WASHINGTON - The National Institute of Building Sciences' (NIBS') Whole Building Design Guide (WBDG) Web site has received "sole portal" status for design and construction criteria from the Department of Defense's (DOD's) Office of Installations and Environment. Also included in the agreement are the Army Corps of Engineers, Naval Facilities Engineering Command, and U.S. Air Force. The agreement establishes the WBDG as the sole distribution tool for online access to DOD public domain facility criteria.

The Sheet Metal and Air Conditioning Contractors' National Association (SMACNA) has been recognized as one of the first national organizations to provide resource material for the WBDG. Recently the association contributed testing, adjusting, and balancing information (Section 15950). To date, SMACNA's contributions include information on commercial, industrial, and residential ductwork (Section 15810), metal roofing (Section 07410), and seismic restraint for mechanical systems (Section 13080). Each section contains an overview and summary of the topic and provides links to relevant SMACNA technical manuals and standards on its Web site, www.smacna.org.

Development of the WBDG is a collaborative effort among federal agencies, private sector companies, nonprofit organizations, and educational institutions. For more information, visit www.wbdg.org.

Publication date: 02/23/2004