Steel Group Aids Engineers in Western U.S. States led by Brian Berger, Manager, Cold-Formed Steel Engineers Institute, American Iron and Steel Institute

1. For Immediate Release Contact: Brian Berger
CFSEI Manager
(910) 431-3115
bberger@CFSEI.org
COLD-FORMED STEEL GROUP TO AID ENGINEERS IN THE WESTERN U.S.
CFSEI West Chapter Launches in June with Seminars on Recent California Code Changes
Washington, D.C., May 30, 2008— Engineers in the western United States will finally be able to
take advantage of programming locally that focuses specifically on the structural design of safe
and cost-effective cold-formed steel-framed structures with the launch next month of the West
chapter of the Cold-Formed Steel Engineers Institute (CFSEI). CFSEI’s newest chapter will kick off
its activities on June 17th
in Los Angeles/Orange County with a three-city seminar tour in California
on new lateral design requirements in the state’s recently adopted California Building Code. CFSEI
serves as the technical institute for the Steel Framing Alliance (SFA).
CFSEI West plans to coordinate several presentations throughout the year on important topics
affecting cold-formed steel design in the western U.S., which will be available in Arizona,
California, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Utah. According to Lou Zylstra, the chapter’s
interim president, these seminars should provide engineers in this region with a much-needed
forum for informative discussions, networking and resources.
“There’s been a need for an engineer’s organization in the western states that focuses on cold-
formed steel design issues that are unique to the environment found in this area of the country,”
Zylstra said. “After significant planning and organizing, the West Chapter is officially established
and rolling out events. We encourage any engineer from this region to take advantage of what we
have to offer and get involved.” Zylstra, who is president of Zylstra & Associates Engineering, Inc.,
also serves as president of the California Steel Framing Alliance.
California’s Building Standards Commission (BSC) recently adopted the 2006 International
Building Code (IBC) which set new provisions for cold-formed steel framing in the California
Building Code. The new changes have also resulted in the BSC’s adoption of several new framing
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2. 1201 15th Street, N.W., Suite 320
Washington, D.C. 20005-2842
T. 202.785.2022
F. 202.785.3856 www.steelframing.org
CFSEI West Chapter
Page 2 of 3
standards, including the American Iron and Steel Institute’s (AISI) “Standard for Cold-Formed Steel
Framing – Lateral Design, 2004 edition.” Prior to the adoption of the new code, California’s expired
building code was based on the 1997 Uniform Building Code (UBC).
Jeff Ellis, P.E., S.E., senior engineering project manager for Simpson Strong-Tie Co. in Brea, Calif.,
and a recognized expert on the cold-formed steel lateral design implications of California’s new
code, will be the featured speaker for each of the evening seminars and dinner meetings. The
other two sessions will take place on June 18th
in San Diego and June 19th
in San Francisco.
“Many engineers and designers in California would benefit by not only learning about the lateral
design provision changes in the state’s new code and how they affect their designs, but also by
familiarizing themselves with the AISI Standards,” Ellis said. “The CFSEI West Chapter seminars
along with the new Technical Note on this topic should prove to be invaluable resources for those
engineers who already have some familiarity in this area as well as those being exposed to it for
the first time.”
In addition to authoring the CFSEI Technical Note L000-08 published last month, “Changes from
the 1997 UBC to the 2006 IBC for Lateral Design with Cold-Formed Steel Framing,” Ellis also
serves as chairman of the AISI Committee on Framing Standards’ Lateral Design Subcommittee,
which developed the 2004 Standard adopted into the California Building Code and published an
update to that Standard last year. The immediate past president of CFSEI, he continues to serve
on the Institute’s Board of Directors.
Admission to CFSEI West Chapter’s lateral design code changes seminar, which includes dinner,
is $35 for CFSEI members and $40 for non-members in advance. Tickets purchased on-site will be
charged an additional $10.
Membership in the CFSEI West Chapter is open to any CFSEI member in the Western region and
there are no chapter dues for those who join in 2008. Licensed engineers and architects who
qualify may join both CFSEI and the CFSEI West Chapter for $100 in 2008, and receive all
benefits of those memberships, which includes a complete library of existing CFSEI Technical
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3. 1201 15th Street, N.W., Suite 320
Washington, D.C. 20005-2842
T. 202.785.2022
F. 202.785.3856 www.steelframing.org
CFSEI West Chapter
Page 3 of 3
Notes, complimentary copies of the CFSEI Newsletter and new Technical Notes, listing in the “Find
an Engineer” Directory and access to an online library of downloadable technical resources.
Detailed location and venue information for the June dinner seminars is available on the CFSEI
West Chapter’s Web page at www.CFSEI.org. For more information about the CFSEI West
Chapter, contact Brian Berger at (910) 431-3115 or bberger@cfsei.org.
About the Cold-Formed Steel Engineers Institute
The Cold-Formed Steel Engineers Institute (CFSEI), the technical council of the Steel Framing Alliance
(SFA), serves as the steel-framing industry’s technical resource and professional forum for design
professionals. Widely recognized as the “must-have technical and professional resource” for designers of
cold-formed steel (CFS) structures, CFSEI’s members include more than 850 structural engineers and
design professionals who are finding a better way to produce safe and efficient designs for commercial and
residential structures with cold-formed steel. CFSEI’s mission is to enable and encourage the efficient design
of safe and cost effective cold-formed steel (CFS) framed structures. To learn more, visit www.cfsei.org.
About the Steel Framing Alliance
The Steel Framing Alliance (SFA) is a market-development organization established and funded by the steel
framing industry, and charged with enabling and encouraging the growth of cold-formed steel framing in both
the residential and commercial construction markets. In addition to education and training, research and
solutions development, and supporting the development of codes and standards for steel framing, SFA
activities include marketing and promotion, technical services, and special initiatives that continue to improve
the competitive position of steel framing. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the SFA has more than 1,700
corporate, organizational and individual members representing the full spectrum of trades, professions and
virtually every product category within the construction industry. To learn more, visit www.steelframing.org.
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