July 2, 2004—AIA recently identified a need to assess the current status of state and local government use of hardware and software for online submittal of construction plans and the electronic review, tracking, and storage of those plans. To that end, AIA commissioned the Alliance for Building Regulatory Affairs in the Digital Age, a 44 member private/public partnership, through its secretariat, the National Conference of States on Building Codes and Standards (NCSBCS), to survey state and local governments on their acceptance and use of plans submitted over the Internet or on CD-ROM.
One hundred and twenty state and local building regulatory agencies in 33 states completed the survey. The surveyed jurisdictions included the regulatory agencies of 17 different state governments and 26 major cities. Among the surveys findings:
- Only 15 out of 120 jurisdictions are using on-line plans submittals
- 12 jurisdictions said they were going to take on-line plans submittals in the next 6 months to one year
- 31 jurisdictions said they planned to do so in next 1 to 2 years
- 25 said they would do so in next 2 years or longer
- Only 12 jurisdictions are accepting plans on CD-ROMs (a number of them are the same 15 using on-line plans submittals)
The survey also queried respondents regarding existing barriers that prevent more jurisdictions from using online plan submittals and other forms of electronic review. Reasons cited include:
- A lack of funding to establish technology based review program
- Inadequate software packages to conduct electronic plan reviews
- Only minor demand from A/E community for service to be developed
- Current lack of interoperable hardware/software
- Many states have not yet authorized the use of electronic seals
The electronic permitting survey is a part of the ongoing AIA effort to examine the state of permitting in the U.S. Together, the real estate and construction industry are the largest single component of our economy, representing 20 percent of the Gross Domestic Product and over 70 percent of our national wealth.
Unfortunately, says AIA, far too often design projects are met with a confusing array of building regulations and inefficient review processes that can cause significant delays in construction time. Increasing demand for economic competitiveness is forcing many city leaders to find ways to cut ineffective procedures in an attempt to create a more viable economic climate.
For a copy of the survey results or more information on AIA efforts related to streamlining the building permitting process, contact AIA Government Advocacy at 202/626-7507 or by email.
