November 2007

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Compilation of ASTM Standards on Building Economics

ASTM has published a sixth edition of the compilation of ASTM standards on building economics. Many of the 23 standards included in the compilation are based on NIST technical reports written by BFRL economists. The compilation is focused on providing a comprehensive resource tool for evaluating the economic performance of investments in buildings and building systems. The economic standards, however, are also applicable to all types of capital infrastructure investments. The compilation helps users decide whether to accept or reject a given investment, how to design and size building systems, and how to establish priority when budgets are limited. Users of the compilation include manufacturers; federal, state, and local government agencies; builders; building code bodies; architectural/engineering firms; facilities managers; consumer groups; trade associations; research groups; consulting firms; and universities. In addition to writing many of the technical reports on which the standards are based, BFRL economists have chaired the ASTM Subcommittee on Building Economics since its inception in 1979 and played a major role in the drafting and balloting of each standard. The compilation contains standard practices, guides, terminology, classifications, and adjuncts. Included are methods for measuring life-cycle costs, benefit-to-cost ratios, and value analysis; guides to help users evaluate the risk that a building project will have a less favorable economic outcome than what is desired or expected, with special emphasis on man-made and natural disasters; classifications of building and bridge elements for reference in their analysis, economic evaluation, and monitoring; and a description of the software adjunct that helps users apply the standard on the analytical hierarchy process to multiattribute decision analyses of investments related to buildings.

CONTACT:
Robert Chapman
301-975-2723

Standards Training Program on Risk Mitigation of Natural and Man-Made Hazards to Constructed Facilities

BFRL, in collaboration with ASTM International and the Science and Technology Directorate of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), presented a training seminar, “Risk Mitigation of Natural and Man-Made Hazards to Constructed Facilities,” at the Shady Grove campus of the University of Maryland on Sept. 25-26, 2007. Robert Chapman lead a team of instructors, including Harold Marshall, David Butry, and Douglas Thomas, in presenting a three-step protocol for evaluating hazard vulnerabilities, identifying potential mitigation strategies, and selecting the most cost-effective combination of strategies to protect facilities. The 10 attendees were government and private-sector personnel who had the responsibility for their organizations to identify and address hazard risks to their institutions’ facilities. The workshop provided students with the recently published Compilation of ASTM Standards on Building Economics, 6th Edition; the Software Program Cost- Effectiveness Tool (CET) for Capital Asset Protection; printed and electronic copies of the Risk Mitigation Toolkit, a guide to literature, methods, and software pertaining to protection against hazards; and a compendium of class notes. BFRL’s Office of Applied Economics developed the course outline and content, produced the CET software and Risk Mitigation Toolkit, and presented the lectures and exercises that illustrated how to use the standards and software together in selecting costeffective strategies for reducing the combined costs of disaster protection and expected damages. The DHS partially funded BFRL’s activities in planning and preparing materials for the course. DHS has funded BFRL to conduct two more courses in fiscal year 2008.

CONTACT:
Robert Chapman
301-975-2723

BFRL’s McGrattan Receives 2007 Interflam Trophy

Kevin McGrattan of the Fire Research Division received the 2007 Interflam Trophy at the 11th International Fire Science and Engineering Conference held in London, England, Sept. 1-3, 2007. This award is given out once every three years to someone who has just completed a key contribution to fire science, or to someone who has had a sustained leadership in a particular area. McGratten represents excellence in both categories for his key contribution to the development of the NIST FDS (Fire Dynamic Simulator), and to his sustained leadership in the application of computational fluid dynamic models in fire protection engineering practice. McGratten joins Vyto Babrauskas as the only other NIST recipient of the Interflam Trophy. Interflam was established in 1979 in the United Kingdom and is one of a small handful of significant international fire conferences, with about 375 participants from 40 countries.

CONTACT:
William Grosshandler
301-975-2310

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