National Institute of Standards and Technology 

National Construction Safety Team Act 

Annual Report

Fiscal Year (FY) 2015

Summary

This annual report to Congress for fiscal year (FY) 2015 is required by the National Construction

Safety Team (NCST) Act. NIST did not undertake any new NCST investigations, nor did it 

continue any NCST investigations in FY 2015.

In FY 2015, NIST continued carrying out implementation of the 16 recommendations in the Joplin 

tornado investigation final report (March, 2014).

1

 The highlights of FY 2015 implementation 

activities include the approval of two code change proposals developed by NIST requiring 

installation of tornado shelters in new construction at new and existing schools in tornado-prone 

regions for inclusion in the 2018 International Building Code (IBC) and International Existing 

Building Code (IEBC), and the completion of the collaboration with the Federal Emergency 

Management Agency (FEMA) to revise and publish FEMA P-361 (Safe Rooms for Tornadoes and 

Hurricanes: Guidance for Community and Residential Safe Rooms, 3rd edition, March 2015).

Additionally, NIST held two meetings of the NCST Advisory Committee (AC) during FY 

2015. One face-to-face meeting on March 26, 2015, 2 and one meeting by teleconference on 

July 2, 2015. 3 In those meetings, NIST briefed the AC on: progress of NIST 

implementation of the Joplin tornado investigation recommendations; status of the 

Engineering Laboratory (EL)’s fire studies; status of the Community Resilience Center of 

Excellence; status of the Disaster Data Repository; and EL’s planning for future disaster 

investigations. A summary of the discussions at these meetings may also be found in the FY 

2015 Annual Report of the NCST AC to Congress.

4

Introduction

In October 2002, the NCST Act (P.L. 107-231) was signed into law by President George W. 

Bush and authorized the Director of NIST to establish and deploy National Construction Safety 

Teams (Teams) to investigate events leading to failure of a building or buildings that result in 

substantial loss of life or that pose significant potential for substantial loss of life.

The purpose of these investigations is to improve the safety and structural integrity of buildings 

 1 Report available at: http://www.nist.gov/customcf/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=915628

2 Meeting summary available at http://www.nist.gov/el/disasterstudies/ncst/upload/NCSTAC-Meeting-Summary2015-03-26.pdf

3 Meeting summary available at: http://www.nist.gov/el/disasterstudies/ncst/upload/NCSTAC-Meeting-Summary2015-07-02.pdf

4 FY 2015 NCST AC Report to Congress available at: 

http://www.nist.gov/el/disasterstudies/ncst/upload/2015NCST_ReportToCongress.pdf
in the United States (U.S.). According to Section 2 of the NCST Act, a Team shall:

(A)Establish the likely technical cause or causes of the building failure;

(B) Evaluate the technical aspects of evacuation and emergency response procedures;

(C) Recommend as necessary, specific improvements to building standards, codes, 

and practices based on the findings made pursuant to subparagraphs (A) and (B); 

and,

(D)Recommend any research and other appropriate actions needed to improve the

structural safety of buildings, and improve the evacuation and emergency response

procedures, based on the findings and recommendations of the investigation.

Under Section 10 of the NCST Act, NIST is to provide an annual report to the House

Committee on Science, Space, and Technology and to the Senate Committee on Commerce, 

Science, and Transportation by February 15 of each year. This report is to include:

(1) A summary of the investigations conducted by Teams during the prior fiscal year;

(2) A summary of recommendations made by the Teams in reports issued under Section 8

of the NCST Act during the prior fiscal year and a description of the extent to which 

those recommendations have been implemented; and

(3) A description of the actions taken to improve building safety and structural integrity by 

the NIST during the prior fiscal year in response to reports issued under Section 8 of the 

NCST Act.

This report summarizes NIST’s activities under the NCST Act for FY 2015 as required by 

Section 10 of the Act. 

1. Investigations Conducted Under the NCST Act during FY 2015

NIST did not undertake any new investigations under the National Construction Safety Team 

Act during FY 2015, nor did it continue any NCST investigations during FY 2015.

2. Summary of Recommendations Made by Teams in Reports Issued Under Section 8 of the 

NCST Act during FY 2015

During FY 2015, NIST did not issue a report under Section 8 of the NCST Act.

3. Actions Taken to Improve Building Safety and Structural Integrity during FY 2015 in

Response to Reports Issued Under Section 8 of the NCST Act

During FY 2015, NIST held two meetings of the NCST Advisory Committee (AC): one face-toface meeting on March 26, 2015, and one meeting by teleconference on July 2, 2015. In those 

meetings, NIST briefed the AC on: progress of NIST implementation of the Joplin tornado 

investigation recommendations; status of EL’s fire studies; status of the Community Resilience 

Center of Excellence; status of the Disaster Data Repository; and EL’s planning for future disaster 

investigations.
a. Actions Related to Report on the NIST World Trade Center Investigation:

In its Final Report on the Collapse of the World Trade Center Towers,

5 NIST recommended 

that “progressive collapse be prevented in building through the development and nationwide 

adoption of consensus standards and code provisions.” In FY 2012, based on a proposal from 

NIST, a new American Society of Civil Engineers/Structural Engineering Institute

(ASCE/SEI) Standards Committee called the “Disproportionate Collapse Mitigation 

Standard” Committee was established. This voluntary standards committee is currently 

developing a standard, with substantial contributions from NIST staff who are translating the 

results of NIST research into the standard. Additional information about changes to building 

codes and standards as a result of this investigation can be found at 

http://www.nist.gov/el/disasterstudies/wtc/wtc_recommendations.cfm.

b. Actions Related to Report on the NIST Joplin Tornado Investigation:

NIST has taken the following actions during FY 2015 to implement the recommendations made in 

this investigation to improve building safety and structural integrity (Note – all references to the 

recommendations below refer to those made in response to the NIST Joplin tornado investigation

final report recommendations provided in Appendix A): 

• Completed work with the International Code Council’s Building Code Action Committee 

(ICC’s BCAC) to refine proposals developed by NIST requiring the installation of tornado 

shelters in new construction at new and existing schools and assembly occupancies 

associated with schools in tornado-prone regions (NIST recommendation #7b). Following 

positive actions at the code hearings, these proposals have now been approved for inclusion 

in the 2018 International Building Code (IBC) and International Existing Building Code 

(IEBC).

• Completed work with the FEMA on the revision of FEMA P-361 (Safe Rooms for 

Tornadoes and Hurricanes: Guidance for Community and Residential Safe Rooms, 3rd

edition) in support of NIST recommendation #8. The new guidance was published in 

March 2015 (available at https://www.fema.gov/media-library/assets/documents/3140). 

• Provided assistance to FEMA with the revision of the related document, FEMA P-320 

(Taking Shelter from the Storm, Building a Safe Room For Your Home or Small Business, 

4th edition), published in December 2014 (available at https://www.fema.gov/medialibrary/assets/documents/2009).

• Developed code change proposal for the 2018 IBC prohibiting use of aggregate as 

surfacing for roof coverings and as roof ballast in tornado-prone regions (NIST 

recommendation #10) and began working with the BCAC to refine the proposal. 

• Held a workshop to update key private sector, academic, and governmental stakeholders on

the progress of year-one work to develop Tornado Hazard Maps for use in tornadoresistant design of buildings. This effort directly addresses NIST recommendation #3 and 

provides prerequisite technical underpinning for recommendations #5 and #6. 

• Held the first two meetings of the new ASCE/SEI committee that is developing the new 

ASCE/SEI Tornado Wind Speed Estimation Standard. The standards committee, cochaired by NOAA and NIST staff, will develop standardized methods for estimating the 

 5 http://www.nist.gov/customcf/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=909017

6 http://www.nist.gov/customcf/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=915628
wind speeds in tornadoes and other severe wind storms. This new standard directly 

addresses both NIST recommendations #2 and #4, and supports NIST recommendations #1 

and #3. 

• Continued to lead the Tornado Working Group within the ad-hoc ASCE committee on 

Performance-Based Design for Wind Hazards, addressing NIST recommendation #5 and 

supporting NIST recommendation #6.

• Developed and submitted public comments on the draft of the new National Fire Protection 

Association (NFPA) 1616 Standard for Mass Evacuation and Sheltering, in support of 

NIST recommendations #8 and #13.

• Drafted and submitted to ICC, in collaboration with FEMA, a chapter for the new 

Commentary to the ICC 500-2014 Standard for Design and Construction of Storm Shelters, 

in support of NIST recommendation #8.

• Worked extensively with FEMA on the development of a new methodology and revised 

guidance for selection of best available tornado refuge areas in existing buildings. This 

work is part of a planned update and expansion of the current version of FEMA P-431 

(Tornado Protection: Selecting Refuge Area in Buildings, Second Edition). This effort 

supports NIST recommendation #9.

4. Other NIST Activities Related to the NCST Act

No other NIST activities related to the NCST Act took place during FY 2015.
Appendix A

Recommendations of NIST NCST Act Joplin Tornado Investigation (NIST NCSTAR 3, March 2014)

Recommendation Interested Parties Lead

Group 1: Tornado Hazard Characteristics and Associated Wind Field

Recommendation 1: NIST recommends that a capacity be developed and deployed that can measure and 

characterize actual tornadic wind fields, including near–surface wind fields, for use in the engineering design of 

buildings and infrastructure. This would require enhancement and widespread deployment of cost-effective, 

advanced technologies, including weather radar.

Academia, DOE, FEMA, 

NWS, NRC, NSF

NOAA

Recommendation 2: NIST recommends that information gathered and generated from tornado events (such as 

the Joplin tornado) should be stored in publicly available and easily accessible databases to aid in the 

improvement of tornado hazard characterization.

Academia, FEMA, NGA NWS

Recommendation 3: NIST recommends that tornado hazard maps for use in the engineering design of buildings 

and infrastructure be developed considering spatially based estimates of the tornado hazard instead of point–

based estimates.

ASCE, DOE, FEMA, ICC, NRC NIST

Recommendation 4: NIST recommends that new damage indicators (DIs) be developed for the Enhanced Fujita 

tornado intensity scale to better distinguish between the most intense tornado events. Methodologies used in 

the development of new DIs and associated degrees of damage (DODs) should be, to the extent possible, 

scientific in nature and quantifiable. As new information becomes available, a committee comprised of public 

and private entities should be formed with the ability to propose, accept, and implement changes to the EF Scale. 

The improved EF Scale should be adopted by NWS.

Academia, ATC, FEMA, NRC, 

NSF, OSTP

NWS
Recommendation Interested Parties Lead

Group 2: Performance of Buildings, Shelters, Designated Safe Areas, and Lifelines

Recommendation 5: NIST recommends that nationally accepted performance–based standards for the tornado–

resistant design of buildings and infrastructure be developed and adopted in model codes and local regulations to 

enhance the resiliency of communities to tornado hazards. The standards should encompass tornado hazard 

characterization, performance objectives, and evaluation tools. The standards shall require that critical buildings 

and infrastructure such as hospitals and emergency operations centers be designed to remain operational in the 

event of a tornado.

Academia, ATC, Design and 

construction industry 

(including ACI, AISC, AWS, 

NAHB, PCA, SDI, SJI, TMS), 

FEMA, ICC, NFPA

ASCE

Recommendation 6: NIST recommends the development of risk–balanced, performance–based tornado design 

methodologies such that all building components and systems meet or exceed the same performance objectives 

when subjected to tornado hazards.

Academia, ASCE, ATC, 

Design and construction 

industry (including ACI, 

AISC, AWS, NAHB, PCA, SDI, 

SJI, TMS), ICC, NFPA

NIST, 

FEMA

Recommendation 7: NIST recommends that: (a) a tornado shelter standard specific for existing buildings be 

developed and referenced in model building codes; and (b) tornado shelters be installed in new and existing 

multi–family residential buildings, mercantile buildings, schools and buildings with assembly occupancies located 

in tornado hazard areas identified in the performance–based standards required by Recommendation 5.

Academia, FEMA, NAHB, 

NFPA, States and 

authorities having 

jurisdiction (AHJ) in 

tornado–prone areas

ICC

Recommendation 8: NIST recommends the development and implementation of uniform national guidelines 

that enable communities to create safe and effective public sheltering strategies. The guidelines should address 

planning for siting, designing, installing, and operating public tornado shelters within the community.

IAEM, IAFC, ICC, NAC, NCSL, 

NEMA, NFPA, NSF, NWS

FEMA

Recommendation 9: NIST recommends that uniform guidelines be developed and implemented nationwide for 

conducting an assessment of tornado risk to buildings and designating best available tornado refuge areas as an 

interim measure within buildings until permanent measures fully consistent with Recommendations 5 and 7 are 

implemented.

Academia, DHS S&T, IAEM, 

IAFC, ICC, NAC, NCSL, 

NEMA, NFPA, States and 

AHJs in tornado–prone 

areas

FEMA

Recommendation 10: NIST recommends that aggregate used as surfacing for roof coverings and aggregate, 

gravel, or stone used as ballast be prohibited on buildings of any height located in a tornado–prone region.

ASCE, NFPA, SPRI, States 

and AHJs

ICC
Recommendation Interested Parties Lead

Recommendation 11: NIST recommends that enclosures of egress systems (elevators, exits, stairways) in critical 

facilities in tornado–prone areas be designed to maintain their functional integrity when subjected to tornado 

hazards.

BOMA ICC, 

NFPA

Recommendation 12: NIST recommends that (a) tornado vulnerability assessment guidelines for critical facilities 

be developed and (b) owners and operators of existing critical facilities in tornado–prone areas perform tornado 

vulnerability assessments, which includes steps to protect the functionality of (1) backup power supplies, (2) 

vertical movement within the building (elevator equipment and shaft enclosures), and (3) means of egress 

illumination (battery–powered lighting in addition to backup power), in a tornado event.

BOMA, DHS IP, DHS S&T, 

IFMA, NFPA, States and 

AHJs 

FEMA

Group 3: Pattern, Location, and Cause of Fatalities and Injuries, and Associated Performance of Emergency Communications Systems and Public Response

Recommendation 13: NIST recommends the development of national codes and standards and uniform 

guidance for clear, consistent, recognizable, and accurate emergency communications, encompassing alerts and 

warnings, to enable safe, effective, and timely responses among individuals, organizations, and communities in 

the path of storms having the potential to create tornadoes.

NIST also recommends that emergency managers, the NWS, and the media develop a joint plan and take steps to 

make sure that accurate and consistent emergency alert and warning information is communicated in a timely 

manner to enhance the situational awareness of community residents, visitors, and emergency responders 

affected by an event.

Academia, FEMA, IAEM, 

ICC, NEMA, and NWS

NFPA

Recommendation 14: NIST recommends that the full range of current and next–generation emergency 

communication “push” technologies (e.g., GPS–based mobile alerts and warnings, reverse 9–1–1, outdoor siren 

systems with voice communication, NOAA weather radios) be deployed and utilized to maximize each individual’s 

opportunity to receive emergency information and respond safely, effectively, and in a timely fashion.

Academia, DHS, FCC, IAFC, 

NEMA, NFPA, NWS

FEMA

Recommendation 15: NIST recommends research be conducted to identify the factors that will significantly 

enhance public perception of personal risk and promote rapid and effective public response during emergencies, 

including tornadoes.

Academia, DHS, ICC, NFPA, 

NWS

NSF, 

NIST

Recommendation 16: NIST recommends that technology be developed to provide tornado threat information to 

emergency managers, policy officials, and the media on a spatially resolved real–time basis to supplement the 

currently deployed official binary warn/no warn system.

FEMA, IAEM, Media 

industry, NEMA, NFPA

NOAA
Recommendation Interested Parties Lead

Recommendation 16: CONTINUED

NIST recommends that tornado threat information be provided to emergency managers, policy officials, and the 

media on a spatially resolved real–time basis by frequently updating gridded probabilistic hazard information that 

is merged with other GIS information to supplement the currently deployed binary warn/no warn system.

NOAA NOAA

Key: ACI, American Concrete Institute; AHJ, authority having jurisdiction; AISC, American Institute of Steel Construction; ASCE, American Society of Civil Engineers; AWS, American 

Welding Society; DHS, U.S. Department of Homeland Security; DOE, U.S. Department of Energy; FCC, Federal Communications Commission; FEMA, Federal Emergency Management 

Agency; IBC, International Building Code; ICC, International Code Council; IRC, International Residential Code; NEMA, National Emergency Management Association; NFPA, National Fire 

Protection Association; NIST, National Institute of Standards and Technology; NOAA, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; NRC, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission; NSF, 

National Science Foundation; NWS, National Weather Service; OSTP, Office of Science and Technology Policy; PCA, Portland Cement Association; SDI, Steel Deck Institute; SJI, Steel Joist 

Institute; TMS, The Masonry Society.