The International Code Council and the Society of Fire Prevention Engineers have partnered to create the Code Official’s Guide to Performance-Based Design Review, intended for use by people with experience in building and fire codes, but who may not have detailed knowledge of fire protection engineering or performance-based design.

According to the ICC, the guide is designed to help code officials on those occasions when performance-based design, based on outcome rather than prescription, is the best choice, especially when reviewing plans for cutting-edge architectural designs or inspecting buildings made of new materials.

A panel of 19 volunteers including representatives of fire departments, engineers, risk management personnel and ICC staff, helped created the guide.

“Performance-based codes promote architectural creativity and the use of new materials,” said ICC Chief Executive Officer James Lee Witt. “The International Code Council is pleased that its work with SFPE results in a tool that helps code officials and contributes to public safety.”

The price is $37 for ICC members, $49 for nonmembers. For more information, see www.iccsafe.org or www.sfpe.org or call 301-718-2910.