National Construction Safety Team A

National Construction Safety Team A

Requirements and Discussion Requirements and Discussion

NCST Advisory Committee Meeting August 26, 2003

James E. Hill, Deputy DirectorBuilding and Fire Research Laboratory

james.hill@nist.gov
Implementing Procedures Implementing Procedures

Interim Final Rule published in Federal Register Janua

2003

Covered collection, preservation, and protection 

evidence collected and information created

Comment period closed March 3, 2003Two comments receivedFinal Rule published May 7, 2003

Proposed Rule under review at DoC

Covers other major implementing procedures
Final Rule Final Rule

Collection of Evidence

Public voluntarily provideWritten requests from or negotiations by Lead 

Investigator and NIST Counsel

Subpoena under the signature of DirectorNIST may hold public hearing

Entry and Inspection

Permission granted voluntarilyWritten permission requested from or negotiatio

Lead Investigator and NIST Counsel

Written notice of inspection authority by the DireDirector seeks assistance from Justice to enfor
Final Rule Final Rule

Information Created

May not be used as evidence in any suit or actio

damages

Protection of Information

Evidence collected and information created will n

released until the final report is issued

If determined by the Director, voluntarily-provide

information will not be released if that would inhivoluntary provision

If determined by the Director, information will not 

released that might jeopardize public safety 
Current Thinking on Proposed Rule Current Thinking on Proposed Rule

 General Preliminary reconnaissance Building failure Conditions for establishing a Team Size and composition of a Team Typical tasks in an investigation
General General

 Historically in the U.S., building failures that have “re

in substantial loss of life or that posed significant pofor substantial loss of life” have occurred less than oyear. This is likely to continue except for terrorist ac

 The number of fatalities considered to be “substanti

depend on the nature of the event, its impact, its uncharacter, historical norms, and other pertinent facto
Preliminary Reconnaissance Preliminary Reconnaissance

 NIST may conduct a preliminary reconnaissance at 

of a building failure to gather information that the Diwill use in deciding whether to deploy a Team.

 It may include inspection of the site and interviews o

witnesses, survivors, and first responders.
Building Failure Building Failure

A building failure may involve one or more of: Structural system Fire protection (active or passive) system Multiple-occupant (crowd) behavior or evacuation (e

access) system

 Air-handling system Building control system Emergency response system Emergency communication system
Conditions for Establishing a Team Conditions for Establishing a Team

1. The event was:

 a major failure due to an extreme natural event (ear

hurricane, tornado, flood, etc.)

 a fire resulting in major damage/destruction and/or s

beyond the building of origin

 a major building failure at significantly less than its d

basis

 an act of terrorism or other event with a Presidential 

declaration of disaster and activation of the Federal Response Plan

2. An investigation will likely result in knowledge needed to 

public risk and economic losses from future building failu
Size and Composition of a Team Size and Composition of a Team

Size Five or less if narrowly focused on one technical iss Twenty or more if the breadth spreads across sever

technical issues

Composition

 Lead investigator will be a NIST employee Team members may be experts in civil, mechanical

forensic, safety, architectural, and materials engineeand specialists in emergency response, human behand evacuation
Typical Tasks in an Investigation Typical Tasks in an Investigation

 Identify technical issues and hypotheses requiring invest Collect data from building owner and occupants, local au

contractors, suppliers, emergency responders, and other witnesses

 Collect and analyze physical evidence Determine the conditions in the building(s) prior to the ev Reconstruct the event using computer models to identify 

probable technical cause(s)

 Conduct small and full-scale experiments Examine the impact of alternate building/system/equipme Analyze emergency evacuation and occupant responses Analyze relevant building practices Identify specific areas in codes, standards, and practices 

warrant revision

 Identify research or other actions required to prevent futu

building failures
NCST Meeting on Interagency Collabora

NCST Meeting on Interagency Collabora

July 31, 2003 July 31, 2003

Purpose: To provide information on the Act and N

plans for implementation and to explorecollaboration with other federal agencie
NCST Meeting on Interagency Collabora

NCST Meeting on Interagency Collabora

July 31, 2003 July 31, 2003

Attendees Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms Army Corps of Engineers National Research Council National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health Chemical Safety Board Defense Threat Reduction Agency Department of Homeland Security/FEMA U.S. Fire Administration Environmental Protection Agency Federal Bureau of Investigation National Science Foundation National Transportation Safety Board Occupational Safety and Health Administration
Proposed Possible Collaboration with N

Proposed Possible Collaboration with N

 Provide experts for reconnaissance Provide experts for Teams Provide informal consultation to Teams Support Team investigations with contracted 

experiments/studies

 Make relevant training available to potential Team m Enable NIST interaction with Search and Rescue an

Enforcement
Most Promising Collaborations Most Promising Collaborations

 FBI (training, access to sites) ATF (educating ATF organization about NCST, acce

sites)

 CSB (wealth of learning experiences to share, tri-pa

agreement with ATF)

 NTSB (use NIST staff member on future NTSB 

investigation)