The ICC upheld the change and defeated industry challenges to M60-04/05. The IMC will now require an automatic interlock between all cooking equipment and the exhaust hood.

Tom Johnson who was on hand for the hearings in support of the challenge is quoted as saying “Speaking for myself, I cannot believe that they (ICC) claim to follow ISO65/IEC rules.  Their consensus is comprised totally of building officials and neither industry trade groups nor any other advocacy groups are given a voice.  It seems totally contrary to ANSI policies for standard development organizations from what I witnessed with the vast majority of proposals coming from a single jurisdiction within the great State of Virginia.”

More to the point, manufacturers will have to update their designs for all cooking equipment. Hood manufacturers will need to develop controls to integrate with these new controls. This relates to higher costs for hoods, all cooking equipment including ranges and ovens. These costs will of course lead to higher prices borne by owners and operators.

The originator of the proposal claimed that 30% of the restaurants in his jurisdiction were operated without their hood fans operating.  No documentation was provided to support this claim.  A  state fire marshal wrote to refute that claim. He stated it was impossible to believe that statement due to the discomfort staff would experience if the fans were not running. The fire marshal further commented it was totally contrary to his experience of (30) years inspecting restaurants.  Finally, he added that he was surprised building officials were claiming any authority after a CO or Certificate of Occupancy was issued.

It also should be noted that when the original proposal was introduced, it indicated that there were no cost consequences. In fact, the changes required will affect the entire industry from manufacturers to owners who will be required to support the costs associated with this requirement.

We maintain that this major rule change was accepted without any quantifiable research.  We ask how can such a proposal make it through the process and be upheld?