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The Board on Infrastructure and Constructed Environment (BICE) is a part of the Engineering and Physical Sciences division in the National Research Council (NRC).

History

The Board was first organized in 1946 as the Building Research Advisory Board, BICE and its predecessor organizations have been the principal units of the NRC concerned with the built environment.

Programs

Although most of the BICE activities are advisory services, a number of specific programs have been created and maintained over the years. One of which was the Federal Construction Council and its successor, the Federal Facilities Council.

Federal Construction Council (FCC)

Founded in 1953, the Federal Construction Council operated thru the late 1990s as part of the Building Research Advisory Board (BARB) and then later the BICE, often supported by arrangements with the National Bureau of Standards, or the Department of Commerce.^[1] Its main purpose was to encourage continuing cooperation among those agencies with a direct or indirect interest in federal construction to advance the practice of design, construction, and operation of government facilities. It sought to minimize duplication of effort on technical studies as well as disseminate what are now termed best practices. It also sought to resolve technical problems of particular concern to the federal construction agencies;^[2]

It membership comprised 19 members appointed by the BRAB chairman, with the approval of the Chairmen of the National Research Council; ten of its members were from the BARB and nine from nominations made by the Federal agencies providing financial support.

Early Work

Practice Surveys

In both 1954 and 1958, the FCC surveyed engineering practices in Building Technology by the the thirty-six Federal agencies that had a direct or indirect interest in building or heavy construction, consisting of over 300 projects. ^[3] The FCC would continue this survey practice thru the late 1960s,producing updates in 1961 (SP3), 1963 (SP5), 1965 (SP6), 1968 (SP8). ^[2]

Underground Heat-Distribution systems

An example of the work performed by this committee is its study of underground piping systems which at that time (1957-1964) was a ..."major and continuing concern to the Federal Construction Council." As result of its efforts, technical reports were published and sound design criteria were developed. ^[1]

1970-1980

The Federal Construction Council's technical program for the 1970s included three broad cateqories of activities: continuing programs, ad hoc studies, and other activities. The council carried on 8 continuing programs, namely carried on eight continuing programs: the Federal Construction Guide Specifications program (ended 1978), the Cost Engineering proqram, the Computer Technology proqram, the Design Criteria proqram, the Information Exchange program, the Fire Technology program, the Facilities Safety program, and the Procurement policy program.^[2]

The FCC conducted many "ad hoc" studies over the years to address ..."specific problems or issues of mutual concern to federal construction agencies ... (dealing with ) ... with both technical and administrative problems.^[2]

Federal Facilities Council (FFC)

The Federal Facilities Council is a successor to the Federal Construction Council. It is a cooperative association of 20 federal agencies with interests and responsibilities related to all aspects of facility design, acquisition, management, maintenance, and evaluation.

References

^ ^a ^b Federal Construction Council. Task Group T-40; Federal Construction Council. Task Group T-33 on Underground Heat Distribution Systems; National Research Council (U.S.). Building Research Advisory Board (1964). Evaluation of components for underground heat distribution systems. National Academies. pp. 23–. NAP:10750.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) Accessed with Google Books Cite error: The named reference "FCC1964" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Federal Construction Council (1979). Final Report on Federal Construction Council Activities for 1977-1978 and Planned FCC Technical Program for 1978-1979. National Academies. NAP:15339. Retrieved 24 March 2014. Preface, Forward, accessed thru Google Books Cite error: The named reference "FCC1979" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
^ Homer J. Smith (1958). Survey of Building and Heavy Construction Engineering Studies and Investigations by Federal Agencies. National Academies. pp. 2–4. NAP:10351. Accessed with Google Books

[FCC1964-1] Federal Construction Council. Task Group T-40; Federal Construction Council. Task Group T-33 on Underground Heat Distribution Systems; National Research Council (U.S.). Building Research Advisory Board (1964). Evaluation of components for underground heat distribution systems. National Academies. pp. 23–. NAP:10750.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) Accessed with Google Books Cite error: The named reference "FCC1964" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).

[FCC1979-2] Federal Construction Council (1979). Final Report on Federal Construction Council Activities for 1977-1978 and Planned FCC Technical Program for 1978-1979. National Academies. NAP:15339. Retrieved 24 March 2014. Preface, Forward, accessed thru Google Books Cite error: The named reference "FCC1979" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).

[FCC1958-3] Homer J. Smith (1958). Survey of Building and Heavy Construction Engineering Studies and Investigations by Federal Agencies. National Academies. pp. 2–4. NAP:10351. Accessed with Google Books

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