AISC

The American Institute of Steel Construction, Inc. is dedicated to making structural steel the material of choice for the design community and construction industry.  Established in 1921 to serve the structural steel industry in the U.S., the non-profit association works to promote the use of structural steel through research activities, market development, education, development of codes and specifications, technical assistance, quality certification and standardization with specific emphasis on:

• Increasing the structural steel industry’s share of the construction market
• Unifying the industry with a common purpose
• Supporting and improving the ability of the structural steel industry to be both innovative and competitive in a worldwide construction market

For almost 80 years, AISC has conducted its numerous activities with a scrupulous sense of public responsibility.  For this reason, and because of the high caliber of its staff, the Institute enjoys a close working relationship with architects, engineers, code officials and educators who recognize its professional status in the fields of specification writing, structural research, design development and performance standards. 

AISC represents the total experience, judgment and strength of the entire domestic industry of steel fabricators, distributors and producers.  The scope and success of its activities could not be achieved by any one member of the industry.  The nation shares the rewards of these activities – through better, safer and more economical buildings, bridges and other structures framed in structural steel.

Metal Building Systems Certifications
December 2008	November 2008	July 2008	Jan 2009

City of Houston

Certificate of Approval (3/2/2007 - 3/2/2008)

Energy Star

Request Energy Certificate

Whirlwind Energy Star Certified Colors:

Whirlwind offers several Energy Star rated colors in our Commercial/Industrial and Agricultural/Residential products:

Commercial/Industrial Panel & Trim Color Selections		Agricultural/Residential Panel & Trim Color Selections
Sahara Tan	Colonial Red	Sahara Tan	Colonial Red
Cool White	Light Stone	Cool White	Light Stone
Old Town Gray	Colony Green	Surfsand	Free White
Aztec Gold	Aspen Green
Surfsand
Standing Seam / Architectural Panel & Trim Selections
Polar White	Sahara Tan	Ash Gray	Solar White

About ENERGY STAR

ENERGY STAR is a joint program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy helping us all save money and protect the environment through energy efficient products and practices.

Results are already adding up. Americans, with the help of ENERGY STAR, saved enough energy in 2005 alone to avoid greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to those from 23 million cars — all while saving $12 billion on their utility bills.

For the Home

Energy efficient choices can save families about a third on their energy bill with similar savings of greenhouse gas emissions, without sacrificing features, style or comfort. ENERGY STAR helps you make the energy efficient choice.

For Business

Because a strategic approach to energy management can produce twice the savings — for the bottom line and the environment — as typical approaches, EPA’s ENERGY STAR partnership offers a proven energy management strategy that helps in measuring current energy performance, setting goals, tracking savings, and rewarding improvements.

EPA provides an innovative energy performance rating system which businesses have already used for more than 26,000 buildings across the country. EPA also recognizes top performing buildings with the ENERGY STAR.

ENERGY STAR Partners

ENERGY STAR works with more than 7,000 public and private sector organizations to improve the energy and financial performance of their business, manufacture products to meet ENERGY STAR specifications, sell ENERGY STAR labeled products to meet consumer demand for more environmentally friendly choices on store shelves, promote ENERGY STAR qualified products or homes as a utility or state funds administrator, build ENERGY STAR qualified homes that save homeowners 30% on their energy bills every year and offer better comfort and health, increased quality, and a return on investment.

ENERGY STAR Reflective Roof Products

Americans spend about $40 billion annually to air condition buildings – one-sixth of all electricity generated in this country.

Why choose ENERGY STAR reflective roofing for your building?

• ENERGY STAR qualified roof products reflect more of the sun's rays. This can lower roof surface temperature by up to 100F, decreasing the amount of heat transferred into a building.

• ENERGY STAR qualified roof products can help reduce the amount of air conditioning needed in buildings, and can reduce peak cooling demand by 10-15%.

During building design and when your existing roof needs replacement are both excellent times to consider reflective roofing. See how much reflective roofing can reduce your building's energy costs .

How does roof insulation relate to ENERGY STAR labeled roof products?
The ENERGY STAR energy-efficiency criteria do not include a specification for roof insulation. However, in addition to reflectivity, roof insulation (measured by the R-value) plays an important role in building energy consumption for heating and cooling. The colder the climate, the greater the need for a higher R-value to ensure that less heat is lost from the building envelope. To determine the minimum R-value for a given location, refer to the International Energy Conservation Code.

Remember, saving energy prevents pollution.

Florida Product Approval

FM

MBMA

Metal Buildings Manufacturers Association (MBMA) was founded in 1956 by a group of companies that developed an innovative way of designing, manufacturing and marketing buildings. Since its inception, MBMA has been instrumental in defining and promoting the common interests of metal building systems manufacturers. MBMA has also provided engineering leadership though the many research programs we sponsor yearly. This research is used by the MBMA members to improve the efficiency and quality of metal building systems, and to elevate the state-of-the-art technology used to produce them.

Over the years, the organization has contributed significantly to the design community by producing technical publications to assist in the proper design and specification of metal building and roofing systems. MBMA has also consistently promoted the benefits of metal building systems to architects, building code officials, community planning consultants and other construction professionals.

Building Certification

Since the early 1990 s MBMA has worked to assure the quality and efficiency of metal building systems manufacturers by sponsoring an independent certification program administered by the American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC).

The AISC-MB program provides a uniform, nationally recognized, quality certification program for metal building systems manufactures that integrate engineering expertise with quality crafted building systems products.

All MBMA members are required to become certified. The program evaluates the basic administrative organization and the engineering design, fabrication and quality assurance procedures and practices employed by a manufacturer in relation to the organization s functional capability to produce quality metal building systems of predictable structural performance that can meet all public safety requirements imposed by the governing building code.

With building codes and engineering standards subject to frequent revision and occasional inconsistencies, the quality certification programs play an important role in communicating changes and facilitating compliance.

Developing a top-notch certification program is utterly important, but it is just as important to get the word out about the benefits of certification. Ultimately, the certification process benefits owners of buildings, builders, roofers, architects, engineers and manufacturers alike.

The Process

The certification program examines policies and procedures at each of the manufacturer s facilities and, on a limited basis, the application of those policies and procedures to randomly selected projects. It consists of nearly 200 questions covering the areas of general management, engineering and drafting, procurement, manufacturing and quality control.

Inspection and evaluation teams from a prestigious independent engineering auditing firm annually observe and evaluate the manufacturer in almost every aspect of operation. In addition, unannounced and unscheduled inspection verify continuous compliance with the detailed certification standards established by AISC, which has been setting steel construction standards and writing specifications for more than 75 years. These auditors verify that the manufacturer has a successful, up to date and active quality assurance program in place.

As a result of all these measures, architects, design professionals, building code officials and the insurance industry can be assured that certified metal building systems manufacturers are capable of meeting the industry s highest standards for product and design integrity.

The Elements

AISC Quality Certification monitors and encourages the use of sound structural engineering principles in engineering software development, design and detailing practices, and other screening procedures. This promotes accurate translation of recognized building codes into detail designs, drawings, instructions and procedures. Manufacturers use recognized engineering design methods, incorporate changes in accepted standards, and provide extensive and active continuing education programs to maintain their certification.

The certification program calls for a random sampling of the manufacturer s procedures for such items as welding, painting and bolt installation, as well as compliance with applicable building codes. It also includes random spot reviews of raw materials (including certified mill reports) and the product from the work-in-process stage through manufacturing of the final product. All materials and services must conform to engineering documents, specifications and design requirements.

Critical Criteria for Certification

Eight of the most critical criteria for achieving AISC Quality Certification include:

• The management team must fully communicate its commitment to achieving ongoing quality certification in accordance with all program requirements.
• All submittal documentation must be in place including job descriptions, policies and procedures.
• Finished products in the plant must conform to design and quality parameters.
• All engineering software must incorporate only those material specifications currently approved for metal building systems.
• Raw materials in the plant must match engineering specifications.
• Welding personnel and/or procedures must be properly documented, qualified and/or certified, and plant-welding practices must conform to American Welding Society (AWS) procedures and workmanship requirements.
• All building code requirements must be met or exceeded.
• A quality control/quality assurance procedure must be articulated and practiced

MCA

Founded in 1983, MCA has as its mission "expanding the use of metal in construction through marketing, technology, and education." MCA is an industry-wide vehicle through which members of the metal in construction industry can develop and implement both macro and microprograms and activities to more widely promote the use of metal in construction.

The MCA offers industry members an unusual opportunity to effectively coordinate and focus industry efforts to achieve expansion of the use of metal through innovation in the areas of marketing, technology, and education.  Whirlwind is a proud member of the Metal Construction Association.

TDI

UL

Uplift Listings Const No. 39 Const No. 30 Const No. 167 Const No. 79 Const No. 240 Const No. 506 Fire Ratings Design No. P265 Design No. P516 Design No. U425 Design No. U489 Design No. X524 Design No. X530 Design No. X531

Underwriters Laboratories, founded in1894, is charted as a not-for-profit organization to establish, maintain and operate laboratories for the examination and testing of devices, systems and materials to determine their relation to hazards to life and property. They have published more than 500 Standards for Safety for this purpose. There are two groups of Standards that apply to Whirlwind's products: Uplift Resistance and Fire Ratings Standard for Uplift Resistance of Roof Assemblies, UL 580. Listings and Classifications of products that are in complicance with the above Standard are contained in the Roofing Materials & Systems Directory. This Directory is updated annually. Construction number for specific Whirlwind products are listed on the left. Standard for Fire Tests of Building Construction and Materials, UL 263. Listings and Classifications of products that are in complicance with the above Standard are contained in the Fire Resistance Directory This Directory is updated annually. Design Numbers using metal building type components are listed on the left.