ICBO Evaluation Service has introduced its ES Mark, a seal that signifies a product's compliance with major U.S. building codes.
ICBO ES grants manufacturers the right to put the seal on a product after the organization has evaluated it and documented its compliance in an ES Report. Because many municipalities make changes to the national codes, the mark does not necessarily mean a product is compliant with the specific codes of a given jurisdiction. According to ICBO marketing manager Greg West, however, "ICBO ES has the strictest evaluation standards in the U.S.," and is accredited by the American National Standards Institute.
The presence of the ES Mark on a product also does not negate the need to examine the full report, West says, because the report contains the details on what specific standard the product meets and often includes information on code-compliant methods of installation.
The seal makes retrieving the report easier because manufacturers must put the ES Report number under the mark. The reports are available at www.icboes.org.
