NFRC to Demonstrate CMA Software at Summer Meeting
Development of the software for the Component Modeling Approach (CMA) certification and rating procedure is progressing and NFRC will soon demonstrate the prototype software at its upcoming Summer Membership Meeting later this month.
The CMA Software Tool (CMAST) will allow users to quickly and simply generate simulated ratings for different products.
Charlie Curcija, whose firm, Carli, Inc., is developing CMAST through its DesignBuilder Software Division, explained that it is the culmination of a long experience with developing fenestration performance software tools and that it is the most complex application that the company has ever developed. He said that software application of this complexity poses some technical and programming challenges, “but so far, we are very pleased about the outcome.”
When completed, users will install CMAST on their computer. Because each user (or “client”) will have his or her own local database, it can be used offline. Curcjia explained that the application on a user’s computer will have its own database that stores all of the client’s data, “then components, certified products, and label certificates are synchronized to the main server database for public view, as required by NFRC procedures.”
The main server database also serves as a sort of sharing point. For example, if a company has multiple CMAST users, an employee can share new or updated data with their colleagues because that information will be uploaded to the server and downloaded to their colleagues’ applications when they synchronize their programs. In addition, the main server will serve as a repository of NFRC-approved component data that the user can access for whole product performance calculations and certification.
Curcija will demonstrate the client side of CMAST on July 28th at the NFRC summer meeting. Although the prototype is in the developmental phase and is not yet connected to the planned server, it does have most of the functionalities in place.
According to Curcija, “we will be demonstrating software functionalities, user’s interface, and how the application behaves in a client mode.” Plans call for the client software and server to be ready by the end of the year, so that the pilot project will include synchronization via the Internet.
Internal Testing Underway
Earlier this month, NFRC provided subject matter experts, who have been assisting with the development of the software requirements, access to the application. The experts, who are NFRC volunteers, were selected early in the CMA development process.
“They were instrumental in assisting us with a lot of the functional requirements,” said NFRC’s CMA Program Manager Jessica Ferris, “They will interact with the software tool to provide feedback on how it functions, whether it’s user-friendly or not, and whether anything has been overlooked,” she explains.
Ferris also noted that a second phase of testing, involving the Web-based part of the application, will begin in the fall. A selective group of external testers, representing various stakeholders (IAs, simulators, manufacturers, specifying authorities, etc.), will use the software as end-users would. NFRC will use their feedback to refine CMAST.
Phase two testing will be followed by a six-month pilot project scheduled to begin in January 2009. The intent is to test CMAST from start to finish using real-time, real-life scenarios, explained Ferris. “We’ll look to early adopters who are willing to come on-board and provide us with component data,” she said. “It gives us a six-month leeway before we go live with the public.”
Benefitting Users
CMAST offers many benefits to users, including client-based and Web-based functionalities. It can maintain libraries of component data, define projects, assemble components, and calculate whole-product ratings. Curcija said the two most important benefits are simplification and integration with the existing modeling programs.
The tool will also increase the exposure of the performance of building components. Additionally, Curcija explained that the industry should consider this as a tool for them, as something that will help them reduce their costs, not increase them.
NFRC expects to implement the CMA program – including software, technical documents, standards, and procedures – in August 2009.
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NFRC Insider | Vol. 2, Issue 3 - July 2008