The National Fire Protection Association Document Process - Research Paper Example

 The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) document process Introduction Safety is the business and responsibility of everybody, and consequently everybody should be involved in the process of determining the correct standards and regulations that should be involved in enhancing fire safety, and protection of fire hazards. To minimize the risks and other hazards associated with fire occurrence incidences, there requires standardized regulations that should be applied to ensure that fire safety measures are adhered to, while also ensuring that whenever the fire incidences occurs, the affected individuals, businesses or organizations are in a better position to address the fire incidences and the subsequent impacts (NFPA, 2014). Virtually every building, commercial establishment or important facilities are affected by fire safety issues in one way or the other, prompting the need for standardized guidelines that should be applied by all such affected parties, to protect the occurrence of fire incidences and effectively manage them. Further, for the sake of effective training of the firefighters, there needs to be already existing guidelines that can be applied, so that the fire fighters are equipped with relevant knowledge and skills of handling fire incidences and controlling them. In this respect, there is need for a body that can be involved in developing standards and guidelines for firefighting, response and rescue operations (NFPA, 2014). The functions of roles The National Fire Protection Association The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) is the association that is tasked with the mandate of preparing fire standards and codes, which are subsequently applied by the local governments as the standard regulatory guidelines for fire safety measures, while also developing guidelines for research and training of firefighting, fire response and fire rescue operations (Carter & Rausch, 2008). These standards are prepared to help prevent the occurrence of fire risks, to protect individuals and businesses from being adversely affected by the fire hazards occurrences, while also assisting in elaborating the effective ways that such fire hazards and their impacts can be managed, on the event of their occurrences. While the association is USA-based, it draws its content for the standards and codes development from the contribution of some international members, who are well accredited with fire safety and protection measures (NFPA, 2014). Most fundamentally is the fact that NFPA document process for developing codes and standards, is a fully-open process that is also consensus-based, where any individual, a group or an organization with any interest or relevant experience and knowledge can participate through delivering opinions on what the standards and codes should entail. Based on the principle that safety is the business of everybody, the open and consensus process ensures that the interests of different stakeholders and interested parties are taken into consideration, while also ensuring the fair and equitable treatment of the opinions and suggestions from all parties (Cote, 1988). The parties and stakeholders to the NFPA document process include engineering associations, insurance underwriters, manufacturing companies, fire departments as well as other trade associations and unions. After a consensus regarding the appropriate standards and codes is reached, NFPA goes ahead and publishes the standards and codes, for the benefit of different organizations, individual businesses and owners of business. The NFPA document development cycle The process of NFPA codes and standards development is undertaken and revised every three to five-year term cycle, to reflect the advanced changes that are needed to be reflected in the documentation process, to ensure that the codes and standards are up to date and applicable to present fire incidences. The whole process of developing, approving and publishing the standards and codes takes approximately two years, during which the stakeholders engage, based on well developed schedules from the start to the final stages (NFPA, 2014). The NFPA document development cycle process The process of developing standards and codes for fire safety and regulation measures follow a-four stage process from the start to the end. These stages include: The Input Stage This is the first stage of the NFPA document development process, where the first element is the publication of the notice asking the public and other interested parties to submit their drafts for suggested fire safety standards and codes. The submission and acceptance of the suggestion and opinion drafts from the public, the stakeholders and other interested parties to the fire safety and regulation issues follow, which can be done through the presentation of hard copies or online through the NFPA website (Carter & Rausch, 2008). The notice for call of public input has a well stated deadline, upon which its reach marks the end of acceptance of the submissions. After the drafts have been received, the NFPA committee holds the first meeting, also referred to as the first draft meeting, to evaluate the drafts and suggestions presented, revise them and then develop the First draft, in readiness for the next course of action (Cheit, 1990). The committee considers all the inputs that the public has submitted, and then provides responses regarding all the inputs submitted. On completion of the evaluation of all inputs, the committee develops the first revisions necessary to the inputs submitted, through the consensus of the committee, and the final draft is arrived through a ballot vote, where the majority suggestions to the input are upheld as forming the part of the First Draft (NFPA, 2014). The prerequisite for upholding the suggested revisions to the inputs submitted is two-thirds of the committee members. The other content that has been obtained from the inputs of the public and stakeholders, but does not pass for inclusion in the Revised First Draft after the vote yet it is still considered relevant by some committee members, is annexed in the draft as committee inputs (NFPA, 2014). The Revised First Draft, together with the annexed committee inputs is posted on the NFPA website for the necessary public review and comments, as the first documentation. The posting of the Revised First Draft marks the end of the first stage of the NFPA document development process, and the onset of the next stage. The whole input stage process takes approximately 70 weeks from the beginning to completion. Comment Stage After the publication of the Revised First Draft on the NFPA website, the public is granted a period during which to review, internalize and then comment on the content of the draft, with a view to generating more opinions and suggestions that subsequently form part of the later documentation. The comment stage is open for 10 weeks, and the public should provide all suggestions, opinions and comments in addition to any desired changes and objections to the changes effected by the committee during the first draft meeting (NFPA, 2014). After the close of the 10 weeks given for the public to review the First draft and submit their comments, the committee then enters the second phase of meeting. During the second draft meeting, the committee evaluates all the comments and a suggestion presented by the public, and incorporates them into the second draft if they deem such suggestions and changes necessary. The whole process of initial consensus and subsequent voting is followed, to arrive at the final second draft. The revisions that the committee approves during the second draft meeting are referred to as the Second Revisions, and they are incorporated into the Second Draft Report, while the comments not agreed are annexed as second committee inputs (NFPA, 2014). The second draft report is then posted on the NFPA website for subsequent review by the public. However, on the event that after the review and submission of the comments regarding the Revised First Draft by the public and the relevant stakeholders do not raise any objections or submit any desired changes to the draft, the second draft meeting is then skipped, and the draft is presented in its published form to the standards council for issuance of the standards, and the document is then referred to as the consent standard (Cheit, 1990). The comment stage takes approximately 101 weeks to be completed. Association Technical Meeting The completion of the comment stage opens the window for further debate on the proposed standards, through a technical meeting that interrogates every aspect of the standards developed from the comment stage. Therefore, any stakeholder or member of the public that is not satisfied with the published and posted Second Draft Report, and feels that there are still some necessary changes that need to be introduced, can then file a notice of intent to introduce a motion in relation to issues of contestation (Cote, 1988). The notice of intent serves as the notice to introduce a motion to be discussed in the Association Technical Meeting by the whole NFPA membership, thus seeking to change the final draft that the committee had submitted in the second draft report, through introducing further changes through the motion. The result of the amendments introduced at this stage, is the production of the Technical Committee Reports, which constitutes the changes made on the second draft report via motions and debated by the technical committee, which is then subjected to the NFPA membership for further consideration (NFPA, 2014). The standards councils is the body mandated with the authority of reviewing all the notices of intent of motions introduced at this stage, to ensure that such notices are proper, and the changes they seek to introduce on the standards through motions were not considered in any of the previous stages. Through consultations with those intending to file the motions, the committee of motions can combine the motions seeking similar clarifications, to ensure that no issues are duplicated in the Technical Committee Reports of the Association Technical Meeting (NFPA, 2014). The motion filed to change the Second Draft report at this stage can seek to introduce some changes that are deemed necessary by the concerned parties, or to reject a whole standard as developed by the committee, so that such a standard will not be issued at that time, and it can revert to the committee for further evaluation and future introductions (Carter & Rausch, 2008). Under circumstances where there is no notice of intent that is filed to introduce a motion at the Association Technical Meeting, the whole Second Report passes in its original form to the Standards Council, for further publication and issuance as the new standards developed for that period. This stage takes approximately 141 weeks to be completed (NFPA, 2014). Council Appeals and Issuance of Standard This is the final stage of the NFPA document development process, which entails the consideration of the final suggestions and dissents, before the standards are finally approved, certified and issued (NFPA, 2014). Therefore, at this stage, there is still a further avenue for the public, stakeholders or any other interested party to present an appeal in relation to a standard that had passed all the other stages, but is still considered inappropriate or controversial. The essence of approving the appeals even at the final stages of the standards development process is to ensure that fairness is achieved for all parties, while also ensuring that the due process is followed throughout the process, and therefore none of the parties or participants feels dissatisfied with the process, or disgruntled with any standard that has been issued. This is because; the fact that the NFPA document development process is an open and overboard process, which must satisfy all parties, needs to be arrived through consensus (Cheit, 1990). Therefore, the council of appeals hear the appeals presented by the parties, and on considering the suggestions raised as an issue of merit, the appeals committee then introduces the necessary changes to the contested standard, and after deeming the standard appropriate, proceeds to hand it over to the standards council, which is the final authority in issuing the approved standards (Carter & Rausch, 2008). Nevertheless, the board of directors of NFPA can subject some of the finalized standards to review, but the review is only limited to certain aspects of the standards. After the standard council approves and publishes the new standards, they remain the official newly developed NFPA codes and standards of fire safety, and they become effective for adoption and use by the relevant parties twenty days after the council issues them (NFPA, 2014). Summary: National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) document process The research paper discusses the subject of National Fire Protection Association document process, with a view to create an understanding of the process through which the NFPA codes and standards are developed and issued, while also delving deeply into the step-by-step process by which such standards are developed. The subject handles the NFPA as an institution, discussing its roles and functions, as well as assessing who are the key stakeholders in the association. Nevertheless, before delving into the issue of the NFPA and its function, the research first assess the importance of fire safety to all, seeking to explain the need for all parties, whether individuals, businesses or organization to be involved in the process of developing the necessary standards and regulatory framework that can be used to protect them against fire hazards, while helping them to deal with the impact of fire occurrence incidences. Thus, the outline of the research is as follows: Introduction Elaborates the need for fire safety and why all entities should be stakeholders to the fire regulatory standards development. The functions of roles The National Fire Protection Association This sections defines NFPA as an institution and elaborates its functions and importance The NFPA document development cycle This section explains the cycle followed from when fire standards and codes are introduced, to when they are reviewed and new ones introduced. The NFPA document development cycle process This section explains the different stages through which the fire standards development passes, before they are finally issued as NFPA authority. Resources used The research has extensively utilized the NFPA website as a credible source of information regarding its functions, processes and cycles of operations. In addition the research has utilized three books published by credible authors and publishers, to gain a fair and balanced view of the NFPA and its operations, an aspect that serves to give diverse views and opinions of the association, making the research a comprehensive and balanced study. References Carter, H. R., & Rausch, E. (2008). Management in the fire service. Sudbury, Mass: Jones and Bartlett Publishers. Cheit, R. E. (1990). Setting safety standards: Regulation in the public and private sectors. Berkeley: University of California Press. Cote, A. E. (1988). Organizing for fire and rescue services: A special edition of the Fire protection handbook. Quincy, Mass: National Fire Protection Association. National Fire Protection Association. (2014). Standards development process. Retrieved February 6, 2014 from http://www.nfpa.org/codes-and-standards/standards-development-process/how-codes-and-standards-are-developed/standards-development-process Read More