Supplemental Operating Procedures for the NFPA Committees on Safety to Life

Transcription

1 Supplemental Operating Procedures for the NFPA Committees on Safety to Life Adopted by the Technical Correlating Committee on Safety to Life: January 2002 (letter ballot). Approved by the Standards Council: April 2002 Preamble: The operations of the Committees on Safety to Life (i.e., the Technical Correlating Committee on Safety to Life and the various Life Safety Technical Committees) are governed by the NFPA Regulations Governing Committee Projects ("Regulations"). In addition to those Regulations, the following Supplemental Operating Procedures have been adopted and approved pursuant to and 3.4.3(h) of the Regulations. These Supplemental Operating Procedures are intended to be consistent with and supplement the Bylaws of the Association and the Regulations Governing Committee Projects and should any conflict appear either now or as the Bylaws or Regulations might be amended, the Bylaws and Regulations shall govern. Thirteen of the fourteen life safety technical committees also have responsibility for portions of NFPA 5000 NFPA Building Code, for which they report to the Technical Correlating Committee on Building Code and are known as the building code technical committees. For example, the technical committee with responsibility for means of egress is known as the Life Safety Technical Committee on Means of Egress (SAF-MEA) when it works on NFPA 101 and is known as the Building Code Technical Committee on Means of Egress (BLD-MEA) when it works on NFPA The Supplemental Operating Procedures for the NFPA Committees on Safety to Life address only the life safety (SAF-) technical committee activities, not those of the building code (BLD-) technical committees. See the Supplemental Operating Procedures for the NFPA Committees on the NFPA Building Code. Section 1 General 1.1 The Committees on Safety to Life have been established by the NFPA Standards Council for the purpose of having primary responsibility for documents on the protection of human life from fire and other circumstances capable of producing similar consequences, and for the nonemergency and emergency movement of people. The Technical Correlating Committee on Safety to Life has been assigned the primary responsibility for the management of the Committees on Safety to Life. The Committees are responsible for developing and revising NFPA 101 Life Safety Code, NFPA 101A Guide on Alternative Approaches to Life Safety, NFPA 101B Means of Egress Code, NFPA 102 Standard for Grandstands, Folding and Telescopic Seating, Tents, and Membrane Structures, and such other documents as may be assigned to them. 1.2 The activities of the Committees on Safety to Life, operating within the scope approved by the NFPA Standards Council, shall include: a. Developing periodic revisions to documents under their responsibility, in accordance with the Regulations. (See, generally, Section 4 of the Regulations.) b. Processing proposed Tentative Interim Amendments to the current editions of the documents under their responsibility, in accordance with the Regulations. (See, generally, Section 5 of the Regulations.) Life Safety Supplemental Operating Procedures / 10/16/2001 SAF-AAC Action / Page 1 of 7

2 c. Processing proposed Formal Interpretations on provisions of the documents under their responsibility, in accordance with the Regulations. (See, generally, Section 6 of the Regulations.) Section 2 Technical Correlating Committee (TCC) on Safety to Life 2.1 The Technical Correlating Committee on Safety to Life shall have the responsibilities detailed in the Regulations (see, generally, 3-3 and 3-4 of the Regulations) and the following responsibilities: a. Direct the activities of the Life Safety Technical Committees which have primary responsibility for the development and revision of documents assigned to them. b. Determine the steps and schedule for each revised edition of documents under its responsibility, subject to approval by the NFPA Standards Council. c. Resolve conflicts and establish that satisfactory correlation is achieved among the recommendations of the Life Safety Technical Committees and other NFPA Technical Committees and that errors and omissions are corrected. d. Choose between alternatives presented by the Life Safety Technical Committees, and write text, but only as necessary for correlation, consistency, and the correction of errors and omissions. e. Act on a Life Safety Technical Committee's request to exempt its occupancy chapter(s) from requirements of Chapters 1 through 10 ("core chapters") if the Technical Committees are unable to agree on the exemption. (See also 3.4 of these Supplemental Operating Procedures.) f. Review all reports by the Life Safety Technical Committees that recommend changes or additions to documents under their responsibility; determine whether the Technical Committees have processed the recommended changes or additions in accordance with the Regulations and these Supplemental Operating Procedures; and determine whether the reports shall be approved for further processing, amended, rejected, returned to the appropriate Technical Committee for further study, or submitted to a task group for specific consideration, all in accordance with 2.1 (c), (d), and (e) of these Procedures. g. Review reports of task groups of the Technical Correlating Committee and take appropriate action. h. Maintain and revise these Supplemental Operating Procedures in accordance with the requirements of Section 5 of these Procedures. 2.2 At meetings of the Technical Correlating Committee on Safety to Life, members of any Life Safety Technical Committee may participate in any discussions with the permission of the chair (see, generally, of the Regulations), but may not vote unless they are also voting members of the Technical Correlating Committee on Safety to Life. Nonvoting members of the TCC shall be afforded the same privileges as any committee member, except they are not eligible to vote. Nonvoting members shall be allowed to make and second motions. 2.3 To adopt an action, at meetings of the Technical Correlating Committee on Safety to Life, which supports an action of a Technical Committee at least a simple majority of the committee members voting at the meeting shall be required. To adopt an action that chooses between alternatives in accordance with 2.1(d) of these Procedures, at least a simple majority shall be required. To adopt an action in accordance with 2.1 (c) or (e) of these Procedures, which changes an action of a Technical Committee, at least a two-thirds majority shall be required. Life Safety Supplemental Operating Procedures / 10/16/2001 SAF-AAC Action / Page 2 of 7

3 Section 3 Life Safety Technical Committees (TC s) 3.1 The Life Safety Technical Committees shall have the responsibilities detailed in the Regulations (see, generally, 3-3 of the Regulations) and, subject to the continuing approval of the Standards Council, the following document-specific responsibilities: Life Safety Technical Committee on: Responsibility a. Fundamentals Chapters 1 through 6 b. Means of Egress Chapter 7 and NFPA 101B c. Fire Protection Features Chapter 8 d. Building Service and Fire Chapter 9 Protection Equipment e. Furnishings and Contents Chapter 10 f. Assembly Chapters 12 and 13 and NFPA 102 g. Educational and Day-Care Chapters 14, 15, 16 and 17 h. Health Care Chapters 18, 19, 20 and 21 i. Detention and Correctional Chapters 22 and 23 j. Residential Chapters 24, 26, 28, 29, 30 and 31 k. Board and Care Chapters 32 and 33 l. Mercantile and Business Chapters 36, 37, 38 and 39 m. Industrial, Storage, and Chapters 11, 40 and 42 Miscellaneous n. Alternative Approaches NFPA 101A to Life Safety 3.2 The chair of each Technical Committee shall be permitted to recommend to the Technical Correlating Committee on Safety to Life that an individual from the membership of the Technical Committee be appointed as secretary. With the concurrence of the Technical Correlating Committee on Safety to Life the recommendation shall be sent to the Standards Council Secretary for action. (See, generally, of the Regulations.) 3.3 At meetings of any Life Safety Technical Committee, members of the Technical Correlating Committee on Safety to Life may participate in any discussions with the permission of the chair (see, generally, of the Regulations), but may not vote unless they are also voting members of the Life Safety Technical Committee. Nonvoting members of the TC shall be afforded the same privileges as any Life Safety Supplemental Operating Procedures / 10/16/2001 SAF-AAC Action / Page 3 of 7

4 committee member, except they are not eligible to vote. Nonvoting members shall be allowed to make and second motions. 3.4 Technical Committees responsible for Chapters 1 through 10 of the Life Safety Code should provide a draft of those chapters, excluding changes resulting from public proposals, prior to the final ROP meeting of each Technical Committee responsible for the occupancy chapters of the Life Safety Code. Except as otherwise provided in Chapters 1 through 10 ("core chapters"), core chapter requirements shall take precedence over occupancy chapter requirements. Occupancy chapter requirements less stringent than corresponding core chapter requirements shall require exempting verbiage in the core chapters. 3.5 Any Technical Committee (i.e., the Technical Committee desiring the change ) wanting to make a change to a portion of the Code for which responsibility rests with another Life Safety Technical Committee (i.e., the affected Technical Committee ) shall follow the procedures outlined in 3.5a through 3.5f. A flowchart depicting the process appears as Figure 3.5. a. If the Affected Technical Committee Has Not Yet Met to Prepare Its Portion of the ROP. Generate a proposal for the change for consideration and action by the Technical Committee responsible for the affected portion of the Code if the affected Technical Committee has not yet met to prepare its portion of the ROP. A majority vote during a meeting shall be sufficient to forward the proposal to the affected Technical Committee; letter balloting shall not be required by the Technical Committee desiring the change. b. If the Affected Technical Committee Has Already Met to Prepare Its Portion of the ROP. Generate a proposal for the change and develop a committee action by the Technical Committee desiring the change if the Technical Committee responsible for the affected portion of the Code has already met to prepare its portion of the ROP. The proposal shall be letter balloted by the Technical Committee desiring the change (i.e., the committee that generates, and develops the committee action on, the proposal). The staff liaison to the Technical Committee desiring the change shall conduct an informational letter ballot of all members of the affected Technical Committee. The ballot shall encourage the submittal of affirmative, as well as negative, written statements. The informational ballot results shall be reported to the Technical Correlating Committee on Safety to Life for consideration at its ROP-review meeting in accordance with 2.1 of these Supplemental Operating Procedures. The informational ballot results shall be summarized and reported as part of the Technical Correlating Committee Note that appears with the proposal in the ROP. c. If the Subject Was Raised by a Proposal in the ROP and the Affected Technical Committee Has Not Yet Met to Prepare Its Portion of the ROC. If the subject was raised by a proposal in the ROP, generate a comment for the change for consideration and action by the Technical Committee responsible for the affected portion of the Code if the affected Technical Committee has not yet met to prepare its portion of the ROC. A majority vote during a meeting shall be sufficient to forward the comment to the affected Technical Committee; letter balloting shall not be required by the Technical Committee desiring the change. d. If the Subject Was Raised by a Proposal in the ROP and the Affected Technical Committee Has Already Met to Prepare Its Portion of the ROC. If the subject was raised by a proposal in the ROP, generate a comment for the change and develop a committee action by the Technical Committee desiring the change if the Technical Committee responsible for the affected portion of the Code has already met to prepare its portion of the ROC. The comment shall be letter balloted by the Technical Committee desiring the change (i.e., the committee that generates, and develops the committee action on, the comment). The staff liaison to the Technical Committee desiring the change shall conduct an informational letter ballot of all members of the affected Technical Committee. The ballot shall encourage the submittal of affirmative, as well as negative, written statements. The informational ballot results shall be reported to the Technical Correlating Committee on Safety to Life for consideration at its ROC-review meeting in accordance with 2.1 of these Supplemental Operating Procedures. The informational ballot results shall be summarized and reported as part of the Technical Correlating Committee Note that appears with the comment in the ROC. e. If the Subject Was NOT Raised by a Proposal in the ROP. If the subject was NOT raised by a proposal in the ROP, it cannot be addressed during the current revision cycle. Life Safety Supplemental Operating Procedures / 10/16/2001 SAF-AAC Action / Page 4 of 7

5 f. Scope of Proposals and Comments. Proposals and comments generated in accordance with a, b, c, or d above shall be drafted to address only the paragraph(s) of a single chapter or pair of chapters addressing the same occupancy (e.g., and for new and existing health care occupancies). Changes recommended for other chapters and for other Technical Committees shall be presented in individual proposals/comments. This shall be done to allow the proposal/comment to be positioned in the ROP/ROC in correct numerical paragraph order. 3.6 The activities of each Technical Committee shall be directed by its chair as seems most appropriate for the efficient disposition of its business, subject to the approval of the Technical Correlating Committee on Safety to Life. Technical Committee meeting dates and places shall be coordinated through the secretary of the Technical Correlating Committee on Safety to Life, and shall include meeting at specific times and places as part of ROP or ROC committee weeks as deemed necessary by the Technical Correlating Committee on Safety to Life. 3.7 Where few public comments are received on a Technical Committee s report, the Technical Committee chair and the secretary of the Technical Correlating Committee on Safety to Life shall implement the procedures outlined in 3.7a through 3.7c. a. The Technical Committee chair, in conference with the secretary of the Technical Correlating Committee on Safety to Life, shall determine within four business days of the comment closing date whether a face-to-face meeting is needed. b. If a face-to-face meeting is not needed, Technical Committee members shall be notified within seven business days of the comment closing date that they will be permitted to participate in the ROC-preparation meeting via a telephone conference call. c. Staff and any Technical Committee members in attendance at the Life Safety ROC committee week meeting site shall be provided with a meeting room and conference telephone for communicating with the Technical Committee members who avail themselves of the call-in option from a remote location. 3.8 To adopt an action at meetings of Technical Committees, at least a simple majority of committee members voting at the meeting shall be required. 3.9 Each Technical Committee shall act during ROP preparation to retire all existing Formal Interpretations on portions of the document(s) for which the TC has responsibility. This shall be accomplished by preparing either a committee proposal clarifying the text or written correspondence to the Technical Correlating Committee explaining why the F.I. can be retired without any change to the text of the document. (See 6-5 of the Regulations.) 3.10 Each Technical Committee shall report to the Technical Correlating Committee on Safety to Life the committee proposals/comments generated by the Technical Committee and the disposition of each proposal/comment for document change referred to it; whether it recommends a specific action, rejects the proposal/comment, refers the proposal/comment to another Technical Committee, or takes any other course of action consistent with the Regulations. Life Safety Supplemental Operating Procedures / 10/16/2001 SAF-AAC Action / Page 5 of 7

6 Figure 3.5 Life Safety Inter-Committee Process Revision period phase ROP prep ROC prep Yes Subject raised by proposal in ROP? No Yes Affected TC met to prepare ROP? No Yes Affected TC met to prepare ROC? No Issue cannot be addressed during current revision cycle Generate proposal and committee action by TC desiring change Generate proposal by TC desiring change Generate comment and committee action by TC desiring change Generate comment by TC desiring change Letter ballot by TC desiring change Majority vote by TC desiring change (no letter ballot required) Letter ballot by TC desiring change Majority vote by TC desiring change (no letter ballot required) Informational ballot by affected TC Send proposal to affected TC Informational ballot by affected TC Send comment to affected TC Results of informational ballot to TCC Affected TC acts on proposal and letter ballots action Results of informational ballot to TCC Affected TC acts on comment and letter ballots action Life Safety Supplemental Operating Procedures / 10/16/2001 SAF-AAC Action / Page 6 of 7

7 Section 4 Presentations by Guests at Meetings 4.1 Presentations made by guests at meetings of the Committees on Safety to Life and its Task Groups shall be in accordance with the Regulations (see, generally, of the Regulations) and the following guidelines: a. Guests shall be permitted to address the Committee or Task Group on a subject relevant to items under consideration provided due notice of this intent is received by the Chair at least 7 days prior to the meeting. The 7-day notice shall be permitted to be waived by the Chair. b. When the submitter of a Proposal or Comment requests that he/she be allowed to participate in the Committee or Task Group discussion with regard to his/her Proposal or Comment, his/her request shall be honored. c. The Chair shall schedule the time for any such presentation. (See also subitem (i) below.) d. The Chair shall advise the presenter of approximately when the presentation can be made. e. The presenter shall be permitted to submit pertinent information, in the form of printed matter, to the committee for review, preferably prior to the meeting. If the material is to be distributed at the meeting, it should be done early in the meeting to permit committee members to review it prior to the presentation. f. Any audio-visual equipment required for the presentation shall be provided by the presenter. In facilities which do not permit equipment to be brought in by outsiders, the presenter shall arrange for rental of equipment, and pay for such, through facility management. g. The Chair, in introducing the presenter, shall advise all interested individuals present that committee members shall be permitted to ask questions regarding the presentation during or following the presentation. h. The presenter shall begin his/her presentation by introducing himself/herself and stating who he/she represents. i. The presenter and any duly authorized co-presenters shall limit the duration of their combined presentation to 20 minutes and avoid duplication of information. j. The presenter(s) shall remain available to answer questions from committee members for a minimum of 20 minutes, or until discharged sooner by the Chair, following the presentation. Section 5 Amending These Supplemental Operating Procedures 5.1 These Supplemental Operating Procedures shall be permitted to be amended by the Technical Correlating Committee on Safety to Life (see 2.1(h) of these Procedures). Such amendments shall require a two-thirds affirmative vote tallied in accordance with of the Regulations. The vote shall be by letter ballot. Accepted amendments shall be submitted to the Standards Council for approval. (See, generally, of the Regulations.) Life Safety Supplemental Operating Procedures / Standards Council Approved April 2002 / Page 7 of 7