Codes and standards are intended to provide a minimum level of protection of the public’s health, safety and welfare. And, generally, these documents accomplish that intended purpose in the urban/metropolitan areas of the United States. However, that may not be accurate when one gets into the rural or more isolated areas of the country.
But, let us first provide a definition of “code.” A code is a set of rules or regulations that establish how something must be done to protect the public. These codes should be based on sound science, physics and engineering practice. And, for the most part, this is an accurate basis for these codes especially as the model codes are developed under the ANSI (American National Standards Institute) consensus process. Older codes were developed by trial and error along with field experience, and, in some instances, by a local preference that may lack sound engineering principles behind them. But, over the years, it has become clear that science, physics and engineering principles proved a sound and repeatable basis for the codes. Hence, with each update and revision to the codes, they improve the publics’ health, safety and welfare.