Site Inspections
In response to the adoption in 2010 of the International Building Code (IBC) by the Abu Dhabi Department of Municipal Affairs (DMA), TBWIC has opened an Abu Dhabi branch office to provide the Special Inspections required in Chapter 17 of that document. Although accreditation under ISO 17020 (the standard for inspections organizations) is not yet mandatory, we wish to set the standard for inspection bodies in Abu Dhabi and have applied to IAS for accreditation.
Under the new code, inspections of (e.g) concrete, steel, welding etc., become the responsibility of the building owner / developer, rather than the building department of the local authority. The actual inspections have to be provided by an independent inspection authority. It is expected that these requirements will be implemented in Abu Dhabi by the end of 2011.
The IBC is a publication of the International Code Council (ICC) of the United States and was developed from a number of other codes then in use with the intention of providing a harmonized document. A team from the ICC, and their affiliate, the International Accreditation Service (IAS) spent much of 2009 and 2010 working with the DMA. Their task was to train the DMA personnel, to edit the Code to conform to the climate etc., of Abu Dhabi, and to prepare the building departments for accreditation under ISO 17020. Clay Salzman, who was a part of that team, heads up the TBWIC Special Inspections division in Abu Dhabi.
Abu Dhabi Building Codes: http://abudhabibuildingcodes.ae/
Text of Chapter 17 Structural Tests and Special Inspections: www.special-inspection.com
