Issue: [19-23]

Category: Electrical, Academic,  Athletics, Fire Safety, Public Safety, #WiseCampus

Contact: Mike Anthony, Jim Harvey

*Mass notification systems are governed by NFPA 72 and, while life safety wiring is separate from other wiring, the management of these systems involve coordination between workgroups with different business objectives and training.

LEARN MORE:

Archive / Audio Engineering Society

 

International Fire Code

2024 International Fire Code | Free Access

Crosswalk: NFPA Fire Code and ICC International Fire Code

2024 GROUP A PROPOSED CHANGES TO THE I-CODES based on Committee Action Hearings October 2024

2024 GROUP A PROPOSED CHANGES TO THE I-CODES

2024/2025/2026 ICC CODE DEVELOPMENT SCHEDULE

ICC BCAC | Comments to be presented at October Hearings

Noteworthy Proposals:

IFC 1010.27 Locking arrangements, PDF page 252

IFC 1020.2 Corridor Fire Resistance Ratings. PDF page 356

IFC 915 More Carbon Monoxide Detection Systems, PDF page 1156

IBC 917 Mass notification for Group E occupancies, PDF page 1176

IFC 5701 More Process Hazard Analysis, PDF page 1571

The transcript (Complete Monograph) of Committee Actions should be available by September 5th.

Committee Action Hearings on Proposed Changes: October 23-31 Long Beach, California

“A Square with Imaginary Buildings” | Hendrik van Steenwijck (1614)

LIVE: I-Code Group B Public Comment Hearings

Higher Education Laboratories

“Waking Effectiveness of Alarms for Adults Who Are Hard of Hearing” 2007  Victoria University, Australia

Health Facilities: Navigating IBC and NFPA differences

Posted February 14, 2023

Free access to the latest edition of the IFC is linked below:

2021 International Fire Code

Following the ICC Group A revision cycle public consultation on the 2024 International Fire Code will begin.  The ICC will announce the development schedule sometime in 2022.

We limit our resources simply tracking the proposals that run through Group E (Educational) and Group I (Institutional) occupancies in the Group A suite with closer attention to the state they are adopted whole cloth or with local exceptions.  In many cases, IFC adoption by state and local authorities is delayed by one or more previous code revisions.  This delay in adoption may be necessary in order for jurisdictions to evaluate the impact of changes upon the region under their authority.

Public safety budgets historically support the local and state fire marshal and his or her staff.   The revenue stream of many trade associations originates from membership, conference attendance, training and certification enterprises that service the public sector stakeholder.   Manufacturer sponsorship of trade association conferences is noteworthy.

Unless there is an idea, or proposed regulation that has run off the rails (either in terms of rigor or cost increase) — we place fire safety in the middle of our ranking of priorities.  With gathering pace, we find many fires safety goals being met with electrotechnologies where we place our highest priority.

Click on image for more information. The map is updated by expert agencies frequently so we recommend a web search for an update.

Significant code changes rarely happen within a 3-year cycle so it is wise to follow ideas as they travel through the agendas of technical committees through several cycles as administered by the Fire Code Action Committee.

The ICC posts the transcripts of public proposals, technical committee responses to public proposals, public response to the technical committee response and the final balloting in a fair and reasonable fashion as can be seen in the transcripts linked below:

2021 International Fire Code Proposed Changes

2021 International Fire Code Public Comment Agenda 

A search on the terms “classroom” or “school” in any of the documents above offers granular insight into the trend of current thinking.   We find fire extinguishers placement a perennial concern across several standards suites.   You will note the careful consideration of proposals for use of the mass notification systems, now integrated into fire alarm systems and their deployment in active shooter situations.

The transcripts reveal detailed understanding and subtlety.

“The Country School” | Winslow Homer

There are many issues affecting the safety and sustainability of the education facility industry.  We add value to the industry because of our cross-cutting perspective on the hundreds of “silos”created by the competition (and sometimes cooperation) among accredited, consortia and open-source standards developers.  We have the door open every day at 11 AM Eastern time to enlighten understanding of them all.  We also host a breakout teleconference every month to drill into the specifics of standards action on fire safety for the real assets of school districts, colleges and universities.  See our CALENDAR for the next online meeting.

Finally, we persist in encouraging education industry facility managers (especially those with operations and maintenance data) to participate in the ICC code development process.  You may do so by CLICKING HERE.

The ICC Group B Code Meetings will be hosted soon and open to the public:   

International Code Council 2022 Group B Public Comment Agenda (September 14-21 Kentucky International Convention Center)

The Group B tranche is largely focused on energy, structural, residential and existing building concepts but all of the titles cross-reference the IFC in some way so it is wise to follow how the concepts re-arrange and cross-reference themselves with each cycle.

 

Issue: [16-169]

Category: Architectural, Facility Asset Management, Space Planning

Colleagues: Mike Anthony,  Casey Grant, Joshua Evolve, Marcelo Hirschler

More

2021/2022 ICC CODE DEVELOPMENT SCHEDULE

FINAL ACTION RESULTS ON THE 2018 PROPOSED CHANGES TO THE INTERNATIONAL CODES – GROUP A

2018 GROUP A PROPOSED CHANGES TO THE I-CODES COLUMBUS COMMITTEE ACTION HEARINGS

2018 GROUP A PUBLIC COMMENT AGENDA | INTERNATIONAL BUILDING CODE

2018 GROUP A PUBLIC COMMENT AGENDA | INTERNATIONAL FIRE CODE

2018 REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ACTION HEARINGS ON THE 2018 EDITIONS OF THE GROUP A INTERNATIONAL CODES

 

 

Fire Alarm & Signaling Code

“Prometheus Bound” | Thomas Cole (1847)

NFPA 72 National Fire Alarm and Signaling Code is one of the core National Fire Protection Association titles widely incorporated by reference into public safety legislation.   NFPA 72 competes with titles of “similar” scope — International Fire Code — developed by the International Code Council.  We place air quotes around the word similar because there are gaps and overlaps depending upon whether or not each is adopted partially or whole cloth by the tens of thousands of jurisdictions that need both.

Our contact with NFPA 72 dates back to the early 2000’s when the original University of Michigan advocacy enterprise began challenging the prescriptive requirements for inspection, testing and maintenance (IT&M) in Chapter 14.  There are hundreds of fire alarm shops, and thousands of licensed fire alarm technicians in the education facility industry and the managers of this cadre of experts needed leadership in supporting their lower #TotalCostofOwnership agenda with “code-writing and vote-getting”.   There was no education industry trade association that was even interested, much less effective, in this space so we had to do “code writing and vote getting” ourselves (See ABOUT).

Code writing and vote getting means that you gather data, develop relationships with like minded user-interests, find agreement where you can, then write proposals and defend them at NFPA 72 technical committee meetings for 3 to 6 years.  Prevailing in the Sturm und Drang of code development for 3 to 6 years should be within the means of business units of colleges and universities that have been in existence for 100’s of years.  The real assets under the stewardship of these business units are among the most valuable real assets on earth.

Consider the standard of care for inspection, testing and maintenance.  Our cross-cutting experience in over 100 standards suites allows us to say with some authority that, at best the IT&M tables of NFPA 72 Chapter 14 present easily enforceable criteria for IT&M of fire alarm and signaling systems.  At worst, Chapter 14 is a solid example of market-making by incumbent interests as the US standards system allows.   Many of the IT&M requirements can be modified for a reliability, or risk-informed centered maintenance program but fire and security shops in the education industry are afraid to apply performance standards because of risk exposure.   This condition is made more difficult in large universities that have their own maintenance and enforcement staff.  The technicians see opportunities to reduce IT&M frequencies — thereby saving costs for the academic unit facility managers — the enforcement/compliance/conformity/risk management professionals prohibit the application of performance standards.  They want prescriptive standards for bright line criteria to make their work easier to measure.

While we have historically focused on Chapter 14 we have since expanded our interest into communication technologies within buildings since technicians and public safety personnel depend upon them.  Content in Annex G — Guidelines for Emergency Communication Strategies for Buildings and Campuses — is a solid starting point and reflects of our presence when the guidance first appeared in the 2016 Edition.  We shall start with a review of the most recent transcript of the NFPA Technical Committee on Testing and Maintenance of Fire Alarm and Signaling Systems

NFPA 72 First Draft Meeting (A2024)

Public Emergency Reporting Systems (SIG-PRS) First Draft

Public comment of the First Draft of the 2025 Edition is receivable until May 31, 2023.   As always, we encourage direct participation in the NFPA process by workpoint experts with experience, data and even strong opinions about shortcomings and waste in this discipline.  You may key in your proposals on the NFPA public input facility linked below:

https://www.nfpa.org/login

You will need to set up a (free) NFPA TerraView account.   Alternatively, you may join us any day at 11 AM US Eastern time or during our Prometheus or Radio colloquia.   See our CALENDAR for the online meeting.

Issue: [15-213]

Category: Fire Safety & Security, #SmartCampus, Informatics

Colleagues: Mike Anthony, Joe DeRosier, Josh Elvove, Jim Harvey, Marcelo Hirschler

More

2013 NFPA 72 National Fire Alarm and Signaling Code (357 pages)

TIA-222 Standard For Towers And Antenna Supporting Structures

 

Emergency Communication Strategies for Buildings

 

ARCHIVE / NFPA 72

National Center for Spectator Sports Safety and Security

 

Home Economics

Today at the usual hour we review the standards, codes, regulations and best practice literature for the safety and sustainability of facilities for teaching skills needed for supporting families.

Inglenook

Salutariness | Fashion

Commercial Kitchens

Life Safety Code

Electrical Safety

Energy Standard for *Sites* and Buildings

Current Issues and Recent Research

What the University of Michigan has done to reduce the life cycle cost of the real assets of educational settlements in the USA

What is Happening to the Family, and Why?

COZY FALL VLOG

Facilities Management

Salutariness

Salutariness (Cleanliness) standards follow culture (which follows the science which follows water and chemical management systems).   What is considered clean or hygienic in one culture may differ from what is considered clean or hygienic in another culture.  In some cultures, it is customary to remove shoes before entering a home, as it is considered unclean to wear shoes indoors.  In Japan, it is customary to take a bath or shower before entering a public bathhouse or hot spring, as it is considered unclean to enter a communal bath without washing first.  Most public swimming pools in the United States conform to a similar standard.

In some cultures, it is customary to eat with one’s hands, while in others, using utensils is the norm. Similarly, in some cultures, it is customary to clean one’s hands and face before eating, while in others, it is not considered necessary.  Cleanliness standards can also vary depending on the level of economic development, access to clean water and sanitation facilities, and public health policies in different countries.  Mahatma Gandhi believed that promoting cleanliness and hygiene could help in building a strong and self-sufficient nation.

“Harlem school custodian to retire, gets cafeteria dedicated to him” | Rockford Register Star

At 15:00 UTC today we review best practice literature for hygiene in education community interior spaces; including related accessory technologies.  Owing to the circumstances of the pandemic we have rewritten our past coverage of this topic for 2022.

Among the standards setting organizations active in this domain: (Short List)

American Society of Mechanical Engineers

ASME: Personal hygiene devices for water closets.

American Society of Heating and Refrigeration Engineers (ASHRAE International)

American Society of Safety Professionals

American Water Works Association

“No Water Fact Sheet”

“Responding to Water Stagnation in Buildings with Reduced or No Water Use” 

Association of Physical Plant Administrators (APPA)

Cleaning Operations

International Association of Plumbing Mechanical Officials (IAPMO Group)

Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers

RFID Based Smart Hand Hygiene Monitoring System for Health Care Institutions

Prospect of Solar-assisted Heat Pump Water Heating Systems for Student Residences

Identification of Legionella Species by Photogate-Type Optical Sensor

Smart Biosensor for Rapid and Simultaneous Detection of Waterborne Pathogens in Tap Water

Innovative UV-C LED Disinfection Systems for DrinkingWater Treatment

Temperature Distributions and Bacterial Growth Implications in a Hot Water Storage Tank under Scheduled Draw-off and Heating Cycles

Institute of Inspection, Cleaning and Restoration Certification

International Code Council

International Building Code: Chapter 12 Interior Environment

International Mechanical Code: Ventilation

International Plumbing Code: Sanitary Drainage

International Kitchen Exhaust Cleaning Association

International Sanitary Supply Association

Design Guidelines

University of Pittsburgh

National Air Duct Cleaners Association

Standard for Assessment, Cleaning and Restoration of HVAC Systems

National Fire Protection Association

“NFPA responds to the coronavirus”

Health Care Facilities Code

National Sanitation Foundation  (Several titles)

“Germiest Places at Schools”

Occupational Safety & Health Administration

CFR 1910.141 Sanitation

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services

Simon Institute

Cleaning Chemical Safety

State and Federal Regulations Open for Comment

We place public consultation deadlines at top priority in the time available and will schedule a separate break-out session to write and send comments.

Open to everyone.  Use the login credentials at the upper right of our home page.

International Plumbing Code

The International Plumbing Code (IPC) is developed to harmonize with the full span of ICC’s family of building codes.  The IPC sets minimum regulations for plumbing systems and components to protect life, health and safety of building occupants and the public. The IPC is available for adoption by jurisdictions ranging from states to towns, and is currently adopted on the state or local level in 35 states in the U.S, the District of Columbia, Guam, and Puerto Rico.

CLICK HERE for the 2021 Public Access Edition 

SOURCE: CLICK ON IMAGE | Contact ICC for most recent IPC adoption map

 

The IPC is developed in the ICC Group A Code development framework and concluded its revision cycle in late 2021 under the circumstances of the pandemic.  The 2023 International Plumbing Code revision cycle will not begin until early 2023 but it is never too soon to understand the issues from previous revision cycles to enlighten approaches to the forthcoming Group A revision cycle.   The complete monograph of the Group A Codes is linked below, with comments on IPC proposals starting on Page 1417 of this 1613 page document:

2021 IPC | Group A Public Comment Monograph

Because transgender issues are on the agenda of many facility managers we direct you to Page 1424 of the rather large document linked above.

As always, we persist in encouraging education industry facility managers (especially those with operations and maintenance data) to participate in the ICC code development process.  You may do so by CLICKING HERE.

Real asset managers for school districts, colleges, universities and technical schools in the Las Vegas region should take advantage of the opportunity to observe the ICC code-development process during the upcoming ICC Annual Conference in Las Vegas, October 20-23 during which time the Group B c Public Comment Hearings will take place.  Even though the IPC has moved farther along the ICC code development process it is still enlightening to observe how it work.   The Group B Hearings are usually webcast — and we will signal the link to the webcast when it becomes available — but the experience of seeing how building codes are determined is enlightening when you can watch it live and on site.

Issue: [16-133]

Category: Plumbing, Water, Mechanical

Colleagues: Eric Albert, Richard Robben, Larry Spielvogel

#StandardsNewMexico

 

LEARN MORE:

Neutral Public Bathroom Design

Uniform Plumbing Code

“Niagara” 1857 Frederic Edwin Church

Although the 2024 Revision is substantially complete there are a number of technical and administrative issues to be resolved before the final version is released for public use. Free access to the most recent edition is linked below.

CODE DEVELOPMENT

2027 UPC/UMC CODE DEVELOPMENT TIMELINE

Report on Comments for the 2024 Uniform Plumbing Code

Infotech 100

“The more abundant the information in the world,

the more economics becomes the science of allocating attention.”

— George Gilder

Today we break down the literature for building, maintaining and supporting the computing infrastructure of education communities.  We use the term “infotech” gingerly to explain action for a  broad span of technologies that encompass enterprise servers and software, wireless and wired networks, campus phone networks, and desktop computers that provide administrative services and career tech video production.   The private sector has moved at light speed to respond to the circumstances of the pandemic; so have vertical incumbents evolving their business models to seek conformance revenue in this plasma-hot domain.

Starting 2023 we break down the topic accordingly:

Infotech 100: Survey of the principal standards developing organizations whose catalogs are incorporated by reference into federal and state legislation.  Revision cycles.

Infotech 200: Campus computing facilities for research and education

Infotech 300: Communication networks, wired and unwired at the demarcation point; crucial for defining the responsibilities and boundaries between the service provider and the customer.

Infotech 400:  System, middleware and application for education and research

We have begun to track case studies of satellite-based internet services to rural and remote schools and community colleges.

Throughout 2025 we will expand our inquiry in this time slot.  There are obvious global security issues to enlighten approaches to assuring communication security if, for example, undersea cables are maliciously destroyed.


The literature radiates continually by consortia, open-source, or ad hoc standards-setting domains rather than the private standards system administered by global and standards setting bodies; to wit:

International:

IEC (EN 50600), IET, ISO, ITU

Vocabulary

Freely Available ICT Standards

IEEE Communications Society

United States:

ASHRAE,

Energy Standard for Data Centers

ATIS

BICSI

Information and Communication Technology Systems Design and Implementation Best Practices for Educational Institutions and Facilities

Information Communication Technology Systems Design and Implementation Best Practices for Healthcare Institutions and Facilities

Data Center Operations and Maintenance Best Practices

INCITS, NFPA, NIST, TIA (942)

Everywhere else:

3GPP & 3GPP2,  Apache Software Foundation,  ISTE,  OneM2M,  Uptime Institute

The ICT domain is huge, replacing physical libraries.  The foregoing is a highly curated sample.

We continue to include teaching and learning media standards on our colloquia however it is likely that will break up this topic into at least two related colloquia as 2023 proceeds; with primary focus on the design, construction and maintenance of the physical ICT infrastructure.  Much depends upon the interest of our clients, colleagues and other stakeholders.  We collaborate closely with the IEEE Education and Healthcare Electrotechnology Committee.

Use the login credentials at the upper right of our home page.

"One day ladies will take their computers for walks in the park and tell each other, "My little computer said such a funny thing this morning" - Alan Turing

A Study of Children’s Password Practices

 

 

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