Alberta alternative solutions
Get your variance application complete before it reaches the officer.
Orcvix guides builders, manufacturers and their engineers through an alternative-solution application: candidate code articles, Section D professional requirements, and a completeness check before the officer sees it. Proposed article numbers are checked against our indexed records; code-advisor review is still pending.
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What Orcvix does
- Guided intake for the applicant and project sections of the variance form
- Candidate NBC(AE) 2023 articles, ranked, with a plain-language reason for each
- Objectives, functional statements and intent for Section C, looked up in a code database
- Check for issued STANDATA variances and Calgary and Edmonton standing solutions before a new one is filed
- Potential Section D professional requirements and topics for their report
- Completeness check with the exact gaps, and a draft Part 1 PDF
- Connector for Claude and ChatGPT (Model Context Protocol)
Questions and answers
What is Orcvix?
Orcvix is an AI-assisted tool that helps builders, developers, architects, engineers and manufacturers prepare an alternative-solution (variance) draft under the National Building Code – 2023 Alberta Edition (NBC(AE)). It suggests articles from its indexed records and checks administrative completeness before a Safety Codes Officer reviews the application.
What is a variance, and what is an alternative solution, in Alberta?
An alternative solution is a different way of meeting the intent of the building code, backed by technical evidence that it performs as well as or better than the acceptable solution. A variance is the formal request to the Safety Codes Officer to accept it. Orcvix prepares the request and tells you what evidence it needs; it does not write that evidence.
Does Orcvix say whether my design is safe or will be approved?
No. Orcvix checks proposed article numbers against its indexed records and checks administrative completeness only. Whether an alternative performs as well as the code is for the responsible professional and the Safety Codes Officer to decide. It does not write Section D (the supporting documentation) and does not give engineering judgment.
How does Orcvix avoid made-up code citations?
Articles come from a limited database of NBC(AE) 2023 article numbers and titles, and every article the AI proposes is checked against that indexed set; unknown numbers are dropped before you see them. Objectives, functional statements and intent for Section C are looked up, not written by the model. Rows that a code advisor has not yet confirmed are labelled unverified. The current set does not cover the full code.
Who is it for?
Applicants preparing a variance, professionals who have to sign the supporting documentation, and Safety Codes Officers, who get a one-page summary of what an application contains and what is missing.
Can I use Orcvix from Claude or ChatGPT?
Yes. Orcvix has a connector for Claude and ChatGPT (Model Context Protocol). Create a free account, copy one command, and your assistant can search indexed code records, assemble Section C from stored attributions, reject unknown article numbers, check for an existing variance and list what your application still lacks. The connector stores nothing you send it.
How much does it cost?
A free API key includes 500 calls a month, with no credit card.
Which authorities does it support?
Edmonton and Calgary are set up today. Differences between authorities (form fields, completeness rules, letter text) are data, so adding another Alberta authority does not need new code.
Where does the information come from?
NBC(AE) 2023 (2nd printing) article numbers and titles, issued Alberta STANDATA variances from the Safety Codes Council, the National Research Council's CCMC product evaluation registry, and the standing solutions published by Calgary and Edmonton. Orcvix stores references and its own summaries, not the text of the code.
What it will not do
- It never says a design is safe or that it will be approved. It checks completeness, not technical correctness.
- It does not write Section D or give engineering judgment. It says what the report must cover and which professional is needed.
- It does not invent citations. Every article shown exists in the code database, and nothing is applied until you confirm it.
- It does not call anything verified that a code advisor has not checked. Unverified data is labelled on screen.