Hello architects! On behalf of the 118 member companies that make up the Metal Building Manufacturers Association (MBMA), I want to welcome you to this special section on metal building systems. Whether you are a metal building superfan or a newbie, we hope that you find inspiration in all the creative possibilities of metal buildings.
General Manager Photo courtesy MBMA
Once you have finished this special section, we encourage you to bookmark the MBMA website (www.mbma.com) and to use us as your primary resource for all things metal buildings. We also recommend that you follow us on LinkedIn to stay up to date on all the great new resources being developed by the association. Finally, we encourage you to subscribe to the MBMA YouTube channel (MBMAmedia) so you never miss an episode of our popular series, Travels with Tony.
Sincerely,
Tony Bouquot, MBMA General Manager
Alloying Two Great Organizations
The alignment between the Metal Building Contractors and Erectors Association (MBCEA) and the Metal Building Manufacturers Association (MBMA) on sustainability and fire resistance reflects a powerful unified force driving innovation and quality standards for safer, greener, and more resilient metal building systems.
President
Photo courtesy MBCEA
MBMA’s updating and publishing of the Fire Resistance Design Guide for Metal Building Systems showcases its leadership in developing prescriptive fire protection practices, updated to meet the latest International Building Code (IBC) standards. The guide includes detailed strategies for protecting columns, roofs, and walls, and highlights materials like intumescent coatings and spray-applied fire resistive systems. MBCEA supports this effort by promoting AC478 accreditation, which ensures contractors and erectors follow rigorous safety and quality protocols—making fire-resistant design not just theoretical, but executable on job sites.
On the sustainability front, MBMA’s research into energy-efficient design, lifecycle performance, and low-carbon materials complement MBCEA’s training and mentorship programs that help contractors implement these innovations in the field. Together, we bridge the gap between design and execution, ensuring that sustainability goals are met without compromising safety or performance.
This collaboration continues to strengthen our collective voice, accelerating growth as a logical choice for architects and specifiers all whilst ensuring continued advancement in safety performance and professionalism. Together, MBCEA and MBMA will continue to align with other industry associations, inviting them to help transform goals/ideals, including sustainability and fire resistance, into measurable standards, and ultimately construction industry benchmarks.
Sincerely,
Robert Tiffin, MBCEA President
Building the Future Through Sustainability, Safety, and Resilience
Three pillars for metal design
As global events and needs continue to evolve, energy codes, sustainability requirements, and fire safety needs shift alongside them. MBMA committees work to keep the association’s resources up to date, in order to equip metal building architects, engineers, and specifiers for the sector’s ever-shifting landscape.
Guiding sustainable design and energy efficiency
MBMA’s Energy & Sustainability Committee published Energy Design Guide for Metal Building Systems: Code Compliance 2nd Edition last year. It covers ASHRAE 90.1-2016 through 2022 and the 2018 through 2024 IECC. This new guide adds significant detail and cites source tables and sections from the energy codes and standards noted above. Importantly, this revision aligns two MBMA resources: the Energy Code Compliance: A Guide for Metal Building Contractors and the Energy Design Guide for Metal Building Systems documents. This alignment reduces duplication of information within the two guides and helps to make the code requirements
more understandable.
Likewise, the committee’s COMcheck Solutions for Code Compliance Task Group published COMcheck™ Frequently Asked Questions for Metal Building Systems. It provides answers to commonly asked questions related to U-factors, roofs, insulation, doors, code issues, and much more. Both resources are available as free PDF downloads at MBMA.com.
Looking forward, the committee plans to complete a variety of videos to supplement the Air Leakage Testing Best Practices Guide this year, as well as update the association’s Comparison of Environmental Impact Report.
Building resilience against hazardous happenings
According to Fire & Insurance Committee chair Russell Benton, “roughly 30 percent of questions Metal Building Manufacturers Association (MBMA) receives each year are fire-related questions—including head-of-wall/end-of-wall details.”
To help clarify the topic and maximize safety potential, Benton and his committee extended two head-of-wall joint systems from a one-hour to a two-hour rating via a detailed engineering evaluation. This move also opens the door to extending the remaining 10 joint systems. He says higher-rated assemblies address the demand for assemblies with longer duration ratings.
The committee will also conduct a strategic study this year on ways to increase the duration of MBMA fire-resistance-rated assemblies and joint systems.
Another committee activity involved senior staff engineer Vincent Sagan who presented a two-hour class titled “Fire Protection for Metal Buildings Systems” to the Metal Building Contractors and Erectors Association (MBCEA) Carolinas chapter.
The class, approved by the North Carolina Licensing Board for General Contractors, includes information on the new head-of-wall continuity joint system that accommodates a fully insulated roof purlin cavity without the need to adjust, compress, or interrupt the roof insulation.
The committee’s hail research projects and publications aim to continue showing the insurance industry the resiliency of metal roof systems. They also continue to monitor the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS) hail study (four-plus years and ongoing) as well as FM Global’s very severe hail requirements.
This year, the MBMA also updated the second edition of its Fire Resistance Design Guide for the 2024 version of the International Building Code (IBC).