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October 15, 2009

INDUSTRY ACCESS*

AAMA Takes the Lead on BIM for Windows and Doors

The American Architectural Manufacturers Association (AAMA) is the first association to develop a standard for fenestration products within building information modeling (BIM) programs. During the AAMA National Fall Conference the AAMA BIM Task Group met to discuss the need for a standard addressing fenestration products within BIM with a goal to ballot a copy of the document by September 2010.

"The AAMA BIM Task Group will be the driving force in identifying important attributes of fenestration products to incorporate into BIM tools, making it easier for specifiers to utilize these building products in their projects," states Rich Walker, AAMA president and CEO.

During the meeting of the task group, Chairman Mike Turner (YKK AP America, Inc.) presented thoughts how to create an AAMA BIM standard, as there is variation in specific models across the industry.

The purpose in developing a standard for commercial fenestration products is to better assist users of BIM files in understanding the level of information contained within the manufacturer's model. A standard will benefit the overall industry by standardizing the data contained within the model so that BIM can be implemented across a broad range of products efficiently and effectively, according to Walker.

The task group is currently in the process of preparing content for a survey that will be distributed to architects, specifiers and general contractors. Once the survey content is developed, a link to the completed survey will be posted on the AAMA website. The survey results will then be reviewed at the AAMA 73rd Annual Conference to be held Feb. 14-17, 2010, in Palm Springs, CA.

Click here for more Industry Access news including recent new hires, merger & acquisition activity and who's offering new products.

* DHI Members may submit news releases to be considered for inclusion in DHI's IndustryWatch. Send to: jmadden@dhi.org.

BUSINESS UPDATE

Many in the residential and commercial window and door industry fear that policy promoting energy efficiency is outpacing the technology itself, reported Window & Door. They also see buyers, particularly in the commercial market, needing more education on energy efficiency. Those were among the industry concerns raised at a lively Energy Efficiency Town Hall Forum, held in conjunction with GlassBuild America in Atlanta. Full Story

Window & Door reviews some of the activity at the Association of Millwork Distributors annual convention and exhibition. Full Story

The Community Preservation Corporation is a key player in a new public-private partnership that will provide $1 billion in construction and mortgage loans for energy efficient upgrades and property retrofits of affordable multifamily rental and coop buildings in New York. The Green Financing Initiative's goal is to increase fuel and electrical efficiency of existing buildings by at least 20% through retrofits for up to 15,000 apartments over the next few years, reported GreenerBuildings.com. Full Story

In the three-year period leading up to the current recession, gross billings at U.S. architecture firms increased nearly $16 billion from 2005 and totaled $44.3 billion in 2008. This equates to 54% growth over the three-year period with annual growth of about 16%, according to the American Institute of Architect report Business of Architecture: AIA Survey Report on Firm Characteristics. The study also revealed sizeable gains in the number of firms doing green design projects, as well as using Building Information Modeling (BIM) software. Full Story

A new handbook produced in by The Manufacturing Institute, the Manufacturers Alliance/MAPI and the U.S. Department of Commerce, concludes that U.S. manufacturing is being challenged by increasing costs including corporate taxes, health care and pensions, regulations and energy and tort litigation, reported Industry Week. Full Story

The increase in costs for building sustainably may not be as great as often perceived, according to a study conducted in New York City recently by global construction consultants Davis Langdon and the Urban Green Council. Throughout 2008, data were gathered on 107 projects throughout the five boroughs of New York, 63 of which were either pursuing or had achieved Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification. Data points included construction costs, design fees, LEED design fees, LEED additional fees, and commissioning fees. The average square-foot construction cost for a high-rise residential building without LEED certification was $436; while the average cost with certification was $440, reported the Epoch Times. Full Story

The Rocky Mountain Institute has created a new tool to help people understand how their buildings use carbon and what they can do to reduce emissions from building projects, reported GreenerBuildings.com. Full Story

CONSTRUCTION & DESIGN

The largest military construction project in the Air Force will begin in November at Lackland Air Force Base. The $900 million project to build 13 new basic training facilities will replace the existing 1,000-man recruit housing and training buildings scattered across the base, reported Air Force Times. Full Story

Although institutional construction spending intentions (building permits) eased slightly in August, down 1.1% month over month compared to July, they were up almost 20% on a year-to-date basis. Based on this increase, it now appears institutional construction spending for the year as a whole will be considerably stronger than the 14.8% year over year reported in the mid-year Capital Expenditure Survey carried out in mid-2009 and almost twice the 14.8% increase reported in a survey done in late 2008 and early 2009. Across the four major categories of institutional construction, year-to-date planned spending on government buildings is up just over 40%. Meanwhile spending on health care facilities is up by 29.7% and spending on schools, colleges and universities is up by 20.4%, reported Reed Construction Data. Full Story

In South Dakota all 24 school districts which applied for Qualified School Construction Bonds (QSCB) have been approved for $56 million in interest-free loans, which shave as much as one-third off the total cost of building projects. The two-year, $22 billion QSCB, a creation of stimulus legislation, was touted as a jump-start for the construction industry and a boon to education. But officials at four of the 12 South Dakota school districts approved in the first round of awards say they would have done the projects without the incentive, reported Argus Leader. Full Story

The Pickens County, SC Board of Trustees approved construction of Pickens High School at $36.4 million - the first of four new high schools under the school district’s overall $365 million facilities improvement plan initially approved three years ago, reported upstatetoday.com. Full Story

SECURITY & SAFETY

With integrated IP video surveillance and access control, the Barry Family Campus Corp. centrally and remotely handles operations and security for the Minneapolis Jewish Community facilities. A recent Campus Safety Magazine article examines how it is done on the campus, which includes a school and daycare, as well as health, recreation and cultural buildings. Full Story

The El Paso, TX County Sheriff's Department will receive a grant of $231,499 for school safety. The money comes from the Justice Department's Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) Secure Our Schools grant program, reported KFOXTV.com. Full Story

GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS

The Economic Policy Institute floated the biggest proposal yet for new economic-recovery measures: a package of $500 billion or more in government spending, employment tax credits and jobless benefits. All would be paid for with a new levy on Wall Street financial transactions. Specifically, EPI is proposing $150 billion in revenue-sharing for beleaguered states; $40 billion for public infrastructure, mainly school construction; $40 billion for new local-government jobs programs; employment tax credits of $80 billion or so for both private- and public-sector employers; and renewal of the extended jobless benefits from last February's recovery act, at a price tag of about $100 billion, reported The Wall Street Journal. Full Story

The Obama administration has repealed a rule that would have threatened employers with prosecution unless they fired workers whose Social Security numbers did not match entries in a government database, ending a two-year battle in a San Francisco federal court. Although the Department of Homeland Security formally withdrew the "no-match" rule, the administration is supporting another program enabling employers to check workers' names against electronic records that are supposed to screen out illegal immigrants. That program, E-Verify, is voluntary for most employers but mandatory for the 170,000 companies holding federal contracts and for their subcontractors. Recently, a House-Senate conference committee voted to extend E-Verify for three years, reported the San Francisco Chronicle. Full Story

Massachusetts state officials moved ahead with $660 million in school construction projects in 15 districts throughout the state in a move that State Treasurer Tim Cahill said would provide a boost to the state's economy, reported The Boston Globe. Click here for a description of the projects. Full Story

SMALL BUSINESS NEWS

Health Care Reform

While we in the small business community have called for flexibility in our health care decision making, we have also called for cost containment. The two concepts do not go hand in hand. You cannot have cost containment if you do not have a closed-loop system. The more folks you allow to opt out or not cover in the first place, the more likely you will have inefficient emergency room health care and the more likely you will have insurance rate increases.

One positive development is that the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has actually acknowledged that medical malpractice reforms COULD reduce the cost of health care. The CBO found that by adopting tort reform measures, federal spending would be reduced by $41 billion over ten years and the federal deficit would decline by $54 billion.

Perhaps if we can prove tort reform works in the health care sector, we can convince Congress to enact across-the-board tort reforms.

DHI's Jerry Heppes sits on the board of the Small Business Legislative Council. If you'd like more information on these or other issues affecting small businesses, feel free to contact him at jheppes@dhi.org.

This material is protected under copyright law and contains confidential information. It is for the sole personal, informational use of DHI members. It cannot be distributed, reprinted, referenced as a source for attribution, or otherwise made public.

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