Post Time:Jun 17,2013Classify:Industry NewsView:128
The National Summer Conference for the American Architectural Manufacturers Association took place June 9-12 in Rosemont, Ill. Leading the agenda were discussions of life cycle assessment and product category rules, a presentation on the outlook for U.S. manufacturing, and advancement of the activities in Building Information Modeling and green specification. The summer meeting also featured the announcement of AAMA's annual scholarship award winners.
"Life cycle assessment is the hot topic of the building construction industry," said Tom Gloria, managing director of Industrial Ecology Consultants. He provided an overview of LCA, as well as the product category rules used to determine environmental impact of a product. Completing an LCA allows companies to understand where their products come from, and how customers are using those products, he explained. "This is a science-based methodology to help companies make better decisions."
The PCR is used to develop Environmental Product Declarations, a "statement of a product's potential environmental and human health impact," Gloria said. He emphasized that stakeholder input is critical in developing the PCR. "Be engaged in the process. It is for you, and [affects] how you sell your products. Only through involvement can you make sure that the environmental performance assessment is fair."
AAMA has been working to develop a PCR for windows as part of a joint association LCA task group that also includes the Glass Association of North America, the Insulating Glass Manufacturers Alliance and the Window and Door Manufacturers Association. The group is nearing completion of the initial version of the PCR for windows. "We are on the 5 yard line, getting ready to score," said Rich Walker, AAMA president and CEO, at the meeting.
Manufacturing ForecastU.S. manufacturing is not experiencing a renaissance, but it is growing, according to keynote speaker Stephen Gold, president and CEO of the Manufacturers Alliance for Productivity and Innovation.
Manufacturing was hit hard during the recession—harder than the rest of the economy. "The overall U.S. economy contracted 5 percent during the recession, while manufacturing contracted more than 21 percent during the same period," Gold said. Overall manufacturing is at 73 percent of what it was before the recession, and non-tech manufacturing (traditional manufacturing like that in the fenestration industry) is only at 63 percent of what it was pre-slowdown. "We lost 6 million jobs during the recession, and we have yet to recover those jobs," Gold said.
Gold outlined four headwinds that could hinder growth in the manufacturing sector:
Weak global economy. "Ninety-five percent of U.S. manufacturers' potential customers are outside of the United States. ... What happens overseas affects U.S. manufacturing to a great degree," Gold said.High-structural costs.Political gridlock.Skills gap. "Manufacturing is changing so rapidly and becoming so technology centric. The next generation needs to have many more [science, math and technology] skills," Gold said. "Five percent of current manufacturing jobs go unfilled because manufacturers can't find qualified workers, and manufacturers expect this to worsen in the next three to five years."However, Gold also noted four notable tailwinds that are boosting U.S. manufacturing:
Energy revolution. The U.S. has cheaper energy than much of the world, in large part due to fracking.Narrowing wage gap in China. "Manufacturers are going to start bringing operations back to the U.S., as China doesn't have a competitive advantage," he said.New shipping and supply chain strategies. "After the tsunami in Japan, many U.S. manufacturers began to look very carefully at their supply chain," Gold said.Re-emergence of the U.S. housing market.Looking ahead, Gold said he expects U.S. manufacturing to experience modest growth in the second half of 2013. Overall manufacturing should reach pre-recessionary levels by the fourth quarter of 2014, with non-tech, traditional manufacturing returning to pre-recession levels by the third quarter of 2015.
A strong manufacturing sector is crucial for the U.S., Gold said, as "the race for global advantage centers on manufacturing." Read more.
BIM SpecificationDuring the meeting, the Building Information Modeling Task Group voted to move forward on publishing the Voluntary Specification for Non-Residential Fenestration Building Information Modeling (BIM). The specification will provide minimum requirements for BIM product models for windows, curtain walls and skylights, and will offer a guide to manufacturers in developing BIM models for their products. Read more.
Green SpecificationAAMA made significant progress on a Green Certification Program, as the Green and Sustainability Specification Development Task Group completed its development of product group criteria. The group has spent five years developing the criteria for residential and commercial products that can be used to measure green and sustainability performance. The specification will move to combined council for approval.
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