Architecture prof's company releases new fire safety app

A new mobile app developed by SMARTreview , a startup company co-founded by Mark Clayton, professor of architecture at Texas A&M, provides designers and regulators quick access to fire safety codes adopted in the U.S. and many international regions that provide safeguards for people in homes, schools and workplaces.

The iOS and Android app, SMARTreview Fire Safety , provides calculations and tables from the International Code Council ’s Quick Reference Guide to Fire Safety to determine whether a building’s specifications are in compliance with ICC codes. A companion desktop app for the Windows operating system is also available.

"The software represents many years of work to develop a powerful and robust algorithm for checking particular requirements in the building code," said Clayton. "The app should pay for itself in reduced time on its first use on a project by eliminating the tedium of looking up figures and requirements in building code books, but its real value comes in speeding the process of obtaining a permit and ultimately the completion of a building."

Additional apps are in development, Clayton said, that address other calculations in the ICC code, the International Energy Conservation Code, the International Residential Code, American Disabilities Act compliance, and other regulations.

“As a start-up company, we expect to hire additional staff as revenue is generated,” he said.