Codes & Standaards

The codes keep changing, and we should too

The code development process requires continuous rethinking and revisioning to achieve a clear and thorough set of standards

Mar 8, 2026 |

Leah Hummel

“Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.” — Maya Angelou

This beloved quote reminds us that as we learn life’s lessons, we must adapt and evolve in response. It’s relevant to any undertaking in which, as individuals or collectively, we strive to improve. Yesterday’s hardships inform today’s planning and preparation. As a result, we execute better, and continuous improvement compounds over time.

When a committee of insurance professionals and a pipe manufacturer was formed in 1896 to standardize the installation of fire sprinklers, they intended to solve one problem — varying standards for sprinkler systems that were giving plumbers trouble throughout New England. The committee’s first report is what we now know today as the National Fire Protection Association’s NFPA 13, Standard for the Installation of Sprinkler Systems, and that committee itself that eventually became the NFPA.

But they didn’t stop there, there were more problems to solve. Next, they took up the issue of electrical equipment and installations needing similar standardization, and the National Electrical Code of 1897 was published. Today, the NFPA publishes more than 1,500 codes and standards.

Similarly, the International Code Council was formed in 1994 to bring about standardization of building codes. At the time, three model codes were used throughout the United States: the Building Officials and Code Administrators National Building Code, the Uniform Building Code and the Standard Building Code. All aimed at solving the same problem, but each did so in a different way, leading to conflicts and confusion. Each of their methods were developed in response to real-world events.

That’s the thing about codes and standards: they are written in response to real-world events — losses, tragedies and hardships. And every time one of these painful lessons occurs, the thousands of volunteer professionals who participate in the codes and standards revision process ask themselves what, if anything, they could have done better to prevent it. From those questions, the codes evolve and improve. Sometimes that results in increased regulations to improve safety. Other times, requirements are relaxed in response to new, more effective materials, methods and technologies.

As health care facilities professionals responsible for ensuring safe, healing spaces, our work is informed by the codes and standards that regulate us. Those of us whose facilities are subject to the Center’s for Medicare & Medicaid Services Conditions of Participation are stuck using the 2012 edition of the NFPA’s Life Safety Code® and Health Care Facilities Code, along with all the publications referenced by these two documents. But in response to actual events, lessons learned, new technologies and analyses of what does and doesn’t work, the library of codes and standards used in health care facilities has continued to evolve.

If you have never opened up a newer code or standard, you’d be unaware of these opportunities for our field to improve. So, dedicate some time to learning about what’s new. And like Maya Angelou’s quote reminds us, “Once you know better, do better.”

Better yet, get involved in the code development process. The American Society for Health Care Engineering’s Regulatory Affairs team works on your behalf, and your feedback matters. When you see opportunities for improvement, share them with us. Your day-to-day experience is what keeps our work grounded and effective.

What's new in the NFPA codes

What’s changed since the revision cycle for the 2012 editions of the National Fire Protection Association’s NFPA 101®, Life Safety Code®, and NFPA 99, Health Care Facilities Code, and their referenced publications?

Some changes include: