By Tony Choate, Media Relations Specialist
Chickasaw Nation Media Relations Office
International Accreditation Service President Chuck Ramani (right) presented Chickasaw Nation Governor Bill Anoatubby with a plaque in honor of the tribe becoming the first Native American Tribe in the United States to receive accreditation for its building department.
The Chickasaw Nation Division of Housing and Tribal Development recently became the first tribal building department in the U.S. and the first building department in Oklahoma to receive accreditation from the International Accreditation Service.
“Accreditation from this highly respected organization confirms that our Division of Housing is committed to providing the highest quality service to our citizens,” said Bill Anoatubby, governor of the Chickasaw Nation. “Beyond that, the accreditation process provides another level of accountability as we strive to maintain our commitment to meeting the highest professional and technical standards in the industry.”
The Code and Life Safety Section of the Tribal Development Department of the Chickasaw Nation is unique among building code enforcement agencies. The Tribal Development Department functions both as landlord and developer of the projects regulated by the Code and Life Safety Section.
IAS President Chuck Ramani presented the Building Department Accreditation Certificate of Accreditation to Gov. Anoatubby on January 9, 2009.
“Earning Building Department Accreditation is a great achievement and demonstrates the Chickasaw Nation’s commitment to public safety,” said Ramani. “To achieve accreditation, the department underwent rigorous assessments to verify that it operates under the highest ethical, legal and technical standards while providing enhanced life safety and property protection.”
To achieve IAS Building Department Accreditation, the Code and Life Safety Section of the Tribal Development Department of the Chickasaw Nation was assessed across 13 distinct categories of accreditation criteria.
IAS evaluators carefully assessed critical elements of the building department including customer service, code interpretation and enforcement, and fiscal strength, technical expertise and compliance with the IAS Accreditation Criteria for Building Departments/Code Enforcement Agencies. The on-site teams also visited construction sites to appraise the performance of the department’s inspection process.
Wayne Scribner, Administrator of the Chickasaw Nation Division of Housing and Tribal Development said his staff had worked diligently to earn accreditation.
“Close scrutiny of our department during the accreditation process has enabled us to improve our procedures and become more effective in meeting our already high standards,” said Scribner.
International Accreditation Service, a subsidiary of the International Code Council, has offered Building Department Accreditation since January 2005. Several major cities across the nation are currently going through the accreditation process.
The nation’s leading provider of building department accreditation, IAS also assesses and accredits testing and calibration laboratories, fabricator inspection programs, special inspection agencies and workforce training and curriculum development agencies.
It is a subsidiary of the International Code Council, a membership association dedicated to building safety and fire prevention that develops the codes used to construct residential and commercial buildings, including homes and schools. Most U.S. cities, counties and states that adopt codes choose the International Codes developed by the International Code Council.
