February means the American Iron and Steel Institute Committee on Specifications (for Cold-Formed Steel) and Committee on (Cold-Formed Steel) Framing Standards (AISI COS/COFS) are meeting, this time in Orlando. These meetings focus on advancing the standards that support cold-formed steel structures, and CFSRC participates broadly across the meetings. CFSRC Director Ben Schafer currently serves as the Chair of the Strategic Planning Committee for the AISI COS/COFS and a major focus of this meeting cycle is to determine the implementation plan for the new thrusts identified in strategic planning. These include enabling mid-rise cold-formed steel framing through easing use of the standards and embracing full system design (beyond structural component design and beyond only structural issues) and positioning the cold-formed steel standards so that they can leverage the power of simulation in as many situations as possible including in the development of future performance-based design standards. The meetings will also provide a chance for almost all of the CFSRC investigators to meet face-to-face and discuss activities in the coming months.
