Code Compliance Checking for Plan Reviewers
Helonic is an AI construction drawing analysis platform for Plan Reviewers doing Code Compliance.
Helonic grades the permit set against the codes this city adopted, then the reviewer writes the correction from a cited finding.
What is code compliance for plan reviewers?
Code compliance for plan reviewers is the permit-set check Helonic runs before a building department or third-party examiner approves the drawings. Helonic reads the architectural, life safety, structural, MEP, and civil PDFs against the IBC, IFC, NEC, NFPA, ADA, and the local amendments the jurisdiction has adopted. Each miss comes back with the sheet, the dimension or note that failed, and the code section. The examiner still accepts, edits, or drops the comment.
Why is code compliance hard to keep consistent across plan reviewers?
Code compliance is hard to keep consistent across plan reviewers because one commercial permit can pull in the IBC, IFC, NEC, NFPA 13, NFPA 72, the ADA, and a local ordinance that changes several of them. The architectural examiner knows egress. The electrical examiner knows working clearances. On a busy week those reviews happen on different days, or one person covers both. Helonic puts the cross-code findings on the set before the first comment is written, so the corridor width and the panel clearance show up even when that trade's specialist is holding a different set.
How does Helonic help plan reviewers with code compliance?
Helonic checks a permit set against the jurisdiction's adopted building, fire, electrical, accessibility, and energy rules in one pass, and attaches the sheet, the failed condition, and the code section to each finding a plan reviewer can turn into a correction comment.
One pass across the adopted codes
Helonic checks a permit set against the jurisdiction's adopted building, fire, electrical, accessibility, and energy rules in one pass, and attaches the sheet, the failed condition, and the code section to each finding a plan reviewer can turn into a correction comment.
Grades the edition the city adopted
If the city is still on the 2018 IBC with a 2022 amendment packet, Helonic grades the set to that combination. A comment written to a later edition is one the applicant can reject.
Measures the corridor on the sheet
A code summary can list a 44-inch corridor while sheet A-201 narrows to 41 inches at a column. Helonic measures the plan, the stair, the ramp, and the panel clearance on the sheet.
Same findings for every examiner
Helonic shows two reviewers opening the same submittal the same cited findings. The person who signs the review still makes the call.
What issues does Helonic catch in code compliance for plan reviewers?
Helonic flags these code compliance issues when plan reviewers review a set:
Corridor on A-201 measures 41 inches clear at the column. IBC Table 1020.2 requires 44 inches where the corridor serves an occupant load of 50 or more.
Exit access travel from office 214 to Exit B measures 318 feet in a sprinklered Group B building. IBC Table 1017.2 allows 300 feet.
Common path from the open office to a point with two ways out measures 118 feet. IBC Table 1006.2.1 limits a sprinklered Group B space to 100 feet.
Panelboard P-2 on E-101 has 30 inches of clear depth in front of the equipment. NEC 110.26(A)(1) requires 36 inches where voltage to ground is 150 volts or less.
The walk from accessible parking to the entry calculates at 1:10 from the civil spot elevations. IBC 1012.2 limits a ramp to 1:12, and a slope steeper than 1:20 has to be built as a ramp.
G-001 cites the 2018 IBC. This city adopted the 2021 IBC with the amendments in its local ordinance, so the comment has to be written to that book.
Which Helonic features matter for code compliance?
Helonic includes Cited findings against the adopted code edition when plan reviewers run this workflow.
Cited findings against the adopted code edition
Local amendment packs saved per jurisdiction
Corridor, common-path, and travel-distance checks from the life safety sheets
NEC working-clearance checks on the electrical plans
Accessibility slope and clearance checks on architectural and civil sheets
Export of sheet, condition, and code section for the correction letter
How do plan reviewers run a code compliance check?
Helonic runs the code compliance check on the editions the plan reviewer names: the adopted IBC, IFC, NEC, NFPA, accessibility, and energy codes, plus that city's amendments. A newer book the jurisdiction has not adopted stays out of the grade.
Name the codes in force
Helonic runs the code compliance check on the editions the plan reviewer names: the adopted IBC, IFC, NEC, NFPA, accessibility, and energy codes, plus that city's amendments. A newer book the jurisdiction has not adopted stays out of the grade.
Upload the permit PDF
Helonic reads architectural, life safety, structural, MEP, and civil sheets from one permit PDF.
Read the finding on the sheet
Helonic names the sheet, the dimension or note that failed, and the code section on each finding. The reviewer accepts it, rewrites the comment, or drops it.
Issue the correction
Helonic exports accepted findings with the citation so they can go into the comment letter or the jurisdiction's permitting software.
What do practitioners say about code compliance for plan reviewers?
“The queue is what breaks consistency. Thursday you have forty sets. The person who knows egress is not the person who knows panel clearances, and sometimes they are the same person with no time. If the first pass already has the section number, the comment is better and it goes out the same week.”
Conversations with chief plans examiners and third-party reviewers who review commercial permits for city and county building departments.
What do plan reviewers ask about code compliance?
Can AI check construction drawings against the building code for a plan reviewer?
Helonic checks 2D permit PDFs against the IBC, IFC, NEC, NFPA 13, NFPA 72, ADA, ANSI A117.1, IECC, and the local amendments the jurisdiction loads. Each finding names the sheet and the code section. The examiner still accepts, edits, or drops the comment.
Does Helonic replace the plan reviewer?
Helonic prepares the dimensional and citation checks. Occupancy calls, alternate methods, and the decision to approve or correct still belong to the certified reviewer.
How do local amendments get applied?
Helonic applies a city's uploaded amendment text to every later submittal for that jurisdiction, and a third-party firm reviewing for several cities keeps a separate rule set per city.
Which codes can a plan reviewer run together?
Helonic runs IBC, IFC, IRC, IECC, IPC, IMC, NEC, NFPA 13, NFPA 72, ASHRAE 90.1, ADA, and ANSI A117.1 in the same pass. A performance-path energy model still needs its own review.
Can the findings go on a correction notice?
Helonic exports the finding with the sheet number, the measured condition, and the code citation so the reviewer can paste it into the correction letter or the jurisdiction's comment software.
Milind Sagaram
Co-founder & CEO, HelonicMilind is the co-founder and CEO of Helonic, where he leads product and go-to-market for AI-powered construction drawing analysis. He works closely with general contractors, project managers, estimators, and owners to understand how drawing quality drives project outcomes - and where AI can reduce RFIs, change orders, and rework. Milind has interviewed hundreds of construction professionals across project delivery roles, from preconstruction estimators at ENR top-400 contractors to facilities directors at institutional owners, and uses those conversations to shape both product direction and the way Helonic talks about the work.
- Construction project delivery and preconstruction
- RFI and change order economics
- Owner and GC workflows for drawing QA/QC
- Estimating risk and bid-stage scope assessment
How this page was researched: Conversations with chief plans examiners and third-party reviewers who review commercial permits for city and county building departments.
Last reviewed by Milind Sagaram · September 14, 2026
Other use cases for plan reviewers
Code Compliance for other roles
Should plan reviewers use Helonic for code compliance?
Yes. Helonic catches the issues that matter most to plan reviewers before they become rework. Upload your drawings for a free analysis.