IAPMO urges its members and other interested parties to get involved in the code development process to ensure effectiveness in preserving the public’s health, safety, and welfare through fair and balanced development of the Uniform Codes.

PM Engineer Chief Editor Nicole Krawcke had the chance to chat with Jon Dommisse, Bradley Corp.’s vice president of marketing, to discuss how these commercial restroom trends are evolving in 2023, what the hottest products are and how codes are influencing the design of these spaces.

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.

I am often asked, “How do you remove the stranglehold that the union has on the Uniform Plumbing Code and Uniform Mechanical Code?” My answer is always the same — you outvote them at the Annual Conference at the end of the code change cycle.

The National Standard Plumbing Code (NSPC) is often called the New Jersey Plumbing Code. That is because New Jersey is the only state that adopts this code on a statewide basis. Other adoptions are by local jurisdictions in various states.

The first time I heard the terms “paruresis” and “parcopresis” was in the mid-1980s at a plumbing code hearing. In those days, there was no Google to look up the words. I listened to the chief plumbing inspector from a Midwestern state explain why this was an important issue in the plumbing profession.

The public hearing for review of the proposed code changes for the 2024 NSPC will take place 8 a.m.-5 p.m. ET, Aug. 11, at the Tropicana Casino and Resort in Atlantic City. 

All proposed changes must be submitted in electronic form to nspc@iapmo.org by 5 p.m. EST on March 1. 

Chicago has been known as the last major city in the United States that still mandates lead and oakum cast iron systems in buildings. No-hub fittings have never been allowed in the Chicago Plumbing Code. What is interesting is that caulking tools used to make lead and oakum joints are normally found in the plumbing museum.