The International Code Council surveyed building and fire departments to find out how code officials are coping with the professional challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. As of April 1, 2020, at 12:00 PM, 1,158 respondents from all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia provided input. Respondents came from jurisdictions of all sizes ranging from 1,000 people to over 4.6 million.
THE MAIN FINDINGS ARE:
The majority of departments surveyed (93%) are still performing inspections, either remotely or in-person. This falls in line with what the Code Council expected given that many areas have classified construction and code compliance activities as essential.
More than half (65%) of respondents said that some or all employees that conduct plan review or inspections are working remotely.
A large percentage of jurisdictions (66%) use a combination of electronic and hard copy versions of building safety codes, while a much smaller percentage of jurisdictions (7%) have advanced to using all electronic. 27% of respondents said their jurisdiction used only hard copies……