The Washington, D.C.-based National Institute of Building Sciences (NIBS) Consultative Council has released its 2017 report, “Moving Forward: Findings and Recommendations from the Consultative Council”. The council unites representatives from organizations that represent design, construction, operation and regulation to examine important industry issues.
This annual report examines industry challenges and offers findings and recommendations about how to overcome them. The summarized report then becomes part of NIBS’ Annual Report, which it sends to the U.S. president and Congress.
The 2017 report revolves around the future, such as how the building industry can and should evolve to meet society’s changing needs and how new technology can attract a modern workforce. One key question the council posed was if the building industry will be ready as the pace of technology and commerce accelerates and communities face new resiliency and sustainability challenges.
The council focused on four areas to facilitate progress: design, construction and operations, technology, workforce and research. The report then goes on to offer 10 recommendations, which include:
- The White House should establish a cross-agency program that focuses on providing scientific and economic data associated with the effectiveness of building codes and their impacts on communities, education and training for code professionals, technical assistance and evaluation tools for code department effectiveness.
- The building industry, with involvement of representatives from the legal, finance and insurance sectors, should conduct a dialogue about how to evolve the current state of fees, timelines and risk in furtherance of a systems-based approach to realize actual, measured performance results.
- The codes and standards development community should work collaboratively to develop protocols and best practices that support the utilization of current and future standards within digital environments, including BIM, additive manufacturing, building automation and robotics.
- The building industry along with federal agencies should develop and fund a national high-performance building research and development strategy that reflects the value of the industry to the U.S. economy, mirroring the 2.7 percent economy-wide investment in R&D.
For more information and to download the report, visit the NIBS website.