News Detail

ACI 318-14: Making the Transition

10/1/2015

In the October 2014 issue of Concrete International, I had the privilege of writing a guest President's Memo ("318-14 Will Be Available Soon") about ACI Committee 318's efforts to reorganize the "Building Code Requirements for Structural Concrete." It has been estimated that committee members contributed over 100,000 hours of volunteer time in this effort. Nearly 1 year later, I am pleased to report that engineers across the United States and around the world are using ACI 318-14 and have provided ACI with extremely positive feedback.

If you have not yet started to use ACI 318-14, are viewing the change with trepidation, or have questions about the placement of key provisions, please note that ACI has developed several tools to assist you with the transition.

This spring, ACI presented 24 full-day, in-person seminars on the reorganized Code. ACI chapters sponsored these seminars, and the turnout was excellent. In addition, several companies and government agencies sponsored seminars for their employees. The in-person seminars have been well received (the average overall rating is 3.5 on a 4-point scale), and 95% of attendees indicated they would recommend the seminar to their peers. The Code continues to receive overwhelmingly positive feedback at these in-person seminars. One attendee noted: "Course served as an excellent crash course in not only the code updates, but also how each section is intended to be used. The reorganization will significantly assist in the understanding and comprehension of the code by young engineers"and another wrote: "Thank you for organizing the code!"

Several of those who worked so diligently to develop ACI 318-14 continue to offer their time and insights by speaking at the in-person seminars. The presenters include Randy Poston, Jim Wight, Neal Anderson, Cathy French, Robert Frosch, Dominic Kelly, Larry Novak, and Andy Taylor. This group includes two past Chairs of Committee 318 and several current or former subcommittee Chairs. All speakers continue to serve on Committee 318, so feedback from the seminar participants is transferred directly to the committee for consideration and possible inclusion in ACI 318-19. An ACI staff engineer also presents a portion of each seminar and helps with administrative issues.

Twenty-five in-person seminars have been scheduled between mid-September and mid-December this fall. The complete list of locations and seminar speakers is posted on the ACI website. Of particular note, a seminar was held in the new multipurpose space at ACI headquarters in Farmington Hills, MI, in late September.

In addition to the in-person seminars, Cathy French, Robert Frosch, Randy Poston, and Jim Wight have recorded the technical material in 14 modules, which are available online through the ACI University. Through these modules, the technical information is available to anyone, anywhere, and at any time. Each online seminar participant has access to the presentations for 90 days. Later this fall, the updated "Reinforced Concrete Design Handbook (ACI SP-17(14))" will be available for purchase. This document includes 15 chapters with discussions of design principles, design aids, and 68 detailed design examples illustrating how the Code provisions are applied. It provides detailed information on the entirely new chapters in ACI 318-14, which address structural systems, durability, and diaphragms. ACI SP-17 is being developed by ACI engineering staff, with oversight and review by the Technical Activities Committee.

ACI 318-14 has generated a lot of excitement and many users have switched from previous versions. In many respects, this level of enthusiasm is due to the outstanding work by Committee 318 in reorganizing the Code to meet the needs of current users. While transitioning to ACI 318-14 will take time and effort by each user, ACI is dedicated to providing the tools necessary to facilitate this process. A link to the 318-14 Resource Center is available from the ACI homepage (www.concrete.org), where users can get the latest information about ACI 318-14, including transition keys from 318-11 to 318-14.

As you plan your strategy for switching to ACI 318-14, please consider attending an in-person seminar, viewing an online recorded seminar, or studying the examples provided in the updated "Reinforced Concrete Design Handbook." ACI has provided great opportunities for everyone to become familiar with ACI 318-14 quickly, and to learn directly from the dedicated volunteers and thought leaders who developed the Code.

Sharon L. Wood