Shums Coda Associates

Shums Coda Associates is a code consulting firm that performs building and fire life-safety plan review, inspection and permit processing on behalf of municipal building departments, and for the designers and developers whose projects those departments review. Its reviews cover architectural, egress, accessibility, structural, fire-safety, energy, green building, mechanical, electrical and plumbing scope.

Jurisdictions engage SCA per project or under contract. Reviews are delivered with in-person staffing, through electronic plan submittal, or as virtual inspections, depending on what the local jurisdiction allows. The firm also places its own people temporarily inside building departments to cover vacancies from illness, retirement or resignation, and to add capacity during construction peaks. It encourages designers to raise code questions before design is finished, to reduce the size of later revisions.

The firm was established on March 28, 2006 by licensed building professionals with more than 25 years of jurisdictional code consulting experience, and has grown from a 700-square-foot office to regional offices in five states with contracts around the country. Staff include licensed architects; structural, civil and mechanical engineers; and ICC-certified plans examiners and inspectors. Work has ranged from single-family construction to multi-story residential, commercial, medical and industrial buildings, and specialized structures such as bridges, towers, power plants and high-rises. SCA also runs code training and certification classes and inspects elevators and other conveyances.

The site describes its coverage both as the Western US and as services offered throughout the United States, so confirm which regional office covers a given jurisdiction before assuming availability. Ask which code editions and local amendments the assigned reviewer works in, and whether the jurisdiction or the applicant is the contracting party on your project.