FM Global Publishes Comprehensive Index of Countries’ Building Codes

FM Global, a global commercial and industrial property insurer, announced the publication of the first-ever index of many of the world’s building codes.

The 2015 FM Global Country Building Codes Index is a PDF document available at no charge and is produced in cooperation with the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). It serves as a companion to the newly updated FM Global Resilience Index, which is the ranking of the supply chain resilience of 130 countries and territories.

The index, which will be updated annually, is designed to help companies that are building or retrofitting facilities to quickly and easily discover the most up-to-date country building codes in their target regions and gain new context around construction and fire risk. For example, a company designing 15 new distribution centers around the world can use the index to understand differing national guidelines and make informed construction decisions accordingly.

“Until now, there’s been no unified index of building codes,” said Paris Stavrianidis, vice president and manager of FM Approvals and international codes and standards. “This is a step forward to bring together the codes we know of in one place, including previously hard-to-find information. It also provides helpful confirmation that a few countries have no known national building code. We welcome input on the index in our efforts to keep it updated and hope it will be a useful reference as our clients consider where to extend their businesses or how to upgrade their existing facilities.”

“Building codes vary dramatically around the world,” said Donald Bliss, vice president of field operations for NFPA. “Some countries have strict codes, while others have none. Some codes are grounded in engineering research while others are perceived as more arbitrary. The FM Global Country Building Codes Index makes it easy to examine the building codes in countries throughout the world – the same ones ranked in the FM Global Resilience Index – to support far-reaching business decisions.”

Source: FM Global