| Lower insurance
rates, termite resistance, improved performance during
high wind and seismic events, and reduced cycle time are
some of the many advantages cold-formed steel offers over
competing materials in the mid-rise and residential markets.
Part of our industry’s challenge is to train engineers,
architects, code officials, and other construction professionals
on these advantages, especially for key market segments
that offer significant growth potential.
The aforementioned challenge is significant, but the
opportunities for our industry to make major inroads
training professionals are at least equally significant.
Now is the time when visionary professionals and firms,
facing the pressures caused by the recession and credit
crunch, focus on honing their skills and knowledge-base,
re-loading their capabilities for the eventual economic
resurgence.
“We see learning as something that can be our
competitive advantage,” Naomi Berkove of Chicago
architecture and engineering firm OWP/P told the Chicago
Tribune in March. OWP/P has seen its business
slow, but the firm has heeded the advice of experts
who recommend that firms use their new-found down time
to develop skills. These businesses should emerge stronger
when the economy picks up, experts say.
The 2009 California Steel Framing Forum and CFSEI National
Annual Conference, May 20 – 21 in Anaheim, Calif.
is just one of the many opportunities you can take advantage
of for valuable training. The California Steel Framing
Alliance (CASFA), and the Cold-Formed Steel Engineers
Institute (CFSEI), the technical council of the Steel
Framing Alliance (SFA), are hosting the Conference with
attendees expected from throughout the United States.
Open to all construction disciplines, the sessions
will address topics including green building, code changes
resulting from the transition from the 1997 Uniform
Building Code to the 2006 International Building Code,
newly revised cold-formed steel standards, and inspections
of cold-formed steel framing including steel trusses.
A special half-day educational program “Codes
and Code Officials Day” is scheduled from 1 p.m.
until 6:30 p.m., May 20, to be followed by a dinner
reception.
“Advancements in steel framing technology, and
innovative design and code changes that have resulted
from these advancements, create a need for continued
training and education for professionals," said
Mark Nowak, President, Steel Framing Alliance. "Cold-formed
steel framing is well-aligned with trends emerging in
the marketplace and meeting changing customer demands
so it’s important to provide opportunities for
professionals to learn about advancements and grow their
knowledge.”
SFA is a passport provider of the American Institute
of Architects (AIA)/Continuing Education System (CES)
program and participants will have the opportunity to
earn up to 11.25 Learning Units. Professional Development
Hours (PDH) will also be offered.
The conference will also provide you with the opportunity
to contribute directly to the technical and policy issues
at a national level. Both the CFSEI Lateral Task Group
and Fire & Acoustic Task Group will meet during
the conference to continue their efforts to address
important challenges facing the industry in the 21st
century.
“Small businesses in any industry stand to gain
from updating their skills, sharpening their focus and
mentoring new leaders within the organization,”
business consultant Rena Klein, a fellow of the American
Institute of Architects, told the Chicago
Tribune. Engineers, architects and other building
industry stakeholders have been hit particularly hard
by the recession, giving them an unexpected opportunity
to take a step back, regroup and position their firms
for future growth. Therein lies an opportunity for our
industry as well.
Registration and additional program information for
the 2009 California Steel Framing Forum & CFSEI
National Annual Conference is available online at
www.steelframing.org
and www.cfsei.org.
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