Jack Snell, National Institute of Standards and Safety: Thank you very much, Rich. Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. My name is Jack Snell. I’m the director of the building and fire research laboratory at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, NIST. My purpose this morning is to put today’s meeting in context for you, and to outline what we have planned today, and in the near future, regarding the World Trade Center investigation.
We, like most everyone else, since September 11th, have asked, what can we do? How can we respond? Our business is measurement and standards. Our competencies relate to building and fire research. Therefore, our goal is to derive the lessons to be learned as they relate to practice, standards, and codes. What happened on September 11th was very, very bad, indeed. In a number of ways, unprecedented in our experience.
Our desire is to help develop lessons we can learn about the way in which buildings are designed, built, and used, and then help ensure that these lessons are put into practice. As the nation responds to the terrorist threat, we want to make sure that what we do related to buildings and construction enhances security. And to the extent possible, does so cost effectively. By the way of overview, I’ll first describe the larger context of which this investigation is a part. Say a few words about the investigation itself, and close with some comments about our expectations for today’s meeting.
As I stated initially, our overarching purpose is to derive lessons learned from practice, standards, and codes, and then help assure that these lessons are put into practice. Therefore, the NIST investigation is just one of three essential, largely parallel, efforts needed to achieve that goal. The investigation is planned to be completed two years from initiation. The other two elements to the response plan are the research and development program, which will turn findings and recommendations from the investigation into solid technical basis for improved practice, standards, and codes. And the dissemination and technical assistance program, which we work with key private sector bodies and groups to assure that what we come up with works, is practical, and gets implemented.
All three elements build on important previous work. First, is the Federal Emergency Management Agency, FEMA, sponsored building performance assessment team report, BPAT. This was led by the American Society of Civil Engineers, which was released last month. This report is accessible on the FEMA and the NIST Web sites. It provides an excellent foundation for the investigation, its conclusions and recommendations ask a large fraction of the questions our study is designed to answer. In the months since September, we have given some 36 presentations on this response plan to public and private sector groups. Those include many of the groups represented here today.
We have benefited from the work of the National Science Foundation’s academic grantees. We have participated in two congressional hearings on the World Trade Center disaster. We have held a number of technical workshops and have had countless discussions with our technical peers. We have spoken with representatives of victims’ families. All have added to the focus and content of this plan. Funding for the investigation is in the president’s proposed emergency supplemental funding bill, which is in House-Senate conference, in Congress, as we speak.
Full funding for the balance of the response plan is yet to be resolved, but the Administration is very supportive of this work. In a few minutes, Dr. Sunder will give a bit more detail on the scope of our investigation, which is the main subject of today’s meeting. But NIST has two legislative authorities for doing disaster investigations. One, relates to structural failures, and the other, to fires. In all cases, our work is aimed at fact-finding. We have no regulatory authority or other authority to get into fault finding. Our investigation reports cannot be used as evidence in litigation. The whole purpose is to establish the facts as best we can and to derive lessons learned.
Now, the goal for the investigation is shown here. Note that we see the principal beneficiaries of our work being those who design or modify buildings, those who occupy them, those first responders who are entrusted to support us all in times of emergency. In developing our approach, we have tried to learn from the highly successful experience of the National Transportation Safety Board. This will be an open, independent investigation. The resulting documents will be NIST reports. We intend to use the best available talent that we can find. At present, we expect fully half of the effort will be outside experts.
As most of you are now well aware, we have posted our draft plan on the Web at wtc.nist.gov, and we’ll continue to post updates, progress reports, and other information as we proceed to keep the public informed of our efforts, and of our prerogatives. We will also maintain liaison with the public, concerned groups such as the Skyscraper Safety Campaign, and local authorities and many technical organizations. We are geared up for the full initiation of this investigation just as soon as the funds are in hand. And we understand that could be within a few weeks. I guess I’d would prefer it were days, but that's...
Now the FEMA-sponsored BPAT report, which I flashed a minute ago, contains many recommendations for further studies and poses a number of important unanswered questions. This chart illustrates where within the NIST response plan each of these questions will be addressed.
Shown in red across the top here are the recommendations that will be addressed in the investigation. In blue, across the middle, those that will be taken up in the R&D portion of the plan. And in what looks like gray, those that will be addressed in the third phase: the dissemination and technical assistance program. Note that the investigation will center on the towers, that is WTC One and Two, and WTC Seven, the building that collapsed due to fire later in the day on September 11th.
The R&D program will extend over about four or five years. It will include studies that get at issues associated with the other World Trade Center buildings, Three, Four, Five and Six, and the broader longer-term issues raised in the BPAT, plus a number of other issues. I'll briefly describe each of the R&D projects because they build on the work of the investigation and are crucial to provide the needed technical basis to achieve the changes we hope to see in practice, standards and codes.
There are three sets of projects in the R&D program. The first deals with structural fire protection. At the bottom of the slide is an indication of the types of organizations in the private and public sectors we've worked with in developing these plans and who may be potential partners in the R&D.
The first project addresses what is perhaps the most important potential change to practice that should result from this disaster, and that is to bring modern fire science and fire protection engineering knowledge together with structural engineering into a new set of tools for fire safety design and retrofitted structures.
Number two will replace the decades old fire resistance test method with a state-of-the-art tool which addresses all the factors essential to determine structural fire resistance in real building assemblies and systems.
Number three will finally, we hope, bring to the United States building codes solidly founded analytical tools for designing to prevent the likelihood of progressive structural collapse.
Number four involves working with the materials industry to develop performance criteria and test methods for the next generation more reliable and durable fire resistant coatings and systems for tall buildings.
The second element of the set of projects in the R&D program deals with human behavior, emergency response and mobility. Number one involves advances in the capabilities of computer-based prior stimulation models to enable their broader use in structural, fire risk and evacuation studies in analysis with complex designs, recreations and investigations.
Number two will address a number of issues associated with occupant behavior, communications and response in emergencies in tall or complex buildings. It will build on the extensive oral histories that will be compiled during the investigation.
Number three involves working with the elevator industry to provide the technologies and tools needed to make elevators available and safe in fire and other building emergencies.
Number four will produce guidelines and equipment to test evaluation standards for first responders in cooperation with industry and with the fire service.
The third and last set of projects in the R&D program addresses a broader range of issues associated with reducing the vulnerability of buildings to disaster. Number one will support the efforts in private and public sectors to come up with a common format for electronic representation of buildings and the associated interoperability protocol for building analysis software
Number two involves helping transform knowledge gained by the military regarding chemical, biological and radiological attacks. And apply it in the form of guidelines and technologies for protection of sensitive buildings and their occupants.
Number three will produce tools for assessing the cost-effectiveness of alternate
vulnerability reduction measures and for use in evaluation of proposed changes to standards, practices and code.
In summary, the R&D program will build on and complement the investigation to do what is needed so that many of the lessons learned from September 11th can get into use.
One more step is needed to assure that the lessons learned actually get adopted and practiced. And that's the purpose of the dissemination and technical assistance program. The key to changing practice standards and codes is active support from and participation by industry and all the other groups who work together in the voluntary consensus standards-making process in our country. The active participation of their leadership from the outset is essential to achieve our overarching goal of improving practice, standards and code.
This program is designed to complement and support a number of public and private sector initiatives to identify best practices, provide demonstration projects, support training, communications, and sharing of information and experience, and the deployment of improved practices in identifying the benefits from proposed changes in standards and codes. Many segments of the public are now obviously more concerned about building safety. And it is critical that their views and concerns be taken into account throughout this entire process.
In summary, the entire response plan: the investigation, the R&D program, and the dissemination and technical assistance effort were all aimed at making sure that the lessons learned from are not lost and that as a result our society is safer and more secure than it was before the awful events of September 11th.
Now, I want to take a moment to talk about three important aspects of the investigation. How we organized for it, the role and function of the investigation advisory committee, and public liaison.
The investigation is centered in, and is the responsibility of, NIST, which is a part of the Department of Commerce's Technology Administration. Within NIST, the investigation is being conducted primarily within the Building and Fire Research Laboratory. The lead investigator is Dr. Shyam Sunder, Chief of the Structures Division and the associate, Dr. Bill Grosshandler, Chief of our Fire Research Division. They will direct the project teams who will carry out the individual projects, and Dr. Sunder will summarize for you in a few minutes. Dr. Sunder has been doing an excellent job of developing the plan for and building the relationships essential for success in this investigation.
Three other elements support the investigation. An important aspect of the investigation is liaison with the surviving victims and their families. I’ll say more about this in a moment.
The other two are liaison with federal and local authorities in the advisement committee. There are a number of organizations here in New York we need to work with during the investigation, and we've already met with a number of them, including the New York Fire Department, the Department of Design and Construction, the Office of Emergency Management, the Buildings Department, the Port Authority of New York-New Jersey, and the New York State Office of Emergency Management. And the advisory committee will report to the NIST director. Its functions are outlined on this next slide.
It has three functions: overall advice, act as a sounding board on progress, results and findings, and finally the review of the reports. The members will be appointed by the NIST Director. He wants people of national stature, who he feels relevant to the investigation, who are known for their ability to perform these functions, and whose participation is not encumbered by partisan interests or views. And obviously, who do not have conflicts of interest related to the investigation.
We aim to have the advisory committee appointed and in place as soon as possible. We're open to suggestions for prospective members, and we will shortly be making a formal solicitation for such members. Now as I've noted earlier, we intend to make this investigation as open a process as possible, and as appropriate. The key points of contact are noted on this slide. Web site for the general public, technical questions and public agency comments to Doctor Sunder and his team, and with Matthew Heyman, who's here with us today, the Skyscraper Safety Campaign and victim's families.
We have a special obligation to the survivors and families of the victims of the World Trade Center tragedy and have established a special liaison for that purpose. Now, we've been in close contact with some of the families.
Now, as the investigation progresses, we will be making special appeals for information that may assist us in the investigation. And we'll be calling on survivors, families and witnesses for help.
We will do that through a special outreach effort, once we can efficiently use the information we hope to receive.
Now, let me close with a few words about our expectations for the day's meeting.
We really look forward to your inputs. All but one of those who requested an opportunity to speak by the June 17th deadline are included in the program today. And that one was an offer of employment services. So I think we've done pretty well on openness so far.
We have asked the facilitators to honor those who have prepared remarks by holding to the schedule. Also, there's a brief period for a limited number of comments at the end of the day.
Requests to speak, as Rich has pointed out, should be made by filling out a form at the registration desk. The bottom line is, we are here to listen.
And for those of you who are inspired with additional thoughts or suggestions, we welcome them and look forward to receiving them by June 30th by mail, fax, e-mail, telephone - however you choose to deliver them.
And after that, we will revise and re-post the plan, modified on the basis of what we've heard. Thank you very much.
And now Dr. Sunder will say a few words about the investigation plan.