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NCS Committees
Meeting
February 20-21, 2007
Washington, DC
Agenda (PDF)
Membership Application
Join the NCS Project Committee
Member Resources
NCS Rules of Goverance (PDF)
Related Activities
The United States National CAD Standard®, originally published in 1999, plays a vital role in developing the capability of managing one continuous electronic data stream across the full life cycle of buildings. The standardization of computer-aided design (CAD) drawings for buildings to facilitate the interconnection of computerized systems for product specifications and maintenance instructions, space planning, energy management, and facility maintenance and management.
The first edition of the national standard was built on three industry documents from different sources. The documents are the Uniform Drawing System (UDS) from CSI, CAD Layer Guidelines from AIA, and Plotting Guidelines and Attributes from the CADD/GIS Technology Center and U.S. Coast Guard. The effort was based on a Memorandum of Understanding among the above organizations and NIBS, SMACNA (Sheet Metal Contractors Association) and the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA). The second edition of the Standard was published in 2001. Version 2.0 of the Standard incorporated modules 4-8 from the Uniform Drawing System, a revised CAD Layer Guidelines, and a number of deferred issues from the first National CAD Standard Project Committee (NCSPC). Version 4, released in January 2008, includes expanded and reorganized CAD Layer Guidelines, making it easier to locate layer names, including new telecommunications and electrical discipline layer names. The updated Uniform Drawing System includes new and revised symbols for geotech, security, fire suppression, masonry, plaster and other areas. Common drawing practices also have been updated and clarified. And the re-written Plotting Guidelines reflect that line widths are no longer required to be mapped to color numbers.
The third edition of the U.S. National CAD Standard was published in 2004. Version 3.0 expands the coverage with additional layer groups, symbols, and terms and abbreviations and adds an Administration section. Version 3.1, published in January 2005, includes the re-publication of all UDS modules to incorporate CSI MasterFormat™ 2004, and amendments from the NCSPC.
NIBS' consensus project committee, the NCSPC, with representation from across the 12 public- and private-interest categories encompassing the entire building construction community performs a broad peer review of each edition of the standard. Representatives participated from the following sectors of the industry: consumers and general interest; architects; engineers; federal government; state and local government; building construction; labor organizations; housing; building materials, products, and software; standards; real estate, finance or insurance; and research, testing and other services. The NCSPC follows consensus rules approved by the NIBS Board of Direction.
To participate in the development of the United States National CAD Standard please join the NCSPC. Go to "Join the NCS Project Committee" to fill out and submit the online NCSPC membership application form. There is no cost to join the NCSPC other than possessing a current copy of the NCS.