The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) last month issued an alert urging health care organizations to pay attention to the way emergency power systems can fail. The alert also recommends steps to keep patients safe in the event of a disaster or other event that knocks out the organization’s electrical power supply.
Two national organizations have ended discussions regarding a single plumbing code and mechanical code. The International Code Council (ICC) and the International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials (IAPMO) announced in late August that they have stopped their talks to cooperate on the project.
“Both organizations worked cooperatively in good faith to try and put this joint venture together,” says Henry Green, ICC’s board president. A successful joint venture would have strengthened both organizations by bringing the Uniform Plumbing Code and Uniform Mechanical Code into the comprehensive, coordinated family of codes offered by ICC, Green says.
“A successful venture also would have increased resources available for training and member services, and reduced costly code adoption struggles,” Green says.
In August 2005, ICC and IAPMO began formal discussions to explore the joint development of new plumbing and mechanical codes. Both organizations signed a memorandum of understanding in September 2005. The parties committed to explore a joint venture that would allow them to work cooperatively to develop successor codes to the Uniform and International Plumbing and Mechanical Codes.
For more information, visit www.iccsafe.org or www.iapmo.org.
