# Presentation: 222004

## Facility Information Council

**of the**
**National Institute of Building Sciences**
- Rob Hitchcock
- Building Technologies Department
- Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

## National Institute of Building Sciences

- Established by Congress in 1974
- Interface between the public and private sectors
- Non-Governmental, Non-Profit Organization
- NIBS Public Interest Mission is to:
- improve the building regulatory environment;
- facilitate the introduction of new and existing products and technology into the building process;
- disseminate nationally recognized technical and regulatory information.

## NIBS Programs & Projects

- Facility Information Council (FIC)
- Facility Maintenance & Operations Committee (FMOC)
- Total Building Commissioning (TBC)
- Construction Criteria Base (CCB)
- Whole-Building Design Guide (WBDG)
- Building Product Pre-Approval Program (BPPAP)
- GSA Sustainable Planning & Design
- www.nibs.org/projects.html

**Notes:**
CCB is a comprehensive CD-ROM library of over 10,000 construction documents and executable programs from 16 federal and 121 private organizations.  Now, with a newly designed interface, new PDF document format, and powerful new searching capabilities, CCB brings  together guide specifications, technical and design manuals, fed/mil specs, regulations, CADD libraries, federally adopted non-government standards and much more, in one easy-to-use system.  CCB subscriptions ($250 per year) include quarterly updates and access to CCB On-Line.
With Departments of Defense and Energy funding, NIBS operates a system to pre-approve construction systems, products and materials for compliance with federal agency criteria. The program, guided by a federal agency advisory committee and product specific technical committees, identifies qualifying products, identifies performance test requirements in federal guide specifications, solicits product test reports from manufacturers, evaluates submissions, and disseminates lists of pre-approved products.  BPPAP's pre-approved lists of products in the top 25% of energy performance, are available at www.nibs.org/bppap/BPPAP.htm.
WBDG is a comprehensive, Internet-based portal to a wide range of federal and private sectors, building-related guidance, criteria & technology.  By creatively linking information across traditional professional disciplines, the WBDG encourages integrated thinking and a "whole building" performance perspective.  Users will be able to access building information via three major categories: Design Criteria, Building Types and Products & Systems.
In response to Executive Order 13123, Greening The Government Through Efficient Energy Management, sustainable design and development principles and  guidelines for Federal facilities were developed and coordinated with  functional and management issues in GSA's Sustainability Matrix. to provide instructions to GSA project managers for achieving sustainable projects.  The principles and guidelines are included in the Internet-based Whole Building Design Guide (www.wbdg.org) being developed by NIBS.

## Facility Information Council

- 1994: NIBS formed the Computer Aided Design and Drafting (CADD) Council
- To improve the performance of the life cycle of facilities by fostering a common integrated life-cycle information model for the A/E/C industry, and standards that allow for the free flow of graphic and non-graphic information through the information model
- 1996: CADD Council embarked on the development of a U.S National CAD Standard
- Version1.0 of The U.S. National CAD Standard was published in July of 1999
- Version 2.0 in 2000
- 1999: New initiative to assist facility stakeholders in making better-informed decisions over the life of facilities

## Facility Life-Cycle Model

**Facility Life-Cycle Model**

- Construct

- Evaluate

- Revitalize

- Operate

- Maintain

**Knowledge Base**

- Compatible
- Automation Systems

**Occupancy**

- Shared
- Support Data

- Dispose

- ID Requirements

## BLISS

## Performance Model

- Performance Objectives
- energy-efficiency; environmental impact; life-cycle economics; occupant health, comfort and productivity; and building functionality, adaptability, durability, and sustainability
- Performance Metrics
- explicitly represent project objectives, using quantitative criteria, in a dynamic, structured format that provides value across the life cycle
- critical variables that measure, reflect, or influence a particular performance objective
- capable of being either predicted or measured at various stages of the project so that the achievement of each objective can be evaluated

## Performance Metrics

## BLISS

**Notes:**
BLISS is envisioned as a standardized data repository for a large set of building information capable of supporting a variety of building process activities.  This set includes a Product Model, Performance Metrics, and the relationships between the two.
Here is a possible future scenario for the use of performance metrics and life-cycle information systems. The scenario begins in the programming phase (Step 1), where a set of performance metrics are selected and recorded in BLISS to represent building performance objectives.  In Step 2, computer aided design tools are used for the architectural design, and the resulting data are used as input to various simulation tools to predict the performance of the current design for evaluation against the desired performance.  Results from the final design simulations are summarized in an updated set of performance metrics, which establish a set of benchmark data sets for use in commissioning.  Modifications to the building design due to construction changes, or to the building operation due to occupancy or use changes, must be consistently documented in the product model to provide as-built information.  As installation of each building system is completed, commissioning tests are conducted to determine if the design intent was met (Step 3).  Also at this stage, in-situ test results are used to re-calibrate simulation models and update the appropriate performance metrics.  In this manner consistent up-to-date documentation of both the building and its expected performance is maintained for use during building occupancy. In Step 4 the building automation system (BAS) is used to continuously monitor the building and provide diagnostics with real-time simulation that checks actual operation against current performance benchmarks.  These data are also used in Step 5 to track operations and maintenance (O&M) actions.  One benefit of such integrated information systems is that one can readily identify the energy impact of O&M actions.  For example, when the chillers are cleaned, the efficiency is improved and the new energy performance readily measured.  O&M can therefore be optimized.  The system is also linked to a retrofit simulation tool that allows the facility manager to explore the energy savings from possible major or minor system changes (Step 6).  Each step involves the generation of metrics, which are archived and accessed in the common database format.  The facility manager has a clear record of the design, as-built, and as-operated equipment, along with the performance of the building.

## Facility Information Council

- Life-Cycle Information Management
- Focus on Stakeholder Decision-Making to Assure Desired Facility Performance
- Open to all who are interested
- www.nibs.org