NFPA Journal - May/June 2013 - (Page 75)

NFPA2013 All of these changes have been designed to make it easier for a wider audience to participate in the codemaking process, says Amy Cronin, division manager for NFPA’s Codes and Standards Administration. “The new system is all about making the process more efficient, accurate, and easy to follow,” says Cronin. “An easier, more efficient process means better participation, and better participation means better standards. This is an important step for NFPA and for the people who use all of NFPA’s various codes and standards.” Embrace of the Digital The new process differs from the old in a number of ways, none more notable than the sudden subtraction of paper from the equation—no more giant ROP and ROC books to lug to the Association Technical Meeting every June. Public input, public comments, and notices of intent to make a motion The development of the process began in 2010, when the NFPA Standards Council began analyzing the existing procedures in hopes of making them more user friendly and taking them online. (NITMAMs) are all submitted, and the First and Second Drafts of the revised standard and other information are published, online. Instead of trying to piece together the hundreds of proposals and comments so you can envision what the final standard would look Access + Authenticity IN ADDTION TO ITS NEW standards-development process, NFPA is addressing important intellectual property and copyright issues related to its codes and standards, steps designed to safeguard the integrity of the documents while allowing the easiest possible access. To make sure anyone can see an NFPA code or standard, even if they aren’t an association member, NFPA has introduced free access to all of its consensus documents at nfpa.org/freeaccess over the course of the past 10 years. The documents are in a read-only format, meaning the text cannot be copied or printed. Read-only PDF versions of NFPA codes and standards optimized for mobile devices and tablets are also available and are no longer locked with the FileOpen Digital Rights management utility, which kept many users from opening the PDFs on their iPads and Androids. “NFPA strives to make its documents as accessible as possible, because we believe this is the best way to accomplish our mission,” says NFPA President James Shannon. NFPA has also developed an authenticity program to ensure that the digital documents that are downloaded are the real thing and have not been altered in any way. “When NFPA started offering our like, you now have First and Second Drafts that give you a clear view of the way the final document will look. As it always has, the standards-development process still takes place in two stages, formerly known as the proposal and comment stages and now known codes and standards for download on the Internet, we started to see an increase in counterfeiting and in cutting and pasting certain parts of the documents on other websites for the public to look at,” says William Geller, a senior project manager at NFPA. “Unfortunately, we found omissions of some very important contextual information and incorrect equations, which could lead to bodily harm or damaged property.” To prevent that from happening, the Association took steps to help users verify that the code or standard they are using is genuine by affixing a stamp of authenticity to the front page of the document. Clicking on the seal, which contains the customer’s identification number, brings users to a verification database that includes all the NFPA documents in this program. This database tells users who bought the document and when. “That way, anybody can verify that the document they have in front of them is an authentic NFPA document,” says Geller. “They can trust it.” Documents may be unauthorized and may be inaccurate if they do not include the authenticity stamp, if user information is incorrect, or if there is no link to NFPA’s website. Users should stop referring to those documents and report them to NFPA’s Customer Service Department at 800-984-8500. as the input and comment stages. The input stage differs from the proposal stage primarily in the way the technical committees respond to the proposed revisions made by the public. Previously, interested parties proposed revisions to a standard and, using forms de- MAY/JUNE 2013 NFPA JOURNAL 75 http://www.nfpa.org/freeaccess

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of NFPA Journal - May/June 2013

NFPA Journal - May/June 2013
Contents
First Word
In a Flash
Perspectives
Firewatch
Research
Heads Up
Structural Ops
In Compliance
Buzzwords
Outreach
Electrical Safety
Wildfire Watch
Treasurer's Report
Work in Progress
Amping It Up
Drill Team
Working Together
Code Process 2.0
Routine Maintenance
Here, There, Everywhere
Section Spotlight
Expo Preview: Exhibitors' Showcase
Looking Back

NFPA Journal - May/June 2013