The National Alliance for Building Regulatory Reform in the Digital Age brought together 25 representatives of construction-industry organizations and government agencies on July 12 to take part in its work plan. The alliance goal, as its name implies is "to use information technology [IT] to transform the nation's building regulatory process to enable the construction industry to build faster, better, safer, and at less cost.

The meeting, held at the National Governor's Association Hall of States in Washington, D.C., and cosponsored by the National Conference of States on Building Codes and Standards (NCSBCS) followed up on a May 31–June 1 forum that founded the alliance and developed its action agenda.

Recognizing that the 44,000 building-regulation jurisdictions are hampered from using IT, because of cost, lack of standards, and inconsistency in training and use of computer hardware and software, and further recognizing the speed with which IT develops, the alliance immediately created two task forces.

The work has already begun
The Planning and Coordinating Task Force is developing a business plan and case studies of jurisdictions that have successfully streamlined their building regulatory process through IT applications. Some examples include New Jersey, with its online Uniform Administrative System; Fairfax County, Va., which links zoning, land use, and building regulations into a seamless online service; and Los Angeles, which has its plans-check and inspection systems online. The task force will also work to give the IT community an understanding of the actual needs of building regulators and help draft a model uniform systems requirements guide to IT for local, state, and federal government officials.

The Technology Task Force is developing a mission statement and a white paper on short-term needs. And its members are working with hardware vendors and software developers to draft systems requirements. Among the short-term activities under way are:
• Creation of an information technology clearinghouse to monitor state and local technology implementation
• Undertaking a cost/benefit analysis of streamlining the existing regulatory system
• Developing model enabling legislation for the implementation of technology in the building regulatory process.
The alliance has a set schedule for its work for the rest of this year, and plans its next national forum for either the spring or summer of 2002.

The AIA contribution
AIA state and local government affairs staff participated in the July 12 meeting and, along with professional interest areas staff, will continue to support the National Alliance for Building Regulatory Reform in the Digital Age task force work.

Although the AIA leadership has not yet committed to the financial and person-hour quotas the alliance has set for membership, there is a strong appreciation that streamlining the regulatory process through IT applications would be beneficial to AIA members and the building community as a whole. Electronic plan submission and review could greatly enhance approval time while resulting in a decrease in expenditures. Moreover, many states are currently reviewing the electronic submission issue and some are developing rules and standards for implementation in the near future, and architect input at this formative stage is important.

Robert Wible, NCSBCS executive director, offers six suggestions to how AIA members can get involved right away in this project:

1. Talk to your elected representatives and building-department officials to educate them on the value of streamlining the building regulatory system through IT applications. You'll find much more detail on the NCSBCS Web site.

2. Get actively involved yourself in streamlining initiatives in your state or local jurisdiction.

3. Volunteer through your relevant AIA local, state, and/or national component professional interest areas to support the AIA's efforts in this arena over the coming years.

4. Report to the AIA government affairs staff pmendelsohn@aia.org and the National Alliance cfitch@ncsbcs.org examples of effective and efficient streamlining programs or uses of information technology.

5. Report to the AIA technology in architecural practice staff kshertz@aia.org and the National Alliance cfitch@ncsbcs.org on the computer hardware and software you currently use with state or local jurisdictions to file for building permits and submit plans for review. (The National Alliance is trying to get a handle on the range of IT applications that jurisdictions are now using and what benefits and potential problems architects are experiencing.)

6. Support the local, state, and national AIA components in their participation in this project.

Copyright 2001 The American Institute of Architects. All rights reserved.