Today, the National Institute of Building Sciences kicked off Day One of Building Innovation 2014—its second Annual Conference and Expo—with a number of council and committee meetings, two educational workshops and the first keynote luncheon of the weeklong event.

The day began with Healthcare Facilities Life-Cycle Workshop: Moving Data through Early Planning into Design and Operations, which was filled to capacity with professionals from the public and private sectors, all interested in learning more about how agencies in the federal government are integrating facility management (FED iFM) into their programs.

Sam Brooks of the District of Columbia’s Department of General Services Energy and Sustainability Division keynoted the luncheon sponsored by the National Insulation Association. Brooks, who served as the replacement speaker for Michael Feldman, spoke about the “game change” the District Government is making to reduce energy usage by 20% in 20 city buildings in 20 months. By putting in building controls, installing smart meters, tracking energy data continuously and making the information available on the web, the District is already making a significant reduction in energy usage.

“Even a bureaucracy that owns a bunch of buildings can take action….” said Brooks. “It can be leveraging existing systems with existing information to create more energy-efficient buildings. We can get going right now.”

In the afternoon, speakers at the Cybersecurity of Buildings Workshop: OT and IT Convergence – A New Paradigm, brought together representatives of the federal agencies and the private sector to discuss what is happening in the way of standards, guidelines and tools to address cybersecurity in buildings. The live demonstration of a cyber-attack and defense on building control systems was a particularly eye-opening exercise.

Other activities during the day included meetings of the Off-Site Construction Council, Commercial Workforce Credentialing Council, Multihazard Mitigation Council Board of Direction, buildingSMART alliance Board of Direction, and the National Building Information Modeling (BIM) Standard and United States National CAD Standard Project Committees.

Day Two of the Conference will include the Multihazard Mitigation Council (MMC) Symposium—Life-Cycle Performance; Moving Forward to More Resilient Communities and the buildingSMART alliance Challenge; the FEDCon© Luncheon featuring Dennis Milsten and Philip Matkovsky; the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Program demonstration; and meetings of the Consultative Council, the Building Seismic Safety Council Provisions Update Committee, the Academy for Healthcare Infrastructure (AHI); the WBDG Whole Building Design Guide© Board of Direction and Advisory Committee; the Facility Maintenance & Operations Committee (FMOC), the High Performance Building Council (HPBC)/High-Performance Building Congressional Caucus Coalition (HPBCCC), and the opening of the Exhibit Hall and Exhibitors Reception.

Walk-in registration is still available. To see a full list of conference activities, visit www.nibs.org/conference2014.