Jan 01, 2007

On February 19, 2007, ASTM International (ASTM) will hold an Organizational Meeting for a new standards development activity on Inspection of Residential Dwellings. The meeting will take place in conjunction with the Annual Conference of the National Association of Home Inspectors (NAHI), and will be held at the Riviera Hotel & Casino, 2901 Las Vegas Blvd., Las Vegas, NV 89109 (phone: 702/794-9412; www.rivierahotel.com). The meeting will commence at 9:00 a.m. and adjourn at approximately 4:00 p.m.  NOTE: There is no fee to attend this meeting.

At a planning meeting held September 10, 2006, key members of the residential inspection industry, including a diverse collection of service providers, unanimously agreed to hold an organizational meeting for the development of this new activity within ASTM International. Various disciplines, including consumers, realtors, insurance representatives, trade and professional societies, and government agencies are being invited to participate.  The attendees at the planning meeting recognized the need to evolve the current standards of practice (SOPs) for this industry via the establishment of a truly collaborative process for standards development. It was highlighted that the early implementation of a series of best practice standards would lead to a greater understanding of the variables associated with inspection services, which would (in turn) help create consistency, thereby increasing consumer confidence.

ASTM stands ready to accommodate this new standardization initiative.  Your involvement in this meeting is critical to guide the direction for this new activity. The time is now for participation in a neutral forum whereby the private and public sectors can work together to develop a consensus standards program.

Background

A home inspection is a non-invasive visual examination of a residential dwelling, performed for a fee, which is designed to identify observed material defects within specific components of the dwelling in question.  Components may include any combination of mechanical, structural, electrical, plumbing, or other essential systems or portions of the home, as identified and agreed to by the Client and Inspector, prior to the inspection process.

At present, there is confusion and inconsistency within the home inspection industry. Disconnects exist among service providers, homeowners, bankers, insurers, and state/local officials. Full consensus standards will provide effective communication tools for all relevant parties, and also create a truly objective resource to support a credentialing model for the industry.

About ASTM International

ASTM provides a management system for the development of standards and related information for materials, products, systems, and services used internationally as well as nationally.  All segments of an industry (producers, users, consumers, government, and academia) participate in the development of this information to ensure that all technical points of view are represented–it is extremely important that all parties are confident they will have fair and equal representation in the development of the final consensus standards. Finally, ASTM provides leadership and management support for 138 standards developing committees. These committees have produced over 12,000 standards for an extremely diverse collection of industries.

If you have any questions concerning the above, please feel free to contact Pat Picariello, ASTM International (phone: 610/832-9720; ppicarie@astm.org).

Release #7589