Posted by Heidi Schwartz
As warm weather arrives this spring and summer, special precautions should be taken to ensure outdoor areas are safe from potential hazards. The adoption of current model building codes and standards developed by the International Code Council Family of Companies (ICC), a strong and efficient system of code application, and a dedicated workforce of Building Safety Professionals are keys to ensuring safety inside and out.
Since 1980, Building Safety Month is an annual public safety awareness campaign. The theme for week three of Building Safety Month 2015, May 18-24, is “Water Safe, Water Smart—Build to Code.”
“As the weather warms up, so do the risks for outdoor hazards,” said ICC Board of Directors President Guy Tomberlin, CBO. “Building Safety Month is the perfect time to focus on the dedicated Building Safety Professionals who are working every day to protect citizens in the built environment. Citizens can play a vital role in safety around their businesses, particularly around areas where water related hazards could occur.”
Spring is also the time to assess landscape irrigation systems to increase water conservation. If systems were installed several years ago, or if lawn landscapes have changed with added vegetation, irrigation systems may not be operating at peak efficiency. ICC and the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers have developed ASABE/ICC 802-2014, the first ANSI standard to establish uniform testing procedures for key landscape and irrigation systems components. Contact your local building department about servicing or replacing required backflow devices.
More outdoor safety tips are available at www.iccsafe.org/about-icc/safety/consumer-safety/.
