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Division of Engineering Service Codes Committee
Committee Purpose:
The Division of Engineering Service Codes Committee is designated as the IHS Authority Having Jurisdiction (AHJ) for all code interpretations required to resolve conflicts that arise from interpreting and applying various codes, guidelines, and other criteria in IHS facilities and projects.
Committee Structure:
The Committee is comprised of DES-Seattle and DES-Dallas staff. The Committee consists of five members appointed by the DES Director. All members are registered professional architects and/or engineers with specific training and experience in implementing and interpreting the applicable codes. Appointments to the Committee are for two-year terms. Current Committee members include:
- Michael Young, PE (Chairperson)
- Lewis Faulkner, RA (Vice Chair)
- Gerald Inglett, RA
- Suresh Shah, PE
- Stephen Christopher, PE
Interpretation Requests: If you have a question regarding the interpretation of a code for a project or facility that you are involved with, you may request the Committee provide an interpretation. Requests should be routed through your Area Facilities Manager and/or Safety Officer to the DES Director, who will forward your request to the Committee Chairperson. Within 14 days of the receipt of request, the Chairperson will provide a confirmation letter back to the requestor with a projected timeframe for issuance of an interpretation. On occasion the Committee may require additional information from the requestor in order to render a final decision. Upon receipt of all relevant information, interpretations shall be rendered within 28 calendar days. Whenever possible, these timeframes will be shortened.
Health Care Interpretations Task Force: IHS participates in a coalition of major organizations who have a specific interest in the application of the NFPA 101 Life Safety Code in health care situations. The coalition is called the Health Care Interpretations Task Force (HITF) and is comprised of representatives from AHCA, ASHE, IFMA, CMS, The Joint Commission, NFPA, VA, DoD, and IHS. The HITF meets twice per year during the annual NFPA Conference and was established so that member organizations could develop a consistent understanding and implementation of health care related Life Safety Code requirements. Member organizations may request interpretations of the Life Safety Code through their representative. For IHS, the representative is the DES Codes Committee Chairperson. Only HITF members who are also Authorities Having Jurisdiction (IFMA, CMS, The Joint Commission, VA, DoD, and IHS) are allowed to vote on interpretation requests. All member organizations have agreed to be bound by decisions rendered by the HITF, and hence, these decisions are included herein.
For additional information concerning the DES Codes Committee, please contact Joseph Bermes at (206) 615-2451.
Code Decisions: All code decisions are archived by number, subject matter, and date. If you wish to view the archived decisions, please click on the appropriate link below:
Additional information regarding the DES Codes Committee can be found in the following documents:
Technical Handbook Volume III Part 24-2.5 Authority Having Jurisdiction (6/19/2006) http://www.oehe.ihs.gov/hb/pdf/02402a24-2.5.pdf
Technical Handbook Volume I Part 4-3 Codes Committee Organization (1/6/2007) http://www.oehe.ihs.gov/hb/pdf/00403.pdf
