Transcript National Building Code

Jamaica National Building Code
Noel daCosta
Jamaica Institution of Engineers
2010/12/08
Building Codes
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Provisions that must be observed in
the design, construction and
maintenance of buildings.
Purpose is to ensure that in a
disaster:
Lives are protected.
 Physical damage is limited.
 Structures critical to human welfare
remain operational.
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Building Codes
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Embody accumulated knowledge of
leading scientists, engineers and
building construction experts, that
will produce structures that are ‘Fit
for purpose’.
Provide the first line of defence
against damage from natural hazards
and help ensure public safety.
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Building Codes
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Embody accumulated knowledge of scientists,
engineers and building construction experts,
that will ensure safe and predictable building
performance.
Provide the first line of defence against damage
from natural hazards and help ensure public
safety.
Produce structures that are comfortable and fit
for purpose.
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Building Codes
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Must be updated regularly to include new
technological developments as well as
new information after a disaster.
 New Florida code after hurricane
Andrew would have saved 60% of
damage if available prior.
Buildings use 40% of a country's energy,
so retrofitting older buildings for safety
and energy use is critical.
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Earthquake in two Cities
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Paso Robles (USA)
December 23, 2003
6.5 Richter
2 died
46 buildings damaged
Buildings were code
compliant
Designed / built by
qualified professionals
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Bam (Iran)
December 26, 2003
6.5 Richter
>30,000 died
85% city destroyed
Buildings were not
code compliant
Buildings ad-hoc
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Earthquake in two Countries
Haiti – January 12th 2010
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Approximately 230,000
Dead
Magnitude = 7.0
Maximum Intensity= X
Chile – February 27th 2010
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Approximately 520 Dead
Magnitude = 8.8
Maximum Intensity= IX
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Lessons for Jamaica
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Built environment is a significant % of
national capital
Need to mitigate against a single
disaster wiping out national physical
assets.
Jamaica lies in earthquake Zone 3 and
has a high probability of major damage
from magnitude 6 - 7 earthquakes.
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Lessons for Jamaica
 70% of buildings informal, designed
and built without professional inputs.
 Designs are not submitted for code
compliance evaluation.
 Generally more unsafe and suffer more
damage in any natural or man-made
disaster.
 Many of these buildings are not energy
efficient and are uncomfortable for their
occupants.
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Lessons for Jamaica
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Probability of 50 yr occurrence
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MMI
MMI
MMI
MMI
VII – 73% (Very Strong)
VIII – 44% (Destructive)
IX – 30%(Violent)
X – 16% (Cataclysmic)
Damage from the 1907 Earthquake
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40 to 70% of buildings in Kingston are expected
to collapse under a major seismic event.
Lessons for Jamaica
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Jamaica does not have a mandatory up-todate Building code.
Current legal Building code is from 1908.
Updated code published in 1983 as a policy
document and is not enforceable.
Caribbean Uniform Building Code (CUBiC)
produced in 1985 now 25 years old, not a
legal document.
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Caribbean Uniform Building Code
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46 % of engineers use CUBiC
30 % of engineers do not know about
CUBiC.
43 % of engineers use foreign codes. BS,
ASCI, SEAOC, ASTM, ASHRAE, IBC and
other codes
24 % of engineers know of CUBiC but
don’t use it.
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National Building Code
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In 1995 extant revision of the Jamaican
Building Code comprised six volumes and
patterned after CUBiC.
Bureau of Standards mandated by
Government to complete the revision of the
code, but project stalled for eight years.
Jamaican Institution of Engineers decided in
2003, to take over the development of a
Building Code for Jamaica.
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National Building Code
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Engineers met and decided to abandon
partially completed work and to adopt
International Building Codes (IBC) as
base document, and to develop
appropriate ‘application documents’.
the
the
the
an
Private sector stakeholders requested to
fund and participate in this work.
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Application Documents
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Incorporate special construction practices
peculiar to Jamaica.
Specify environmental and climatic
conditions for Jamaica.
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Incorporate local hazards
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Include energy efficiency features.
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Why adopt IBC?
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Staying current with technological
advances will be easier.
Improves quality and safety of the built
environment
Best returns from limited resources
Easy access to structured training for
Building Inspectors and others.
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Why adopt IBC?
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No need to ‘reinvent the wheel’
The IBC covers construction designs that
resist all the natural disasters which
affect Jamaica.
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Hurricanes
Earthquakes
Floods
Landslides
Storm Surges
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Why adopt IBC?
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Government requires a Jamaican
Code to include:
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Recent disaster experience, e.g. wind speed
to move from 120 to 150 mph ( Hurricane
Gilbert).
Improved access to buildings by the disabled.
Need to prevent a single natural disaster from
wiping out building stock
IBC satisfies these requirements.
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Updating problem solved
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Updating of Jamaica’s Building Code
did not occur because of limited
resources.
Outdated codes used way beyond
their useful lives.
Adopting the IBC means benefiting
from the frequent updating of this
Code.
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Trade Issues
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Using IBC Jamaica can get:
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International accreditation for building
Inspectors.
Re-insurers will consider building
risks no less favourably than others
within the region.
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Acceptance that its built environment
meets international standards.
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Trade Issues
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Tour operators now require that tourist
hotels are built using internationally
recognised building codes
Facilitates certification of construction
products and services, creating easier
access to international markets.
Training and international mobility for
Building inspectors
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Where are we now?
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11 of 14 international codes are adopted and
an application document developed for each.
Application Document specifies areas of IBC
which do not apply, gives alternate pathways,
contains local hazard data for use in formulae
and allows for local practices.
Local hazard maps (seismic, high winds,
annual rainfall intensity, land slippage, flood
plains, temperature zones) have been
developed and inserted in the appropriate
area of the codes.
the IBC plus the application document will
constitute Jamaica’s building
code.
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IBC Codes adopted
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International Existing Building Code (IEBC)
International Building Code (IBC)
International Residential Code (IRC)
International Plumbing Code (IPC)
International Code Council Electrical Code
(ICCEC) & National Electric Code (NEC)
International Mechanical Code (IMC)
International Energy Conservation Code (IECC)
International Private Sewage Disposal Code
(IPSDC)
International Fire Code (IFC)
International Fuel Gas Code (IFGC)
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International Property Maintenance
Code (IPMC)
New National Building Act and
Regulations
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A JIE committee along with the Ministry
of Local Government, prepared drafting
instructions for a new Act and
Regulations.
Parliamentary Counsel currently
working on the first draft of the Act.
Joins a long queue
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What will be different?
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Code compliant designs and
construction can be carried out only by
legally registered or licensed
professionals.
Building approval process should be
much quicker if drawings, contract
documents and specifications are
sealed, signed and submitted by a
registered engineer or architect.
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Code Compliance system
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The new code compliance system will
be significantly different in scope and
effectiveness over the extant system.
All inspectors, regulators, building
officials must be ICC certified.
Local Authorities need not have all the
compliance expertise needed since they
can contract private sector personnel
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who are ICC certified.
New National Building Code (NNBC)
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Recognizes that earthquakes are
amongst the major natural hazards
affecting buildings in Jamaica and has
developed data and calculation methods
which if used correctly, can result in
buildings that will successfully resist
powerful earthquakes.
Seismic data
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The seismic data was generated from
Jamaican earthquake historical data
spanning more than 500 years and
involving well over 600 events.
This has made irrelevant the use of
data from other countries deemed
similar to Jamaica, which in reality may
be vastly different.
Seismic Use Group
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The NNBC identifies buildings according
to their Seismic Use Group.
Buildings such as schools, fire stations
and hospitals have various SUG
ratings, and must successfully resist
structural loads up to 40% greater than
other buildings, and withstand the
earthquake to give service to the
survivors.
Seismic Intensity maps
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Modern structural designs are based on
spectral response acceleration.
The NNBC gives seismic maps of both short
and long spectral response acceleration
values that allow the designer to specify safer
buildings anywhere in Jamaica, and also
prevents the costly overdesign of structures.
Jamaican values for short and long term
spectral response acceleration has obviated
mimicking other areas of the world, thought
to approximate the Jamaican situation.
Seismic Intensity maps
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The likely damage to buildings in an
earthquake is based not only on the
seismic intensity but also on the soil
type on which the building sits.
The NNBC seismic intensity maps
considers soil types, so for the first time
building designers have appropriate
data for building in any part of Jamaica.
Seismic zoning
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In the case of the Residential/Small
Building Code where seismic data is
reduced to classification zones of seismic
severity, Jamaica is almost equally divided
into zones C and D1.
The application document has placed the
entire island in the more severe zone D1.
Buildings conforming to this code should
have better earthquake resistive
structures.
Information and Concerns
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Building code work done voluntarily by 108
Professionals at a value of US$3M, with
actual costs of US$200k.
With 70% informal buildings, can the
majority afford code designed small
buildings? Are predesigned incrementally
constructed buildings an alternative?
Now that various Hazard maps are available,
insurers are using them to set rates. How
can the public become informed?
Regional model Code and Act?
Thank you