I agree with JAE and Nutte that you should satisfy the current governing code, but you shouldn’t need three different editions of all other standards/specs. to comply. For years, we’ve used new research and thinking when it would benefit out designs. We did this by following the current technical literature and research activities. This fell under the phrases ‘by other rational engineering methods and, not intended to preclude other ration methods founded on sound engineering principles and judgement,’ which are included in most of the basic codes. Of course, we had to be able to justify and defend our designs, that hasn’t changed, that’s our job. How much better that?, than the situation we are in now, where the codes have gotten so complex that the formulas bear little resemblance to common knowledge of the way structures actually act and work, and practicing engineers spend most of their time struggling to understand if that formula or this one applies in this particular cook book recipe, without knowing if they are baking cookies or a pot roast.
I think we are debating the wrong point here. We, as the primary users of these codes, should say ‘enough is enough,’ take this edition and shove-it; you haven’t really improved the process, you’ve just made it more complex, made the code fatter and changed the color of the cover and some of the terminology, and cost me a bunch of time and money, without improving my life, or the public’s safety. And, I’ve talked to a number of building officials who feel this way too, they can’t keep up with the pace of the changes either. We’re tasked with interpreting the codes correctly and then using them to design and build safe structures; they’re only tasked with interpreting the code and arguing with us when the two interpretations don’t agree, and they can no longer keep up either. We should both be talking with the powers-that-be to slow the process down so that we can catch up. This will take a concerted effort because there is big money in publishing. But, let the publishers sit with the next edition or two, until they come up with real improvements to the codes, rather than just more complexity. Hell, we spend more time now manipulating load combinations and different load factors than it used to take to do a simple design, and there isn’t much indication that we are producing better structures, just much more complicated ones.
As I see it, the problem with all of the building codes these days that their production and the republication of new versions has become a very costly new cottage industry unto itself, which has diverged from its original purpose. The original/primary intent of the codes/specs. whatever the particular building material, should be to add some knowledge based uniformity and assistance in designing and building a safe, practical, reasonably economical structure which is safe to use for its intended purpose. The code’s primary purpose should not just be make-work and profit for the researchers and printers. The release of codes should be better synchronized and the time between releases extended sufficiently so there is some hope that practitioners might learn to use them and understand them before discarding them. Real safety issues, when discovered, should be handled by addendums and publications in the technical journals, etc. Errata should be issued periodically as they are found. But, otherwise let us use the same code book long enough to get to know it.