National Institute of Building Sciences

Addressing Workforce Shortages: How Can the Construction Industry Attract More Workers?
2025-05-08 13:00 - 14:00 UTC
Only 7% of U.S. students and jobseekers actively seek work in the construction industry, according to a new study conducted by Dodge Construction Network.
Despite this, the study also reveals there are several opportunities to increase that share. Join Donna Laquidara-Carr, Industry Insights Research Director with Dodge, as she discusses key findings from the study of over 250 people working in construction and more than 1,100 students, jobseekers, and people employed in other industries in the U.S.
The study provides actionable information about how to attract more workers to the industry, including:

What those working in construction find most satisfying in their careers
What the next generation of workers are looking for and how the industry can make itself more appealing to them
What keeps the largest share of people from considering work in construction (and it probably isn’t what you think)
How the construction industry needs to communicate with the next generation of workers

Enhancing Sustainability and Energy Conservation Through Digital Twin Technology
2025-05-11 13:00 - 14:00 UTC
In the evolving landscape of building management, transitioning from traditional systems of record to systems of insight has become crucial for sustained operational effectiveness and resilience.
This session explores the innovative application of digital twin technology from the owner’s and operator’s perspectives, underscoring its pivotal role in advancing sustainability and energy conservation within building operations.
Digital twins serve as a sophisticated tool that integrates four main data streams — hard assets, asset cutsheets, dynamic operational data, and institutional knowledge — into a unified middleware dashboard. Digital twins are 3D representations of the real-world asset and are the pathway for continued sustainability.
This integration not only simplifies the management of building data but also enhances the decision-making processes, allowing for more accurate virtual inspections and proactive maintenance strategies. By replicating physical assets in a virtual environment, digital twins enable operators to perform detailed analyses and simulations, which helps in pinpointing inefficiencies and predicting future performance under various scenarios.
This presentation will delve into the methodologies for transforming a building information model (BIM) into a navigable, asset-level digital twin. It will outline the process of data aggregation, labeling, and algorithm application, which are crucial for enhancing operational and energy efficiencies tailored to specific assets. The outcome is a streamlined, intuitive interface that not only promotes sustainability but also supports the building’s long-term viability and compliance with evolving environmental standards.

Learning Objectives

Understand the Role of Digital Twin Technology: Gain insights into how digital twins transform traditional building management systems into advanced, sustainable solutions by integrating hard assets, dynamic operational data, and institutional knowledge.
Explore Data Integration Techniques: Learn the methodologies for converting Building Information Models (BIM) into digital twins, focusing on data aggregation, labeling, and algorithm application for enhanced energy efficiency.
Enhance Decision-Making Processes: Discover how digital twins improve decision-making through detailed analyses, virtual inspections, and predictive maintenance strategies, ultimately contributing to energy conservation.
Optimize Asset Performance and Energy Use: Learn how owners and operators can utilize digital twins to optimize asset performance, reduce energy consumption, and achieve long-term sustainability goals.

Optimizing Asset Definition and Structure for Enabling Digital Twins
2025-05-13 13:00 - 13:55 UTC | Virtual Event
This session will explore the importance of well-defined Asset Registries and precise Asset Definitions in the development and implementation of digital twins. It will introduce new concepts, methodologies, and standards for structuring and managing asset information to support the integration of enterprise systems.
By enhancing these definitions and registries, organizations can optimize asset data usage, align with ISO 55000 principles, and ultimately improve overall asset management and performance.

Learning Objectives

Understand the critical role of Asset Registries and Asset Definitions in enabling digital twins.
Learn new methodologies and standards for structuring and managing asset information.
Explore how to integrate enterprise systems to support scalable digital twin solutions.
Discover ways to leverage digital twins to enhance asset management and align with ISO 55000 principles.

Singularity Unveiled: Exploring the Future of Spatial Computing and Digital Twins
2025-06-10 13:00 - 14:00 UTC
Dive into the transformative world of Singularity, where artificial intelligence, spatial computing, and digital twins converge to redefine how we design, interact with, and understand the built environment.
This session explores the groundbreaking technologies driving this evolution, including real-time data integration, immersive visualization, and predictive modeling, powered by AI.
Discover how spatial computing is reshaping human-machine interaction, creating opportunities for unprecedented collaboration and precision. Learn how digital twins -virtual replicas of physical assets – enable architects, engineers, and stakeholders to simulate, monitor, and optimize structures throughout their lifecycle.
Through practical examples and future-focused insights, this presentation will illuminate how these technologies can enhance your business, streamline workflows, and elevate your creative and strategic potential. Whether you’re an innovator, designer, or decision-maker, you’ll leave with actionable takeaways to harness the Singularity’s promise in shaping the future of the built environment and beyond.

Implementation of BIM/Digital Twins at MTA NY
2025-06-26 12:00 - 13:00 UTC
This presentation will provide a case study on how the Metropolitan Transportation Authority – NY (henceforth MTA) approaches and implements BIM and Digital Twins, including valuable insights, lessons learned, and best practices. It will also examine the software stack on which MTA has standardized for BIM and Digital Twins, and describe data management practices employed for these technologies.
MTA owns and/or operates significant transportation assets in the NYC Metropolitan Area, including a subway and bus network within the city itself, commuter railroads out to the suburbs, and several vehicular bridges & tunnels. MTA has been implementing BIM on select capital projects for the last 15 years. Over the past few years MTA has started combining other digital data, such as point clouds, reality models, and photogrammetry with the BIM models, thus creating Digital Twins. Since 2022, BIM has been required on a greater portion of capital projects, thus accelerating the rate of implementation. Although MTA’s assets are primarily horizontal, early BIM projects focused on discrete, vertical facilities, such as passenger stations, fan plants, bus depots, and signal buildings. However, over the past few years MTA has also been modeling horizontal (civil) assets that are receiving capital work, such as tracks, bridges, and subsurface utilities. Session Description- This presentation will provide a case study on how the Metropolitan Transportation Authority – NY (henceforth MTA) approaches and implements BIM and Digital Twins, including valuable insights, lessons learned, and best practices.

Learning Objectives

Learn about MTA’S- BIM Directive & Evaluation Criteria, BIM Statistics.
Learn about MTA- Data integration and Standard Libraries.
Learn about- MTA’S Digital Twin Platform.
Learn what Digital Twin Implementation challenges MTA has faced, and related Lessons Learned.

Aligning Resilience Goals in the Built Environment: How Risk Management Processes & Standards Incentivize Resilience
2025-07-22 13:00 - 14:00 (America/New_York) | Virtual Event
Given the increasing frequency and severity of natural hazards and the dire predictions of climate scientists, it is imperative to redouble efforts to mitigate climate change and adapt to reduce the catastrophic risks of a worsening climate and sea level rise. Likewise, it is important to proactively address natural hazards caused by geological processes, such as earthquakes.
However, there always are competing priorities within capital and operational budgets for buildings and infrastructure, making it challenging to appropriately allocate funding to mitigate potential future risks. For investors, lenders, insurers, and property managers, it is increasingly important to assess climate and natural hazard risks and vulnerabilities, and to prioritize, plan, and implement resilience measures to guard against future losses.
This interactive panel session will introduce the emerging practice of climate and natural hazard risk assessment. We will learn about some of the tools and methods currently being used to assess and mitigate vulnerabilities, while improving the resilience and performance of new and existing buildings.
Panelists will explore how the standards and information gathered during commercial real estate (CRE) finance and development can drive resilience investment. This will include an introduction to the new ASTM E3429 Standard Guide for Property Resilience Assessment and its application in CRE transactions, as well as a guide for resilience-focused capital improvement planning. Panelists also will share an overview of new resilience requirements included in frameworks and new voluntary standards, such as the USGBC’s LEED version 5 rating system, the application of U.S. Resiliency Council (USRC), and the FORTIFIED program standards by IBHS, all currently being used in CRE finance and development.

Learning Objectives

Assess how hazards are impacting buildings and infrastructure
Understand how regulatory and industry trends are affecting commercial real estate
Review the primary risk management processes and standards for hazards
Consider how these processes and standards can be used to reduce risks and create value in commercial real estate

Coastal Resilience Planning and Adaptation for Waterfront Facilities
2025-07-31 14:00 - 15:00 (America/New_York) | Virtual Event
In 2023 and 2024 a two-part workshop on Resilience of Naval Waterfront Facilities in a Changing Climate was held, co-sponsored by the Naval Facilities Engineering and Expeditionary Warfare Center (NAVFAV-EXWC) and the Coasts, Oceans, Ports, and Rivers Institute (COPRI) of ASCE. Part I of the workshop focused on developing non-stationary extreme wind speeds, sea level rise, and flooding loads on waterfront facilities, while Part II of the workshop exclusively involved life-cycle assessment, performance-based resilience planning and adaptation design to help protect public safety and to enrich the life quality in coastal communities including military installations. Resilience-based decision-making ensures community stakeholders have quantifiable information to select the most effective and efficient mitigations and/or adaptation strategies. Such quantification requires community-level models of physical infrastructure such as buildings, roadways, and water/power networks to be fully coupled with social and economic models by using computational tools and platforms, such as the Interdependent Networked Community Resilience Modeling Environment (IN-CORE). The impact of coastal multi-hazards is assessed in terms of infrastructure damage and service loss (e.g., disruption of goods flow through port and intermodal transportation). The potential to leverage robust community modeling, often referred to as digital twins, to assess the coupling between short- and long-term impacts is also highlighted.
This webinar intends to present the lessons learned from the workshop, based on the group discussions of over one hundred coastal resilience leaders and professionals from government agencies, industry, and academia. A discussion will focus on implementation of innovative methodologies and techniques on updating the structural design loads on waterfront facilities for non-stationary extreme wind speeds, sea level rise, and flooding hazards; developing performance-based and site-specific resilience planning and adaptation for coastal operation continuity; and promoting computational tools and platforms, such as IN-CORE.

Learning Objectives

Review available datasets and tools on establishing the relationship between extreme events and performance of coastal structures and infrastructure systems;
Establish the basic concept of extreme event effects (e.g. winds, floods, and tsunamis) on structural design codes and standards;
Inform best practices of life-cycle adaptation and a risk-based decision-making process to decision-makers for coastal resilience planning strategies; and
Promote interdependent community and infrastructure system models that are available for use in engineering practices (e.g., IN-CORE) and the training necessary for civil engineers and government planners who may use these models.

Understanding the FHWA's "Advancing BIM for Infrastructure National Strategic Roadmap"
2025-09-16 13:00 - 14:00 (America/New_York) | Virtual Event
The Federal Highway Administration has a vision of how they would like all US DOTs to conduct their Digital Project Delivery activities by 2031. This session will delve into the objectives of this vision, the driving motivations behind it, the timeline and milestones, and the support available to ensure success. Additionally, the session will address the evolving roles and responsibilities of DOT consultants, contractors, and technology partners in relation to the Advancing BIM for Infrastructure National Strategic Roadmap.
Learning Objectives

Understand the FHWA’s suggested ten-year timeline for moving to a BIM based project delivery methodology
Understand the benefits of U.S. transportation agencies moving to a BIM based project delivery methodology
Understand the challenges for U.S. transportation agencies to move to a BIM based project delivery methodology
Understand the funding sources available to assist U.S. transportation agencies moving to a BIM based project delivery methodology.

Healthy and Efficient Buildings: Policy Frameworks, Standards, and Tools for Improving Indoor Air Quality
2025-10-01 13:00 - 14:00 (America/New_York) | Virtual Event
Healthy buildings are critical for resilient communities. With advances in science, policy, and technology, buildings can now promote occupant well-being while enhancing energy performance. This session will examine emerging policy frameworks, standards, and tools designed to improve indoor air quality (IAQ) and foster healthier environments across sectors.
Leading experts will present the scientific and economic case for healthy buildings—linking enhanced ventilation and IAQ to reduced disease transmission, improved cognitive function, higher productivity, and better quality of life for vulnerable populations. The session will explore current ventilation standards that integrate disease risk management, as well as practical strategies for implementation by building professionals.
While momentum for energy efficiency is growing, parallel federal support for healthy buildings remains limited. This discussion will outline a forward-looking policy roadmap for advancing IAQ at the state and federal levels—including opportunities through the U.S. Department of Energy, EPA, CDC, and GSA. Participants will learn how low-cost sensors and performance-based IAQ targets can be integrated into existing infrastructure to sustain healthier indoor environments with a case study from the commercial sector.
Learning Objectives

Understand the impact of improved ventilation and indoor air quality on building occupants, both for health and productivity
Identify tools and guidelines that building managers and engineers can use to improve the health of building occupants and reduce risk
Understand state and federal policies that drive healthier buildings, along with policy gaps
Learn about simple targets for indoor air quality and an implementation framework for building managers, using building performance air quality standards

ASCE’s Report Card for America’s Infrastructure
2025-10-29 12:00 - 13:00 (America/New_York) | Virtual Event
Every four years, America’s civil engineers provide a comprehensive assessment of the nation’s 18 major infrastructure categories in ASCE’s Report Card for America’s Infrastructure. Using a simple A to F school report card format, the Report Card examines current infrastructure conditions and needs, assigning grades and making recommendations to raise them.
Learning objectives:

Overall performance and status of the nation’s infrastructure
Leading issues which affect the U.S. infrastructure network and main barriers to addressing these
Solutions to address longstanding infrastructure needs and promote improvements
How the report can help to inform key infrastructure stakeholders including Congress and federal agencies as well as private, and non-profit organizations

Understanding the Challenges of Preventing Construction Site Fires
2025-12-11 13:00 - 14:00 (America/New_York) | Virtual Event
Sponsored By:

Construction sites present a unique set of fire safety challenges due to their dynamic nature, temporary infrastructure, and evolving occupancy. The session will delve into real-world case studies, regulatory frameworks, and emerging technologies that influence fire prevention efforts. This panel discussion convenes leading experts from the construction industry, fire service, code enforcement, and government agencies to explore the persistent issue of construction site fires. Participants will gain a comprehensive understanding of the causes, consequences, and mitigation strategies associated with fire incidents during the building phase.
Learning Objectives

Identify the risk & hazards associated with construction sites.
Examine the codes & standards that govern buildings under construction.
Analyze how new technologies can help keep construction sites fire safe.
Explore enforcement strategies to safeguard construction.
