[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 39 (Wednesday, March 20, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2418-S2419]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
FEDERAL CONSTRUCTION METRICATION: A YEAR END REPORT
Mr. PELL. Mr. President, I would like to call to the attention of my
colleagues the Metric in Construction 1995 Year End Report by the
Construction Metrication Council of the National Institute of Building
Sciences located here in Washington, DC.
I found the information outlined in the ``Status of Federal
Construction Metrication'' chart to me most interesting. In many
portions of the Federal Government, projects have been constructed in
metric for 2 years or more and, contrary to the beliefs of many, the
sky has not fallen in.
I also recommend the rest of the council's report to my colleagues.
As the report says, 93 percent of the world's population uses the
metric system. I continue to believe that the United States will remain
at a competitive disadvantage with our global trading partners until we
join that 93 percent.
Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Metric in
Construction 1995 Year End Report be printed in the Record.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in
the Record, as follows:
Metric in Construction 1995 Year End Report
Almost all federal construction programs are now converted
to the metric system and most agencies are designing and
constructing projects in metric units.
So reported over 20 federal agency representatives at the
November 1995 meeting of the Construction Metrication Council
(see the agency-by-agency status report on pages 3 and 4).
Building on years of work by the nation's voluntary codes,
standards, trade and professional construction
organizations--and with their support and participation--
federal construction is providing the catalyst for the long-
awaited metrication of the nation's construction industry.
the numbers
Government is a major player in the construction industry
by virtue of its role as provider of highways, bridges, dams,
water and sewer systems, parks, prisons, military bases,
space centers, laboratories, embassies, courthouses, schools,
and numerous other public facilities. Federal appropriations
for construction, including grants to state and local
governments, total about $50 billion annually. In 1996, over
$20 billion in construction will be designed in metric units
and up to $10 billion more put out for bid. By the year 2000,
metric construction will approach the $50 billion federal
total, not including billions more in state and local
matching funds.
Annual U.S. construction expenditures are about $500
billion yearly with roughly one-half allocated to commercial,
institutional, industrial and civil works and the other half
to homebuiding. Thus, within a few years federally funded
metric construction will amount to about 20 percent of all
nonresidential construction, with state and local metric
construction adding substantially to that percentage.
the impact
American architectural, engineering, and construction firms
already use metric measures in their overseas work, and
government's buying power rapidly will expose the remainder
of nonresidential construction to the metric system. Given
this as well as the rapid globalization of the construction
industry (just look at the multilingual packaging with metric
measurements on the shelves of your local hardware store),
nonresidential construction is likely to convert to the
metric system within a decade or so. Homebuilders, who are
involved in virtually no foreign or governmental work but are
nonetheless closely intertwined with the rest of the
construction industry, probably will adopt metric measures a
few years later.
Of course, the metric transition could take place faster,
as it has in other countries, or, given America's ambivalence
toward the metric system, slower. But 93 percent of the
world's population uses metric measures and it is only a
matter of time before the U.S. construction industry, which
accounts for 6 million jobs and 8 percent of the gross
national product, joins the nation's automobile, health care,
and electronics industries (among others) in completely
converting to the metric system.
When it does, metrication will bring more than efficiency
and better quality control to construction: it will benefit
every American by helping our nation compete more effectively
in the global marketplace.
the results
Hundreds of millions of dollars in federally funded metric
projects have been placed under construction in the past
three years and the results speak for themselves. As noted in
the last Metric in Construction newsletter:
Conversion has proven to be much less difficult than
anticipated.
There has been no appreciable increase in design or
construction costs.
Architects and engineers like working in metric units.
Tradesmen adapt readily to metric measures on the job site.
Construction and product problems have been minimal.
[[Page S2419]]
However, three product-related issues have surfaced to
date:
Reinforcing steel (``rebar''). The rebar industry first
promoted and then withdrew a metric standard but not before
most state highway departments had adopted it in their
standard design drawings, at significant time and expense.
The rebar industry currently is balloting, through ASTM, a
new metric standard and hopes to unify everyone behind it
over the next year or so.
Recessed lighting fixtures. Several lighting manufacturers
opposed the introduction of modular metric recessed fixtures
for use in modular metric suspended ceiling systems. Such
fixtures proved to be readily available from other
manufacturers, however, and now the opposing manufacturers
are supplying them too. All other suspending ceiling
components, including T-bars, lay-in tiles and air diffusers,
are available from a variety of manufacturers in modular
metric sizes.
Concrete masonry block. Block is also a modular material,
but modular metric (so-called ``hard metric'') block is
slightly smaller than current inch-pound block. The block
industry, as represented by the National Concrete Masonry
Association, argues that producing and keeping an inventory
of two sizes of otherwise identical block is costly and, in
many cases, too costly for the smaller producers that
constitute the bulk of the block industry. The industry
further argues that inch-pound block can be economically cut
to fit any dimension, inch-pound or metric, and that the
specification of metric block is therefore both unnecessary
and economically damaging to block producers.
In response to these concerns, the General Services
Administration, in its July 1993 Metric Design Guide,
encouraged the allowance of either inch-pound or metric block
in metric projects. The Construction Metrication Council
endorsed GSA's position in the September-October 1993 Metric
in Construction newsletter. Since then, contractors have had
difficulty obtaining bids on metric block in a number of
instances. The Council therefore strongly encourages
designers to allow the use of either inch-pound or metric
block or to specify nominal wall thicknesses only, thereby
leaving the decision to the contractor, with cost the
deciding factor.
____
construction metrication council
(English is the international language of business. Metric is the
international language of measurement.)
National Institute of Building Sciences, 1201 L Street,
N.W., Suite 400, Washington, D.C. 20005, Telephone 202-289-
7800; fax 202-289-1092.
Metric in Construction is a bimonthly newsletter published
by the Construction Metrication Council to inform the
building community about metrication in U.S. construction.
The Construction Metrication Council was created by the
National Institute of Building Sciences to provide
industrywide, public and private sector support for the
metrication of federal construction and to promote the
adoption and use of the metric system of measurement as a
means of increasing the international competitiveness,
productivity, and quality of the U.S. construction industry.
The National Institute of Building Sciences is a nonprofit,
nongovernmental organization authorized by Congress to serve
as an authoritative source on issues of building science and
technology.
The Council is an outgrowth of the Construction
Subcommittee of the Metrication Operating Committee of the
federal Interagency Council on Metric Policy. The
Construction Subcommittee was formed in 1988 to further the
objectives of the 1975 Metric Conversion Act, as amended by
the 1988 Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act. To foster
effective private sector participation, the activities of the
subcommittee were transferred to the Council in April 1992.
Membership in the Council is open to all public and private
organizations and individuals with a substantial interest in
and commitment to the Council's purposes. The Council meets
bimonthly in Washington, D.C.; publishes the Metric Guide for
Federal Construction and this bimonthly newsletter, and
coordinates a variety of industry metrication task groups. It
is funded primarily by contributions from federal agencies.
Chairman--Thomas R. Rutherford, P.E., Department of
Defense.
Board of Direction--William Aird, P.E., National Society of
Professional Engineers; Gertraud Breitkopf, R.A., GSA Public
Buildings Service; Ken Chong, P.E., National Science
Foundation; James Daves, Federal Highway Administration;
James Gross, National Institute of Standards and Technology;
Byron Nupp, Department of Commerce; Arnold Prima, FAIA;
Martin Reinhart, Sweet's Division/McGraw-Hill; Ralph
Spillinger, National Aeronautics and Space Administration;
Gerald Underwood, American National Metric Council; Dwain
Warne, P.E., GSA Public Buildings Service; Lorelle Young,
U.S. Metric Association; Werner Quasebarth, American
Institute of Steel Construction.
Executive Director--William A. Brenner, AIA.
STATUS OF FEDERAL CONSTRUCTION METRICATION--NOVEMBER 1995
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Metric conversion date for new
Agency construction projects
------------------------------------------------------------------------
General Services Administration........
January 1994: GSA's Public
Buildings Service builds for
several federal agencies. All
major projects under its
auspices have been constructed
in metric for the past two
years.
Federal Highway Administration.........
October 1996/2000: Recent
Congressional action has
pushed back the FHWA 1996
deadline to 2000, but the
majority of states report that
they will begin highway
construction in metric by
October 1996 or sooner.
Successful metric projects
already have been completed in
many states.
Army Corps of Engineers................
January 1995: Numerous metric
projects are under
construction. New work has
been designed in metric since
January 1994.
Naval Facilities Engineering Command...
October 1996: New projects are
being designed in metric now.
Air Force..............................
October 1996: New projects are
being designed in metric now.
Coast Guard............................
In phases, beginning January
1996: Several metric projects
are underway now.
State Department.......................
State has virtually always
built in metric.
National Aeronautics and Space
Administration.
October 1995: A number of
metric projects are under
construction and more are in
design.
Federal Bureau of Prisons..............
October 1995: New projects are
being designed in metric now.
Architect of the Capitol...............
January 1994: In-house design
and renovation work is
performed in metric and the
planned Library of Congress
storage facility will be built
in metric.
Veterans' Administration...............
No date set at this time: Five
metric projects are in
planning. A large GSA-built
project is being constructed
in metric now.
Smithsonian Institution................
January 1994: Virtually all
work has been performed in
metric for the past two years.
Deparment of Energy....................
January 1994 for major
projects: Many DOE labs and
sites have ongoing metric
construction programs.
Environmental Protection Agency........
No metric policy on
construction grants: EPA
provides water and sewer
grants to states and
municipalities but is not
involved in their
construction.
USDA Forest Service....................
October 1996: The Forest
Service's metrication schedule
depends in large part on state
highway metrication
activities.
Department of Agriculture..............
January 1995: Major projects
are in metric now.
Indian Health Service..................
January 1994: Numerous metric
projects are in design and
construction.
National Institute of Standards and
Technology.
January 1994: Major projects
are in metric now.
U.S. Postal Service (USPS is not a
federal agency).
No date set at this time: But
several metric pilot projects
are under way.
Administrative Office of the U.S.
Courts.
January 1994: All new federal
courthouses have been built in
metric by GSA since 1994.
Internal Revenue Service...............
January 1994: All major IRS
buildings are built in metric
by GSA; small projects are
designed in-house in metric.
Naval Sea Systems Command (Ships and
boats use many of the same
construction components as buildings,
particularly structural steel and
mechanical and electrical equipment).
No formal date: The metric
design of the LPD 17
amphibious assault ship is
nearly completed. Two other
ships, the SC 21 and the
ADC(X), are in the early
stages of metric design.
NAVSEA's conversion is
proceeding on a program-by-
program basis.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
____________________