A Primer on the Work of BIA's Engineering and Research
Division
Everything You Wanted to Know About BIA Engineering
Services......But Were Afraid to Ask
Amid the amount and gravity of work performed by BIA's
Engineering and Research Division, some BIA members ask
about the relevance of this core function of BIA's
service to members and the industry. While much of the
division's work appears to be low profile, the fact
remains that the many benefits of the engineers' work is
anything but out of view.
What follows is a overview of the critical work
performed by BIA's Engineering and Research Division.
The division's work addresses both sides of BIA's
mission statement: to promote clay brick and increase
its wall share, AND safeguard the industry.
Often times, the division's participation in national
entities actually opens doors for regions and members to
participate and glean benefit as well. Many regional
staff and BIA members participate in the same activities
in which BIA engineering staff are working. Were it not
for the active involvement of BIA's engineers, these
doors would not be open to BIA's members and regions.
Representative to
National Design and Construction Associations
For example, BIA's Engineering & Research Division works
with the American Institute of Architects (AIA) as the
premier provider for their Continuing Education Series.
BIA prepares presentations - to be delivered by brick
manufacturers - to well-attended AIA classes. In this
way, architects, so critical to increasing clay brick's
wall share, are able to learn directly from BIA members
about the advantages of using brick.
Because "sustainability has become one of the most
important strategic issues confronting our industry,
BIA's engineering staff serve on the board of the
Sustainable Building Industry Council. Engineering staff
also work with the American Society of Testing Materials
(ASTM) and chair the subcommittee on brick and clay
tile. In this work, BIA engineers shepherd complex
issues - both technical and market oriented through the
ASTM's labyrinth of paperwork and bureaucracy to ensure
that brick is as well-positioned as possible with regard
to testing standards.
One example of influence and cooperation is in the
Building Seismic Safety Council. As a member of its
Board, BIA Vice President of Engineering & Research
Gregg Borchelt called for an investigation of the
performance of conventional frame construction. Eric
Johnson of the Brick Association of the Carolinas was
hand picked to serve on the technical subcommittee that
wrote a provision for a reduced seismic design category
to apply to residential construction. This change,
which is making its way through the model code system,
has the backing of the Federal Emergency Management
Agency. This effort will permit brick veneer to be used
in more areas and with fewer restrictions.
Similarly, we are collaborating as never before with the
National Association of Home Builders and should soon be
able to report tangible benefits of this recent upgrade
in BIA outreach.
The E&R Division participates in exhibits of national
design and construction associations. We arrange for
the exhibits to be staffed by our members from the host
location along with staff engineers. In addition to the
national exposure, we provide BIA members in those
markets the opportunity to attend the show and enhance
contact with local architects, builders and code
officials.
Representative to
the Masonry Industry
BIA engineering staff represents the brick industry to
the many facets of the national masonry industry through
work with the Council of Masonry Research, the Masonry
Standards Joint Committee, and The Masonry Society. In
the same way, this occurs with local and regional
masonry promotion groups.
One example of BIA's collaborative work with the masonry
industry is the Federal Officials Seminar, an
outstanding annual opportunity to promote the use of
clay brick in the planning stages of major Federal
building projects. In this way, the industry pitches
lucrative federal contracts.
BIA engineers also fund and participate in a workshop
with university professors of architecture and
engineering. This provides regional offices the
opportunity to educate local professors on how to
incorporate masonry into their courses. This heightened
interest among college professors means that more
students are trained in masonry - an issue vital to the
industry's future.
BIA along with the National Concrete Masonry Association
established the Masonry Alliance for Codes and
Standards. This industry-wide group speaks for the
industry on national model code issues. The influence
accorded this organization continues to grow.
Representative with
a National Voice
BIA Engineering and Research Division staff also do a
great deal to educate key audiences around the country.
BIA engineers train brick sales people through the
information-packed Brick University program. Upon
request, presentations are also given to regional and
national audiences. For example, in the first six months
of 2003, seven presentations were given.
The staff serve on the Executive Committee of the
National Brick Research Center (NBRC) and are active on
the NBRC's task group focusing on the all-important
issue of wall systems.
Also, the division provides direct funding to support
research with the topics coordinated with the NBRC, and
selected by BIA members. One recent series of projects
investigated the proper combination of brick and mortar.
The results of the first phase, jointly funded by the
Mid East Region, showed that low absorption brick do
develop proper bond and water penetration resistance.
BIA engineers write technical literature such as
Technical Notes, which serves as a compendium of
"Best Practices advice, a compilation widely recognized
for its authoritative guidance on brick masonry. The
most popular page on BIA's website is the one on
Technical Notes.
And, of course: the staff responds to thousands of
technical inquiries. Each year, staff handles
approximately 5,000 technical inquiries submitted just
by phone from architects, builders, masons and
consumers; this figure does not include those inquiries
submitted via email or the 4,500 technical requests that
come from www.gobrick.com. While largely unrecognized,
this service stands as yet another important opportunity
for knowledge-sharing from which the entire industry
benefits.
Promotion of Brick
Industry's Interests Vis a Vis Competitors
BIA engineers work to manage and fund cutting-edge
research on key issues concerning other materials. One
example is a study that was funded by the Council for
Masonry Research-performed by Dr. Charles Graham of
Texas A&M -on the performance of EIFS. Steeped in
objective facts, this report served to educate a number
of key audiences as to the relative weaknesses in EIFS's
performance in the critical area of moisture absorption.
So, not only do BIA engineers help safeguard the
industry, they also work to promote clay brick and
increase its wall share.
With so much of the engineers' work falling below most
radar screens, BIA is committed to telling this story
more often. The engineering division has begun to issue
on a periodic basis an update on the Engineering and
Research division's work and its value. Similarly,
division staff are spending more time on the road
traveling to member companies to better illustrate the
degree to which the division delivers unquestioned
value.
BIA engineers work diligently to ply their skills to
both promote and safeguard the clay brick industry.
This
article was published in the October 2003 issue of BIA's
magazine Brick News.
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