Conflict Of Interest: Performance-Based Fire Safety Design and Regulation

University Of Maryland, College Park, College Park MD

Investigators

Abstract

Advances in engineering and scientific knowledge have generated a shift to "performance" codes, in which the building design is expected to satisfy broad social safety goals, rather than comply with "prescriptive" requirements. This project addresses conflict of interest that arises when performance codes address intrinsic hazards such as fire instead of extrinsic hazards such as earthquakes. In designing for intrinsic hazards, the same professional is both defining the hazard and designing the solution. Because these hazards are factually and technically very complex, there is no easy way to make sure that the social safety goals will be maintained. The regulatory systems adopted in fire engineering aggravate the problem by providing for piecemeal regulation of design objectives instead of an overall evaluation by regulators of the safety of the project. The multi disciplinary project proposes a careful examination of methods used in structural engineering to mitigate conflicts of interest and the evaluation of such methods for use in fire engineering. The methodology to be used is Regulatory Effectiveness analysis, a qualitative technique for comparing the Public policy, legal structure and technical tools in a technical regulatory program. Candidates for dealing with the conflict include regulatory responses; technological responses; sensitivity analysis and model verification; limiting analysis to technological factors; required Publication and disclosure or the utilization of other disciplines.