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The ABCs Of Construction And Sustainability

By Scott Kriner, Green Metal Consulting

I was reading a magazine article recently and I got progressively more angry as the article went on. It was mentioning “AR” throughout the article, assuming that the reader knew what “AR” means, but never explained what the “AR” acronym meant. Finally, after wading through the entire article, I found the meaning of “AR”. It stands for “Augmented Reality.”

I’m sure that many of you have been in a meeting where it seems everyone except you can speak the alphabet soup litany of acronyms. Most of the time we stay quiet hoping someone else will stop the discussion to ask what a specific acronym means. Any meeting with government or military attendees normally dives into acronyms almost as soon as the introductions are made.

But the frustration can also take place at general industry meetings or conference calls.

Many of our industry’s meetings cover a wide variety of topics ranging from codes and standards to sustainability, or general discussion about marketing or technical topics. The large number of acronyms used in the dialogue at these meetings makes it difficult and frustrating to stay up to speed on the conversation. This is especially the case for the younger professionals that are getting involved in the metal construction industry. For years, the lingo of meetings went on with some of the attendees struggling through the dozens of references to acronyms that were not always explained.  Often attendees were confronted with many new acronyms that often were not spelled out. But rather than complaining, two organizations took it on themselves to create a “cheat sheet” that covered acronyms spoken at the popular meetings. Thanks to the work by the Steel Deck Institute and the Steel Joist Institute a list of acronyms used within the metal construction industry has been created. This is a work in progress with new additions to the list being added monthly. It is far from complete but it is an excellent guide for a large number of acronyms that you may encounter.

The list to-date is shown at the end of this article. It is there for you to familiarize yourself with the alphabet soup of acronyms used during meetings. Feel free to personalize it and to add to it so that you can be a part of the conversations, rather than guessing what the acronyms stand for. With this tool you can relax and LOL. (that’s “laugh out loud”)

ACI - American Concrete Institute

ACLCA - American Center for Life Cycle Assessment

AHSS - Advanced High Strength Steel

AISC - American Institute of Steel Construction

AISI - American Iron and Steel Institute

AIST - Association for Iron and Steel Technology

ALCA - Attributional Life Cycle Assessment

ANSI - American National Standards Institute

APA - American Plywood Association

ASABE - American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers

ASAE - American Society of Agricultural Engineers - Now ASABE

ASCC - American Society of Concrete Contractors

ASCE - American Society of Civil Engineers

ASD - Accredited Standards Developer - ANSI

ASHRAE - American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers

ASSE - American Society of Safety Engineers

ASTC - Association of Science-Technology Centers

ASTC - Apparent Sound Transmission Class

ASTM - American Society for Testing and Materials

ATC - Applied Technology Council

AWC - American Wood Council

AWS - American Welding Society

BCAC - Building Code Action Committee - ICC

BIM - Building Information Modeling

BSSC - Building Seismic Safety Council - NIBS

CABO - Council of American Building Officials - ICC

CCFSS - Center for Cold-Formed Steel Structures

CCPII - Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute - Material Health Certificate

CDP - Code Development Process

CDX - Grade Designation for Plywood

CFS - Cold-Formed Steel

CFSEI - Cold-Formed Steel Engineers Institute

CFSRC - Cold-Formed Steel Research Consortium

CISC - Canadian Institute of Steel Construction

CLCA - Consequential Life Cycle Assessment

CLT - Cross Laminated Timber

CMC - Construction Market Council - AISI

COFS - Committee on Framing Standards - AISI

COS - Committee on Specifications - AISI

CSC - Construction Sustainability Council - AISI

CSSBI - Canadian Sheet Steel Building Institute

CSSC - Canadian Steel Construction Council

CTP - Construction Technical Program – AISI

CWC - Canadian Wood Council

DOE - Department of Energy

ESCSI - Expanded Shale Clay and Slate Institute

EMS - Environmental Management System

EPD - Environmental Product Declaration

FBC - Florida Building Commission - Florida Building Code

FEM - Finite Element Method

FEMA - Federal Emergency Management Agency - Department of Homeland Security

FM - Factory Mutual

FSC - Forest Stewardship Council

GaBi - Life Cycle Assessment Software

GBI - Green Building Initiative

GHG - Green House Gas

GHS - Globally Harmonized System - Classification and Labelling of Chemicals - United Nations

GLT - Glue Laminated Timber

HCS - Hazard Communication Standard

HPBC - High Performance Building Council - NIBS

HPD - Health Product Declaration - HPD Collaborative

HVHZ - High Velocity Hurricane Zones

IAB - Industry Advisory Board - SDII

IAC - Industry Advisory Committee

IAPMO - International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials

IAS - International Accreditation Service - ICC

IBC - International Building Code

IBHS - Institute for Business and Home Safety

IBR - Included By Reference

ICC - International Code Council

IEBC - International Existing Building Code

IECC - International Energy Conservation Code

IEQ - Indoor Environmental Quality

IERE - Institute for Environmental Research and Education

IgCC - International Green Construction Code

IIC - Impact Insulation Class

ILFI - International Living Future Institute - Declare

IMCA - Mexican Institute of Steel Construction

IMPACT - Ironworker Management Progressive Action Cooperative Trust

IPS - Investment Policy Statement

IRC - International Residential Code

ISG - Industry Steering Group - SDII

ISO - International Organization for Standardization

IWBI - International WELL Building Institute

LBC - Living Building Challenge - ILFI

LCA - Life Cycle Assessment

LCC - Life Cycle Costing

LCI - Life Cycle Inventory

LCIA - Life Cycle Impact Assessment

LCM - Life Cycle Management

LEED - Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design

LOD - Level of Development - BIM

MBDC - Consulting Firm (Founders of Cradle to Cradle)

MBMA - Metal Building Manufacturers Association

MCA - Metal Construction Association

MEC - Model Energy Code – DOE

MHC - Material Health Certificate - CCPII

MHI - Materials Handling Industry

MMC - Multi-Hazard Mitigation Council - NIBS

MSDS - Material Safety Data Sheets (now SDS)

MSS - Management System Standards

NAAMM - North American Architectural Metal Manufacturers

NACE - National Association of Corrosion Engineers

NAHB - National Association of Home Builders

NARA - National Archives and Records Administration

NASCC - North American Steel Construction Conference - AISC

NASCLA - National Association of State Contractors Licensing Agencies

NCAC - National Council of Acoustical Consultants

NCCA - National Coil Coating Association

NCEES - National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying

NCSEA - National Council of Structural Engineers Associations

NDS - National Design Specification (for Wood Construction) - AWC

NGO - Non-Governmental Organization

NEA - National Erectors Association

NEES - Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulation

NEHRP - National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program

NFBA - National Frame Building Association

NFPA - National Fire Protection Association

NIBS - National Institute of Building Sciences

NISD - National Institute of Steel Detailing

NIST - National Institute of Standards and Technology

NHERI - National Hazards Engineering Research Infrastructure - NSF

NLT - Nail Laminated Timber

NRC - Noise Reduction Coefficient

NRCC - National Research Council Canada

NRCA - National Roofing Contractors Association

NSBA - National Steel Bridge Alliance

NSF - National Science Foundation

NTTAA - National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act

NWIP - New Work Item Proposal - ISO

OFR - Office of the Federal Registrar

OMB - Office of Management and Budget

OMF - Organizational Member Forum - ANSI

OSB - Oriented Strand Board

OSHPD - Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development - California

PAF - Power Actuated Fastener

PBD - Performance Based Design

PCA - Portland Cement Association

PCI - Precast/Pre-stressed Concrete Institute

PCR - Product Category Rules - EPD

PERF - Product Environmental Performance Footprint

PINS - Project Initiation Notification System - ANSI

PTD - Product Transparency Declaration - ASTM E60

PUC - Provisions Update Committee - BSSC

PWG - Project Work Group - BSSC

RCI - Roofing Consultants Institute

RFCI - Resilient Flooring Institute

RICOWI - Roofing Industry Committee on Weather Issues

RMI - Rack Manufacturers Institute

RWFD - Rigid Wall Flexible Diaphragm – BSSC

SBCA - Structural Building Components Association

SCWF - Steel-Clad Wood-Framed

SDC - Seismic Design Category - ASCE

SDII - Steel Diaphragm Innovative Initiative

SDO - Standards Development Organization - ANSI

SDS - Safety Data Sheets (formerly MSDS)

SDI - Steel Deck Institute

SEAA - Steel Erectors Association of America

SEAOC - Structural Engineers Association of California

SECB - Structural Engineering Certification Board - NCSEA

SEI - Structural Engineering Institute - ASCE

SFA - Steel Framing Alliance

SFIA - Steel Framing Industry Association

SFPE - Society of Fire Protection Engineers

SICF - Steel Industry Code Forum

SJI - Steel Joist Institute

SMDI - Steel Market Development Institute

SPRI - Single Ply Roofing Industry

SSCC - Structural Standards Coordinating Council

SSMA - Steel Stud Manufacturers Association

STEM - Science, Technology, Engineering and Math

STI - Steel Tube Institute

TAG - Technical Advisory Group - ISO

TC - Technical Committee – AISC

TCNJ - The College of New Jersey

TPI - Truss Plate Institute

UES - Uniform Evaluation Service - IAPMO

UL - Underwriters Laboratories

ULE - UL Environment

USGBC - U.S. Green Building Council

USGS - United States Geological Survey

WRI - Wire Reinforcement Institute

Scott Kriner is the president and founder of Green Metal Consulting Inc. He is a LEED Accredited Professional who began his career in the metal construction industry in 1981. His company is a member of the U.S. Green Building Council, the California Association of Building Energy Consultants and the Residential Energy Services Network (RESNET).

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