Building safety knows no borders

Now in its 39th year, the international campaign of Building Safety Month raised awareness about the importance of modern building codes and strong code enforcement in both the United States and abroad.

In Scotland, the Building Standards Division of the Directorate for Local Government and Communities — which frames current building standards legislation — embraced the Building Safety Month campaign by hosting and encouraging numerous events throughout the month of May. The flagship event was the presentation of the inaugural Buildings Standards Community and Building Safety Award, which celebrates the contribution made by building standards professionals to protecting communities through better building safety. The award was presented on May 17 at the 43rd Annual General Meeting and Conference for the Local Authority Building Standards Scotland in the Scottish Borders.

The winner of the 2019 award was Aberdeen City, recognized for strong community engagement and enforcement relating to the replacing of non-compliant doors in high rise housing with fire doors. The Building Standards Division also presented four finalist awards to entrants Angus, Perth & Kinross, South Ayrshire and Stirling for commendable, high-quality entries. “The importance of building safety is recognized throughout the world,” said the Building Standards Division in a statement. “We intend to use the award to emphasize the importance of working collaboratively with international partners, including those within the Inter-jurisdictional Regulatory Collaboration Committee community.”

The Building Standards Division is continuing its Building Safety Campaign throughout the year and looks forward to supporting the Construction Scotland Innovation Centre (CSIC) in its innovation and research program based on Fire Safety technology in July during the CSIC Safety Conference.

The Canadian province of Ontario has been an active supporter of Building Safety Month for many years. This year, the Ontario Building Officials Association launched an extensive social media campaign during May with the theme “Ontario’s Building Code Matters.”

The Australian Building Codes Board is an official supporter of Building Safety Month, and the Code Council looks forward to supporting them in May 2020 as they roll out their inaugural Building Safety Day events.