California

Addressing Product Innovation, Code Approval and Professional Engineering

The “alternative materials, designs or methods of construction,” found in the building code are often misunderstood, leading to the statement: “I need an ICC report.”

The generic terms “ICC report,” “ICC evaluation report,” “ICC-ES technical evaluation,”  or “ICC-ES Report” are synonymous with a “product evaluation report created by an ANSI ISO/IEC 17065 accredited product certification listed body.”

Over 80 ANSI accredited organizations provide certified product evaluation reports. Each organization complies with the approval requirements of “IBC Section 1703 Approvals.” Section 1703 is adopted into CA law through the CA adoption of the IBC language.

In the context of creating a competitive market, the importance of product innovation and protecting proprietary knowledge and Intellectual Property (IP) is pinnacle to the California concept of free, fair, vigorous and competitive marketplaces. California is very interested in learning about any discrimination taking place in the California markets. Please contact SBCA if you experience ANSI code compliance or professional engineering denials in the course of doing business.

Letters to California Attorney General and Professional Engineering Licensing Board

California Product Evaluation Process for Code Compliance of Alternatives to the Code
Requests of Companies to Provide Proprietary Intellectual Property
Superseding a California Professional Engineer’s Decision Making Process