Construction is rebounding, and with it the need to invest in education for safe and sustainable structures is more important than ever.
As manufacturers of wood products, many in our industry have the opportunity to directly engage with those on the front lines of construction who are often looking for information on proper and code-compliant wood building design. Industry representatives should steer them to the many industry resources that have been developed specifically for their use by the American Wood Council (AWC), APA - The Engineered Wood Association, Canadian Wood Council, WoodWorks and reThink Wood, among others.
Often, builders, designers and building officials are in need of continuing education units (CEU) or just want to explore and learn proper wood design at their own pace. As an organization that is closely involved in the development of building codes and standards to ensure safe wood construction, AWC offers a complimentary, self-directed education program to address these topics in wood design. Thirty courses are currently available from AWC for CEU credit, all of which are certified by the American Institute of Architects, International Code Council or the National Council of Structural Engineers Associations, including courses on:
- AWC Standards – A background on standards developed by AWC and referenced in the International Building Code, including the National Design Specification®, wind and seismic provisions, and connections.
- Building Codes - Includes the latest design considerations in recent editions of the International Building Code, International Residential Code and International Wildland Urban Interface Code, along with code updates, fire protection requirements, California wildfire compliance and proper residential deck construction.
- Design Considerations - Highlighting specific design considerations in wood-frame construction such as connection solutions, seismic-resistive design, shear walls, wind-resistive design and durability.
- Green Building - Covers the evolving definition of green building and its relationship to sustainable building materials, covering green building, wood product Environmental Product Declarations and meeting energy objectives.
- Materials - Introduction to various wood products including expanded options for traditional and engineered wood technology and building solutions. Topics covered include characteristics of wood, traditional and engineered wood products, cross-laminated and other mass timber products, and new trends in wood construction.
In today’s building codes, wood's structural performance makes it an outstanding option for a broad range of applications — from repetitive framing common in many smaller structures to larger framing systems utilizing mass timber.
For AWC, a full list of online courses and complimentary registration for the self-directed learning program is available at www.awc.org.