Saturday Education and Speakers

Each year building enclosure industry professionals from across North America and abroad gather at the IIBEC International Convention and Trade Show for education covering the latest techniques and technologies in building enclosure design, repair, and maintenance.

IIBEC Continuing Educational Credit
All registered attendees will receive Continuing Educational Hours (CEHs) based on hourly attendance at educational programs and the trade show.

AIA Continuing Educational Credit
AIA Credit has been submitted by IIBEC to AIA for approval.

Trade Show Continuing Educational Credit
Attendees will earn 2.0 CEHs for spending up to four hours on the trade show floor. Attendees who spend more than four hours at the trade show will receive 3.0 CEHs.

Listed below are the sessions that will be presented at the 2023 IIBEC International Convention and Trade Show.

Presentation Classification Codes:

Air Barriers: AB
Building Commissioning: BECxP
Building Enclosure: BE
Building Enclosure Technology: BET
Business/Professional Development: BPD
Codes & Standards: C&S
Exterior Wall: EW
Leak Detection: LD
Restoration: RS
Roofing: R
Waterproofing: WP
Wind: W
Safety: S
Sustainability: SUS

Saturday, March 4

General Session: Resilience – What does that Mean for the Design of Buildings?

8:00 a.m.–8:45 a.m.

Classification

This course has been approved for 1 IIBEC Continuing Education Hour

Session Description

Most individuals in society feel that complying with the building codes and standards adopted by their local jurisdictions will provide buildings that are “earthquake-proof, flood proof, and/or windstorm proof.” However, codes and standards in the United States are the minimum design standards for providing life safety. This means that buildings are designed to allow the occupants to safely evacuate the building following a major event. However, the occupants may not be able to reoccupy the building.

Critical facilities are those that people depend upon to function through, or soon after, a major disruptive event. The ability of critical facilities to quickly return to providing pre-event services to the community will significantly influence the community’s ability to respond and recover.

Critical facilities are defined as facilities and structures that provide vital services (hospital care, rescue services, police protection, etc.) that must function through a major disruptive event or be restored to service quickly thereafter.

To complicate the restoration of these societal services, the infrastructure systems (e.g., water, electric power, transportation, etc.) are designed using design practices, regulations, codes, and standards, which have been independently developed and do not always match the performance objectives of the building codes. This can lead to varying performance levels among these different systems for the same hazard event.

“Resilience” is a term that is used in every aspect of life these days but which has different meanings for all situations. Resilience in the terms of building design is the consideration of best practices incorporated into the design of facilities which will help the overall community where the building is located to recover following a disruptive event.

A consideration for the effects of climate change in our designs will affect the environmental hazards and how we design our buildings to resist. The science of understanding climate change effects is rapidly changing, and accounting for these effects is now being codified by authorities having jurisdiction.

We will review the current state of the art and best practices for our building designs.

Learning Objectives

Discuss the term resilience and what it means in the building enclosure industry.
Define how the building of resilient design supports community resilience.
Summarize how designs are affected by considering resilience.
Evaluate the influence of climate impacts on the loads that are designed.

Speaker:

Donald (Don) Scott, PE, SE, FSEI, FASCE
PCS Structural Solutions | Seattle, Washington

Donald R. Scott, PE, SE, FSEI, FASCE is a senior consultant with PCS Structural Solutions. Scott has over 40 years of experience in the design, evaluation, and rehabilitation of building structures. He is currently the president of the Structural Engineering Institute (SEI) of the American Society of Civil Engineers and a past president of the board of directors of the Applied Technology Council. He is also chair of the ASCE 7-28 Committee and past chair of the ASCE 7 Wind Load Subcommittee. Additionally, Scott serves on the ISO/TC 59/WG 4 “Resilience of buildings and civil engineering works,” ISO 4354, “Wind actions on structures”, and ISO/TC 98/SC3 “Loads, forces and other actions.” Scott is the recipient of the James Delahay Memorial Award from the National Council of Structural Engineers Association and the Walter P. Moore Jr. Award from SEI for his work in the development of codes and standards.

General Session: Stucco on an Island not so Far, Far Away: Directly Bonded Stucco Failure Investigation

8:45 a.m.– 9:30 a.m.

Classification

Proceedings

This course has been approved for 1 IIBEC Continuing Education Hour

Session Description

Shortly after completion in 2010, the Portland cement plaster facade was observed to be failing on a five-story landmark commercial property in the British Virgin Islands located in the business district of Road Town. Numerous attempts to correct the deficiencies had proven unsuccessful. A request was made by the owner to evaluate the facade components to determine the probable cause(s) of failure and to present the owner with options for repair/replacement to provide an effective system. This presentation will focus on the approach to fieldwork, challenges related to working outside of the United States, petrographic analysis, and evaluation processes for investigating Portland Cement stucco. Additionally, recommendations for repair and/or replacement strategies, including best practices for proper design and installation of directly bonded portland cement plaster facades, will be presented.

Learning Objectives

Discuss the challenges of fieldwork outside of the United States.
Understand petrographic analysis uses in facade evaluation.
Summarize the investigation and evaluation of Portland cement stucco.
Recommend ways to repair and replace Portland cement stucco using industry-accepted best practices.

Speakers

Vu The Nguyen
Terracon | Charlotte, NC

Vu Nguyen is a senior project manager with 25 years of experience in the building enclosure industry. Nguyen has provided design, consultation, commissioning, survey, and management of various types of building enclosure projects. His daily responsibilities include maintaining design production schedules and construction budgets, coordinating pre-bid and preconstruction conferences and progress meetings, and evaluating submittals. Nguyen enjoys forensic projects where he is able to investigate a long-term building enclosure failure by conducting destructive test cuts, detecting the source of the problem, and ultimately offering an innovative design solution that best suits his clients’ needs.

Stewart Swing, RRO, RWC, RRC, EI
Terracon | Lexington, NC

Stewart Swing is an instrumental senior staff engineer with eight years of field experience and demonstrated strong communication, time management, and leadership skills. In his first year in the field, he worked with a foreman learning the trades of waterproofing. Since then, he has developed a notable enthusiasm for waterproofing, continuing to accumulate knowledge of building enclosures. His daily responsibilities include the preparation of specifications and drawings, contract administration, and construction observations. Swing enjoys forensic projects where he is able to investigate a long-term building enclosure failure by tearing a structure apart, detecting the source of the problem, and ultimately offering an innovative design solution that best suits his clients’ needs.

9:45 a.m.–10:45 a.m.
Digging Deep: Waterproofing Deep Foundations for New Construction

Classification

Proceedings

This course has been approved for 1 IIBEC Continuing Education Hour

Session Description

The deeper the foundation, the higher the risk for water infiltration. Below-grade waterproofing systems are a critical part of the overall building enclosure and should be carefully selected to properly protect the structure and interior below-grade space. This presentation will discuss the challenges specific to deep foundation waterproofing as well as provide best practices for various below-grade elements with which the waterproofing will interface. New construction project examples and scenarios will be included to elaborate on the challenges, discussions, and solutions.

Learning Objectives

Apply key principles used in determining below-grade waterproofing selections.
Identify project decisions that are critical to the development of below-grade waterproofing systems for deep foundations.
Describe an appropriate below-grade waterproofing system based on varying site conditions and structural foundation types.
Predict construction challenges that may arise during the installation of below-grade waterproofing systems for deep foundations.

Speaker

Amos Chan, PE, BECxP, CxA+BE
Walter P Moore & Associates | Atlanta, GA

Amos Chan is an associate in Walter P Moore’s Diagnostics Group. His project experience in building enclosure consulting, commissioning, and renovation includes the design of below-grade waterproofing systems, vapor barriers, facade and cladding systems, air/water barriers, windows, commercial fenestration, plaza waterproofing, and roofing systems. Chan has also extensively reviewed the field installation and testing of these building enclosure systems to ASTM and American Architectural Manufacturers Association standards, for commercial office, mixed-use, health care, higher education, government, hospitality, multifamily residential, and industrial buildings.

9:45 a.m.–10:45 a.m.
Assessment of Thermal Bridging of Fasteners through Insulated Roof Assemblies

Classification

Proceedings

This course has been approved for 1 IIBEC Continuing Education Hour

Session Description

Roof fastener systems are comprised of metal screws and plates used to attach roof membranes, cover boards, and insulation. These systems can have an adverse impact on the thermal performance of roof assemblies, as the components create thermal bridges that bypass the thermal resistance of insulation in the roof assembly. This in turn allows heat to escape at an accelerated rate, flowing outward in cold weather and inward in warm weather. While the thermal performance of 3-D thermal bridges can be numerically simulated with software tools, such simulations are time-consuming and need to be verified by laboratory tests to validate the underlying assumptions made during the simulation.

During this presentation, participants will learn how the research team used a series of laboratory tests to compare the thermal performance of physical models of simple roof assemblies under controlled laboratory environmental conditions with computer simulations of the same conditions. Assemblies were comprised of high-density polyisocyanurate cover board, polyisocyanurate insulation, and steel deck, tested both with and without #12 and #15 fasteners and plates. In this session, the results of both physical models and computer simulations are presented and compared. The outcome is an experimentally validated computer simulation approach that will enable consultants to evaluate a broader range of roof assemblies and roof fastener configurations.

Learning Objectives

Understand the physics behind the adverse impact of fasteners and plates on the thermal performance of roof assemblies.
Identify the limitations of both physical models and computer simulations of real-world roof assemblies.
Describe the impacts of fasteners and plates on the thermal performance of roof assemblies as identified in physical models and computer simulation studies.
Recognize the potential application of this study’s conclusions to the evaluation of additional roof assemblies and modification of existing codes and standards.

Speakers

Elizabeth Grant, PhD, RA
GAF | Blacksburg, VA

Elizabeth J. Grant is director of building enclosure research + innovation at GAF. She is a member of IIBEC, National Women in Roofing, Roofing Industry Committee on Weather Issues, and American Institute of Architects. Grant wrote Integrating Building Performance with Design: An Architecture Student’s Guidebook, and has published in IIBEC Interface, the Journal of Architectural Engineering, the Journal of Green Building, Professional Roofing, Architectural Science Review, and Buildings & Cities. Before joining GAF, she was an associate professor at Virginia Tech’s School of Architecture + Design, researching the building enclosure and offering courses in architectural design, environmental design research, and environmental building systems.

Georg Reichard, PhD
Virginia Tech | Blacksburg, VA

Dr. Georg Reichard is a professor and department head of building construction and an associate director in the Myers-Lawson School of Construction at Virginia Tech. His research deals with experimental and numerical methods, simulation, and data modeling, in particular in the area of building sciences related to building enclosures and environmental systems. In his current research, he focuses on building performance, enclosure durability, disaster resilience, energy efficiency, and integrated decision-making for retrofit solutions in connection with different control strategies and building materials. Reichard holds a master’s and a doctoral degree in civil engineering from Graz University of Technology, Austria.

Eric Olson, P.E
Simpson Gumpertz & Heger Inc. | Washington, DC

Eric Olson, P.E. is a member of Simpson Gumpertz & Heger Inc.’s (SGH’s) Building Technology group in Houston, TX. He specializes in evaluating and investigating building enclosure systems, including windows and curtain walls, cladding and veneer systems, roofing, and plaza and below-grade waterproofing, for matters including:

hurricane and storm-related damage,
design and construction defect claims,
surety claims,
litigation related to building enclosure systems, and enclosure system condition assessments for due diligence purposes or establishing maintenance and replacement needs

Mr. Olson also leads rehabilitation design projects for enclosure systems and performs design consulting related to enclosures for both new and existing buildings

9:45 a.m.–10:45 a.m.
Fifty Years of Roof Consulting

Classification

Article

This course has been approved for 1 IIBEC Continuing Education Hour

Session Description

This presentation will discuss a firsthand account and historical overview of the roof consulting industry over the last 50 years. As part of this history, many newly introduced roofing systems were problematic and added to the roof failure area of roof consulting. As a result, in the late 1970s and early 1980s, an emphasis on technical research on both conventional and newly introduced roofing systems fueled the roof consulting industry. The history of initial startups, changes, and events that affected both the roof consultant and roofing industry, as well as considerations concerning the future direction of the industry, will be discussed.

Learning Objectives

Describe the history of roof consulting, key industry leaders, and how the industry began.
Assess how the roof consulting industry has changed over the last 50 years.
Examine the advances in roof science technology and the changes in roofing systems.
Discuss potential future directions of the roof consulting industry. Provide examples on a wide array of projects over the years.

Speaker

Jim Koontz, RRC, PE
Jim D. Koontz & Associates Inc. (JDKA) | Hobbs, NM

Jim D. Koontz, PE, RRC, has been involved in the roofing industry since 1960. His career includes experience as a roofer, estimator, manager of a roofing company, consultant, lecturer, and researcher. As a consultant, Koontz has worked in over 40 states, Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Australia. Clients include numerous agencies of the city, state, and federal governments, large insurance companies, universities, developers, material manufacturers, contractors, and architects.

11:00 a.m.– noon
Building Fire Safety: No Singular Solution; It Takes a Village

Classification

Article

This course has been approved for 1 IIBEC Continuing Education Hour

Session Description

Exterior wall assemblies serve many functions. Architects must design buildings that are energy efficient, manage bulk water, and reduce air leakage in addition to meeting the fire performance standards required by the International Building Code (IBC). It is important to recognize that making changes to the exterior wall design may trigger the need to retest or reconsider all the wall functions. It is also important to understand that fire safety is not dependent upon the presence or absence of any one material or wall configuration. Performance testing such as NFPA 285 is a tool for gaining an understanding of how assemblies will perform. While fire containment and compartmentalization are often supported by performance testing, they are also part of a multilayered approach to fire safety that must include prevention, detection, occupant protection, and extinguishment.

Learning Objectives

Examine how modern wall designs must meet fire performance requirements alongside thermal transmission and the management of moisture and air leakage.
Explain the influence of project details on fire performance requirements for exterior wall assemblies.
Discuss the compatibility of IBC sections and requirements and the implications they may have on exterior wall assemblies.
Assess NFPA 285 and the engineering judgments involved.
Review the fire safety of building stock as the result of common principles and multiple integrated layers of design, fire protection, and fire mitigation.

Speakers

Eric Banks
E.W. Banks Consulting LLC | Houston, TX

Eric Banks is a technical consultant specializing in the development, physical and fire testing, codes and standards compliance, and certification of building products and their associated applications with an emphasis on foam plastics. Banks has over 20 years of experience in these areas, working with and for both product manufacturers and certification agencies. He is actively engaged in codes-and-standards development work.

Justin Koscher
Polyisocyanurate Insulation Manufacturers Association | Mount Pleasant, SC

Justin Koscher is the president of the Polyisocyanurate Insulation Manufacturers Association (PIMA), a trade association that serves as the voice of the rigid polyisocyanurate insulation industry and a proactive advocate for safe, cost-effective, sustainable, and energy-efficient construction. Before joining PIMA in January 2017, he served as a director at the American Chemistry Council’s Center for the Polyurethanes Industry. Koscher obtained his BA from Illinois Wesleyan University and JD from DePaul University College of Law.

11:00 a.m.– noon
Enhancing Building Efficiency and Resilience with Solar-Reflective Walls

Classification

BET, EW, S

Article

This course has been approved for 1 IIBEC Continuing Education Hour

Session Description

Buildings play an integral role in urban heat island (UHI) mitigation through the use of solar-reflective surface materials. Though reflective—or “cool”—– roofs are one commonly used solution, research has demonstrated that solar-reflective walls are also effective at mitigating UHIs and reducing cooling loads. In this session, the discussion includes the importance of solar-reflective walls and how they can help reduce urban heating and building energy usage as well as a review of applicable building codes. A summarization of the latest research on the impacts of solar-reflective walls will be included along with voluntary programs that specify the solar reflectivity of exterior walls. An overview of the world’s first third-party rating system for the radiative performance of exterior wall products will also be provided.

This presentation will introduce the concept of a solar-reflective wall, describe how exterior walls can help reduce urban heating and building energy use and summarize the latest research on the impacts of solar-reflective walls. The discussion will provide an overview of building codes and voluntary programs that specify the solar reflectivity of exterior walls and explain how third-party ratings help building energy consultants identify solar-reflective wall products. Finally, the presentation will provide an overview of the world’s first third-party rating system for the radiative performance of exterior wall products.

Learning Objectives

Outline the value of solar-reflective walls beyond reducing a building’s cooling demand.
Identify the four key benefits of solar-reflective walls.
Infer the value of third-party product ratings and the role they play in building codes and voluntary programs.
Utilize the Cool Roof Rating Council Rated Wall Products Directory to search for products that qualify for various codes, ordinances, and voluntary programs.

Speakers

Audrey McGarrell
Cool Roof Rating Council | Portland, OR

Audrey McGarrell is the project coordinator of the Cool Roof Rating Council (CRRC), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that develops scientifically supported methods for evaluating and labeling the radiative properties of roofing and exterior wall products. McGarrell has been with the CRRC since March 2021 and oversees the CRRC Wall Product Rating Program and the organization’s Technical Committee. She also manages the CRRC’s social media accounts and supports education and outreach efforts. McGarrell holds a bachelor of arts in Spanish, a master of public administration, and a LEED Green Associate credential

Sarah Schneider
Cool Roof Rating Council | Portland, OR

Sarah Schneider is the deputy director of the Cool Roof Rating Council, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that develops scientifically supported methods for evaluating and labeling the radiative properties of roofing and exterior wall products. She has been with the organization since 2013 overseeing the organization’s policy and standards development, accreditations, code advocacy, and outreach and education activities. Schneider has a bachelor of science in environmental science and a master’s degree in public policy.

11:00 a.m.– noon
Increasing Sustainability in the PVC Low-Slope Roof Market Through Recycling

Classification

R, S

Article

This course has been approved for 1 IIBEC Continuing Education Hour

Session Description

End-of-life recovery of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) roof membranes began in 2006. While its adoption across the industry has grown, it has been limited by a lack of demand. With increased corporate environmental, social, and governance (ESG) initiatives, the sustainability of this practice is being recognized as providing a much greater value to building owners, specifiers, and other design professionals. The Chemical Fabrics and Film Association Vinyl Roofing Division implemented an industry-wide program in 2022 to expand the recovery and recycling of end-of-life PVC roofs with participation across the value chain. This initiative intends to minimize landfilling and recapture the polymer content for its next life. Examples of PVC membrane roof recycling programs and projects will be presented, and their benefits discussed. This presentation provides an opportunity for building owners, contractors, consultants, specifiers, and designers to consider how to benefit from including recycling in the bid process to meet the sustainability objectives of the owner and building team.

Learning Objectives

Discuss the benefits of recovery and recycling of PVC single-ply roof membranes.
Summarize what green building credits are available in the US for recycled content roofs and end-of-life roof recovery.
Identify candidate installations and proper roof prep and tear-off for successful recovery and recycling.
Examine ways to get recycling into a project bid.

Speaker

Jennifer Oblock
Chemical Fabrics and Film Association | Cleveland, OH

Jennifer Oblock is an account executive at Thomas Associates, a trade association management company headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio. Since 2013, she has been immersed in association duties, working closely with associations of all sizes. Oblock represents the Chemical Fabrics and Film Association, where she serves as its executive secretary. Her experience covers the full range of association activities, including all aspects of project and meeting management and serving as the principal liaison to association directors and officers. She holds a bachelor of arts degree in business with a concentration in marketing from Mercyhurst University.