University of Ottawa Case Study on the National Building Code

It took 10 years to transform the National Building Code of Canada from a prescriptive approach (precise requirements for particular materials and construction methods) to an objective based-framework that allows for innovation in the building sector. Documenting the ups and downs of this transition is a case study called The Transformation of the National Building Code of Canada: from Prescriptions to Objectives (PDF - 296 KB).

The case study is a classic story of the significant effort needed to re-design a well-established regulatory system to make it more responsive to the needs of society. It examines not only how the building code operates, but what it takes to modify or change a large regulatory instrument like the building code.

Prepared by André Potworowski and two MBA students from the University of Ottawa, it was sponsored by the National Research Council of Canada.