Recently a change has occurred in the United States because of the collapse of the Champlain tower in Florida in 2021. The natural response was to say that ‘our buildings must not fall down under normal use’. A short period of reflection was quickly changed into legal changes to try to avoid the problems that were clear. Florida’s new laws were quickly followed by a handful of other states. The basic approach has been that there must be adequate integrity to withstand expected loads from the environment and the users of the structure.

The new laws in Florida and 12 other states essentially required good structural integrity and a reserve fund to deal with the ravages of ageing and gradual deterioration. Six states have now legislated whilst the others decided that it needed time to contemplate and consider the  effect of ASCE7 which requires sufficient structural adequacy. The laws which have changed concentrate specifically on condominiums.

This presentation looks at the current state of legislation in the six states that have followed Florida’s example, and the position of those who have relied on the ASCE7 approach, as well as the influence of world-wide history in how we arrived at this situation.

Course Outline:

• The ancient way
• Codification history
• Research and formalized methodology
• Collapses changed the approach
• Collapses that the US missed
• Champlain effect
• US approach 2020 vision
• The effect of reserve funds
• The format of current codification
• What Structural Health Monitoring may be in the future.

Date: Wednesday April 22, 2026 .  3 - 5 pm ET

Credits: 2 PDH Units

Learning Objectives

On successfully completing the quiz associated with this presentation, the attendee will:

• The way the approach to building safety was in the ancient past
• Lessons learned from collapses in the late 20^th century
• Learning about the statistical approach
• Collapses worldwide
• Progressive collapses and their causes
• Codification in the 20^th and 21^st centuries
• Why some countries allow a laisse faire approach
• The problems with a maintenance fund
• Mechanisms of structural failure
• Where we are now
• The future of structural integrity and how it may evolve
• What structure owners need.

Special Webinar Instructions

After payment, please visit this webinar page, click “Start Course” and fill out the Webinar Registration Form.  You’ll receive email notification and details on how to join the webinar.  You will then be able to access the webinar slides, test your system and receive webinar reminders.  After completing the webinar requirements, your certificate of completion will be saved and available for download in your profile.

We value your feedback! Please rate this webinar after completion.

Group Discounts Available