ICC Evaluation Service and QAI Laboratories Align Resources To Expedite Building Product Testing and Evaluations

By Daniel Almasy, Chris Bowness

ICC Evaluation Service, LLC (ICC-ES), announced that it has formalized a working partnership with QAI Laboratories, Inc., headquartered in Rancho Cucamonga, California, to streamline the process for building product manufacturers to have their products tested and evaluated. The result is an expedited ICC-ES Evaluation Report or an ICC-ES Plumbing, Mechanical and Fuel Gas (PMG) Listing.

Under the new partnering program, manufacturers can now work with ICC-ES and QAI to bring products to market faster and at less cost. Products covered include, but are not limited to, wall systems and coverings, roofing systems and underlayments, water-resistant and air barriers, insulation, plumbing fixtures and fittings, PVC pipe and fittings and innovative building products in all of these areas.

Michael Beaton, P.E., ICC-ES Senior Vice President, commented on the announcement: “Time to market is really what brought this partnership about. It’s already proved successful in trial projects with QAI and resulted in much quicker completions. Under our Partner Program, ICC-ES Evaluation Reports (ESRs) are getting approved in a fraction of the usual time.”

Traditionally, manufacturers submit test data from independent testing labs directly to ICC-ES to obtain an Evaluation Report that covers comprehensive building code requirements. However, often due to miscommunication, needed information for the various code evaluations is incomplete or omitted, which results in delays. With the new partnering program, the manufacturer, ICC-ES and QAI will establish close communications and work together from the beginning of the process to decide on the scope of the project, and agree on a testing plan and the data requirements necessary to achieve the ESR or the PMG Listing. Now, if issues arise during inspections and testing, they are resolved among the parties as testing proceeds so that agreed-upon testing criteria and specifications are met. “This process is going to save a lot of time, settle problems much sooner and avoid delays,” said Beaton.

Chris Bowness, General Manager of QAI, pointed out the communication advantages: “With our California offices just a few miles apart, and many years of working together, QAI and ICC-ES are able to react and resolve issues very quickly, bringing significant acceleration to the end-resulting evaluation report or certification.”

“Our mutual goal is to help customers bring new products and technology advancements to market as fast as possible, Bowness added. “The partnering process fills communication gaps, providing for the most thorough, accurate, and rapid path to product acceptance.

In addition to cost and time savings, there are several other benefits to the manufacturer. QAI will act as the single point of contact and supervises the entire evaluation process through plan development, sampling, testing, quality documentation, inspection, data package and draft report. Also, manufacturers of plumbing products have the added advantage of receiving dual certification for product recognition in the U.S. and Canada.