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An Assessment of the National Institute of Standards and Technology Building and Fire Research Laboratory Fiscal Year 2008 (2008) / Chapter Skim
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Disaster Resilient Structures and Communities (Hurricanes and Earthquakes)
Pages 23-28

The Chapter Skim interface presents what we've algorithmically identified as the most significant single chunk of text within every page in the chapter.
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From page 23...
... Those hired should complement rather than 6 National Institute of Standards and Technology, 2005, Federal Building and Fire Safety Investigation of the World Trade Center Disaster: Final Report of the National Construction Safety Team on the Collapse of the World Trade Center Tower, NIST NCSTAR 1, Gaithersburg, Maryland.
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From page 24...
... The plan for projects includes the following: The Quantification of Building System Performance and Response Parameters project (to provide technical support for seismic practice and code development) , which includes beta testing of ATC-63 methodology that is to use nonlinear models of seismic force-resisting "archetype" structures intended to result in equivalent safety against collapse for buildings across different seismic resisting systems.
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From page 25...
... This aspect currently seems lacking or not standardized, with current efforts occurring on an ad hoc basis. ADEQUACY OF INFRASTRUCTURE The primary focus of the current BFRL Structures Program is directed toward the development of advanced computational models.
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From page 26...
... The staff at the BFRL is highly technical, and the development of expertise in business management principles is warranted and should be addressed in the overall staffing plan. Individual staff members seem to be driven to maintain expertise in a particular area, enhancing opportunities to be noted and recognized for specific contributions related to a relatively narrow focus area.
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From page 27...
... are in general successful with respect to the criteria employed for this assessment. The technical merit of the programs reviewed was consistent with state-of-the-art standards and had a sound tie to the overall BFRL Strategic Priority Areas and a strong tie to codes and standards development.
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From page 28...
... This is especially important because staff attrition due to retirement is outpacing recruiting efforts. The process of assessing the achievement of stated project objectives needs clarification and should include the development of systemwide metrics.
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Key Terms

  • wind engineering
  • strategic priority
  • structures program
  • failure analysis
  • resilient structures

  • disaster resilient
  • structural fire
  • structural engineering
  • project management
  • fire resistant

  • trade center
  • world trade
  • resistant design
  • earthquake hazards
  • national earthquake

  • laboratory work
  • fire testing
  • reduction program
  • hazards reduction
  • technical merit

  • progressive collapse
  • qualified staff
  • ongoing programs
  • standards development
  • rewarding staff

  • predicting extreme
  • analysis program
  • construction research
  • special threats
  • relatively narrow


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