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Building Sciences

In This Issue

Dates to Know

August 12-15, 2013
62nd Annual SES Conference
Savannah, GA

August 16, 2013
BSSC Short Course: Earthquake Engineering Techniques
Reston, VA

September 17-18, 2013
NFMT Vegas
Las Vegas, NV

September 24, 2013
Consultative Council Meeting
Washington, DC

September 25, 2013
Coordinating Council Meeting
Washington, DC

September 25-27, 2013
World Energy Engineering Congress
Washington, DC

September 26, 2013
Board of Directors Meeting
Washington, DC

September 26-28, 2013
NADCA Fall Technical Conference
Atlanta, GA

October 1-2, 2013
WDMA Executive Management Conference
Cambridge, MA

October 2-4, 2013
IFMA's World Workplace Conference & Expo
Philadelphia, PA

October 3, 2013
U.S. Celebration of World Standards Day
Washington, DC

October 5, 2014
ASTM Symposium on Exterior Insulation and Finish Systems
New Orleans, LA

October 9-12, 2013
ASCE 143rd Annual Civil Engineering Conference
Charlotte, NC

October 23-25, 2013
2013 ProDealer Industry Summit
Nashville, TN

November 5-6, 2013
International Conference of Advanced Building Skins
Bressanone, Italy

November 11-13, 2013
CURT National Conference
Tucson, AZ

November 20-22, 2013
CABA Intelligent Buildings & Digital Home Forum
Philadelphia, PA

January 6-10, 2014
Building Innovation 2014
Washington, DC

What's On WBDG

The WBDG Whole Building Design Guide® Continuing Education Program just added a new Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP) Continuing Education Course, FEMP09 "Sustainable Strategies for Existing Federal Facilities" to its course offerings. This course provides strategies for creating and maintaining high-performance buildings by optimizing building technologies; avoiding the costs of waste and inefficiency; and creating productive, comfortable, and healthy work environments. This course focuses on these fundamentals for improving sustainability in a Federal facility: optimizing energy performance; protecting and conserving water; using environmentally preferable products and materials; and enhancing indoor environmental quality. The course offers 3.5 AIA learning units, 0.40 FEMP CEUs and has been submitted to Green Building Certification Institute (GBCI) for approval for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) professionals to maintain their accreditation.

Industry News

ASTM to Hold EIFS Symposium in 2014, Calls for Papers
ASTM International will conduct a Symposium on exterior insulation and finishing systems (EIFS), October 5-6, 2014, in New Orleans, Louisiana. Nearly 20 years since the last ASTM symposium on the same topic, this new symposium has the theme "EIFS: Performance, Progress and Innovation." The symposium host, E 06.58 Subcommittee on EIFS and Related Products, is currently calling for papers. Submit an abstract.

July 2013

The Institute in Action

Top Sponsor Set for Building Innovation 2014
Other Opportunities Still Available to Spotlight Your Organization Building Innovation 2014

Following the success of the National Institute of Building Sciences’ 2013 inaugural Conference and Expo, McGraw Hill Construction has renewed its commitment by signing on to be the lead sponsor for Building Innovation 2014, the Institute’s Second Annual Conference and Expo. Set for January 6-10, 2014, in Washington, D.C., Building Innovation 2014 will kick off the Institute’s 40th Anniversary and explore Advancing Life-Cycle Performance.

For the second year, McGraw Hill Construction is taking the role as the Conference sponsor and adding their solid reputation as a reliable and trusted industry information resource to Building Innovation 2014. McGraw Hill Construction will be featured throughout the Conference venue and exhibit in the prime exhibitor location most visible upon entering the Conference area.

Building Innovation 2014 will be held at the Washington Marriott Wardman Park. This larger space allows the Institute to expand its sponsorship and exhibitor opportunities for the Conference, giving many other organizations a chance to highlight their contributions to the building industry. Organizations interested in showing their support for the Institute and the building industry can reserve a sponsorship and/or exhibitor space online or contact Holly Velez at the Institute for more information. Read the release.

Industry Leadership and Advocacy

Institute to Establish Off-Site Construction Council

The National Institute of Building Sciences Board of Directors has approved the formation of a new council in response to an industry request to convene a group to meet the growing need for information and consistency in the development and use of off-site construction project components. The Off-Site Construction Council (OSCC) will consist of subject matter experts, manufacturers and suppliers that work on pre-constructed components—building components that are manufactured and tested off-site and then brought to the building site for final installation.

The Modular Building Institute (MBI), which brought the initial idea to the Institute, hosted a preliminary meeting in conjunction with the MBI Modular Construction Summit ahead of the formation of the new council. As a precursor to the formation of the council, the National Institute of Building Sciences and MBI also held a discussion meeting in May with potential participants. Participants discussed the charge of the council, development of a charter, range of membership, a potential meeting schedule and how the council could participate in the upcoming Building Innovation 2014 Conference. To obtain more information, contact Ryan Colker.

Security and Disaster Preparedness

Spend a Day Improving Your Seismic Design Skills: August 16
Early-Bird Rates End July 21

Plan to attend “Earthquake Engineering Techniques: From the NEHRP Provisions to Building Seismic Deign.” During this one-day short course, to be held Friday, August 16, the National Institute of Building Sciences Building Seismic Safety Council (BSSC) will present an educational program on the latest building practices for designing for earthquakes. The 7-hour course, from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm, will give structural engineers, design professionals, building officials, academics and students who attend practical information on the important elements of the current Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) National Earthquake Hazard Reduction Program (NEHRP) Recommended Seismic Provisions and ASCE 7. Expert instructors will deliver the course at the American Society of Civil Engineers Bechtel Conference Center in Reston, Virginia. Register by July 21 and save $100 on registration. Find out more.

Institute Hosts DHS Meeting to Review Progressive Collapse Research Study

The National Institute of Building Sciences hosted a progressive collapse research study review meeting in June for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science & Technology Directorate (S&T) Resilient Systems Division (RSD). Representatives of other federal agencies with interests in building collapse analysis were invited to hear the presentation of research findings by Columbia Professor George Deodatis and Post-Doctoral Fellow Semos Gerasimidis.

Columbia University, as sub-consultant under contract to Weidlinger Associates with sponsorship from DHS S&T RSD, studied potential loss-of-stability-induced collapse mechanisms in common types of steel frames. The study’s findings indicate that steel frames can fail due to loss of stability (buckling) of the columns and not because of the currently considered, standard “yielding-type” collapse mechanism involving the structure's beams. These findings highlight the importance of stability checks for damage-state conditions.

The meeting participants agreed that the research findings were of great interest and that work should continue to further evaluate the findings, extend them to more building systems and types, and then disseminate the results. Efforts are underway to continue the work.

IRVS Developer Receives Leadership in Innovation Award

Weidlinger Associates, Inc., developer of the Integrated Rapid Visual Screening/Interagency Security Committee (IRVS/ISC) project, received a 2013 Anchin Leadership in Innovation Award. The award, presented by accounting firm Anchin, Block & Anchin LLP, recognizes architecture, engineering and construction firms whose efforts demonstrate an “innovative approach to construction and design.”

Developed by Weidlinger Principal Dr. Mohammed Ettouney for the National Institute of Building Sciences and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T), IRVS/ISC uses simple, accurate and efficient processes to simulate the rigorous ISC risk-management standard. It provides comprehensive, yet objective risk and resilience management of multihazard effects on buildings in accordance with DHS definitions. Read the Weidlinger release and the Anchin announcement.

Cybersecurity of Building Systems Brings Experts to the Institute

Cybersecurity Summit

above Daryl Haegley, Program Manager, Industrial Cyber Security and Energy Information Risk Management, in the Office of the Deputy Under Secretary for Defense for Installations and Environment, shares some of the current initiatives underway within the U.S. Department of Defense to identify and address the security of building systems.

Rarely a day goes by when cybersecurity is not a topic of conversation in the news. However, that conversation rarely covers the potential vulnerabilities of building systems. Buildings are becoming increasingly reliant on technologies that allow centralized monitoring and control of multiple building systems (building automation, fire and life safety, energy management, physical security, access control, etc.), to assist in accomplishing design and operational goals. The Institute held a Summit on Building-Centric Cybersecurity this week to discuss how building systems designers, manufacturers, building owners, service providers and facility managers can address building control systems-focused cybersecurity concerns.

While federal agencies have been required to meet stringent cybersecurity standards for traditional information technology systems since passage of the Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA) in 2002, the development of protection and analysis standards for building control systems is just beginning. Summit participants focused on the needs specific to the building industry and how to expand the knowledgebase of building owners, designers and facility managers in issues related to the security of operational technologies.

Facility Performance and Sustainability

Institute Kicks Off VAFM POE Program

The Institute held a meeting earlier this month for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Office of Construction and Facilities Management (CFM) to kick-off its Facility Management (VAFM) Post-Occupancy Evaluation (POE) Program. The POE Program for VA’s Major Construction projects will answer the question, “Did the project fill the gap / meet the need?” Information collected at the sites will include functional program evaluation, adherence to VA criteria and design standards, and evaluation of sustainability design, such as daylighting, water usage and energy.

Using common terminology, two teams of architects and engineers will gather data, which will be compiled into a searchable database and used to inform future VA criteria for programming, planning, design and construction of healthcare facilities. Led by Institute staff, the two teams will visit eight VA facilities 18 to 24 months after occupancy, which begins Day One, the first day a Veteran received care at the facility. The facility sites are in Milwaukee, WI; Palo Alto, CA; Cape Coral, FL; Biloxi, MS; Pittsburgh, PA; San Antonio, TX; and a National Cemetery in San Diego, CA. The project will be completed in Spring 2014.

DOE Updates Federal Buildings Baseline Standard
to ASHRAE 90.1-2010

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has issued a direct final rule (10 CFR 433), updating the energy efficiency standards for new federal commercial and high-rise multi-family residential buildings. The rule updates the baseline standard from Standard 90.1-2007, Energy Standard for Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings, to ASHRAE Standard 90.1-2010. The new baseline saves approximately 18.2% more source energy than the previous baseline standard.

Federal buildings for which design for construction begins on or after July 9, 2014, (one year after the publication date of the final rule) must comply with the final rule. Such buildings must be designed to exceed the energy efficiency level of the appropriate updated baseline voluntary standard by 30 percent if life-cycle cost-effective. However, at a minimum, such buildings must achieve the energy efficiency equal to that of the appropriate updated baseline voluntary standard. View the final rule.

Information Resources and Technologies



NCS V6 Ballot Submission Period Extended through August 11

The committee responsible for overseeing development of the nation’s leading computer-aided design (CAD) standard is announcing a four-week extension to the next edition’s ballot submission period. The Steering Committee for the United States National CAD Standard® (NCS) opened the revision cycle on May 20 to begin development of NCS Version 6. The ballot submission period was originally scheduled to run through July 14. The Steering Committee has since received 320 ballot items from NCS V6 Project Committee members. In order to allow the NCS Task Teams, consisting of all volunteers, time to devote the proper attention to each of the submitted items, the Steering Committee is extending the submission period to end August 11. All of the subsequent dates on the NCS V6 Schedule will push out by the same four-week period. View the schedule.

DOD, VA Set Roadmap for FM Technology

The National Institute of Building Sciences hosted a meeting last week for the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to discuss the development of their strategic roadmaps using building information modeling (BIM), computer-aided facility management (CAFM), and a computerized maintenance management system (CMMS) to guide the future of their facilities. Kimon Onuma, FAIA, of Onuma, Inc., presented recently completed work for the agencies. Andy Schoenbach, Chief, Budget Systems Branch of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), presented the platform Max.gov, in conjunction with lifecycle technology management systems available to federal agencies. A second presentation will occur later this year, and another is scheduled for January 6, 2014, at Building Innovation 2014: the National Institute of Building Sciences Annual Conference and Expo. View the recent presentation.

The National Institute of Building Sciences, authorized by public law 93-383 in 1974, is a nonprofit, nongovernmental organization that brings together representatives of government, the professions, industry, labor and consumer interests to identify and resolve building process and facility performance problems. The Institute serves as an authoritative source of advice for both the private and public sectors with respect to the use of building science and technology.

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© 2013 National Institute of Building Sciences. All Rights Reserved. 
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