The Institute of Inspection, Cleaning and Restoration Certification (IICRC) announces that it is revising the ANSI/IICRC S500-2006 Standard and Reference Guide for Professional Water Damage Restoration. The revised draft of S500 is available now for public review and comment.

ANSI/IICRC S500 provides a specific set of practical standards for water damage restoration. It does not provide comprehensive water damage restoration procedures; rather, it outlines the foundation for basic principles of proper restoration practices. ANSI/IICRC S500 does not include exhaustive performance characteristics or standards for the manufacture or installation of structural components, materials and contents (personal property).

According to S500 Chairman Mickey Lee, the primary revisions made in the Standard from the 2006 version include:

• Significant strengthening to the science supporting our work as restorers. The two previous science chapters have been combined and expanded into Chapter 5 Psychrometry & Drying Technology.

• Chapter 10 Inspections, Preliminary Determination and Pre-Restoration Evaluations and Chapter 13 Structural Restoration have both been significantly reworked to clarify processes and place them in order of the way they are usually performed on projects.

• A new chapter, Chapter 17 Materials & Assemblies, consolidates much of the information from three previous chapters into a single comprehensive table that will be much easier and quicker to use. A material (e.g., concrete, OSB, vinyl composition tile) or a building component (e.g. firewall, hardwood sports floor, crawlspace) can be quickly found along with recommended procedures for dealing with them after a Category, 1, 2 or 3 intrusion.

• The relevance of the Standard and Reference Guide to commercial projects has been significantly strengthened.

ANSI/IICRC S500 draft Standard is available from March 29 to May 13, 2013 for review and comment as part of the 45-day public review period.  All comments must be submitted completely using the Comment Form. To access the draft Standard and Comment Form, visit http://iicrc.org/standards/iicrc-s500/. All comments must be submitted to IICRC Standards Director Mili Washington at mili@iicrc.org no later than May 13, 2013.

For more information on other certification programs and standards offered by IICRC, visit www.iicrc.org. To purchase a copy of the IICRC standards, please visit www.iicrc.org/store or call the IICRC headquarters at (360) 693-5675.