Pennsylvania

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.”

An ANSI 17065 accredited report or P.E. sealed technical evaluation reports, specialty design drawings, “ICC reports”, etc. (section 1704.3.2) shall gain immediate approval, per Pennsylvania (PA) laws. An ANSI 17065 accredited report is equivalent to the generic terms “ICC report,” “ICC evaluation report,” “ICC-ES technical evaluation,” or “ICC-ES Report.”

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 PA law through the PA 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 Pennsylvania concept of free, fair, vigorous and competitive marketplaces. Pennslyvania is very interested in learning about any discrimination taking place in the Pennsylvania markets.

Please contact SBCA if you experience ANSI code compliance or professional engineering denials in the course of doing business.

Letters to Pennsylvania Attorney General and Professional Engineering Licensing Board

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