The Association of General Contractors (AGC) is seeking volunteers to help create AGCxml, an XML schema for electronic interchange of common construction data and documents.
As first reported in June, AGC is working with the National Institute of Building Sciences (NIBS) to create this new standard. The goal is to create a common format for sharing such information as owner/contractor agreements, schedules of values, requests for information (RFIs), requests for proposals (RFPs), architect/engineer supplemental instructions, change orders, change directives, submittals, applications for payment, and addenda. XML schemas should enable the exchange of information among dissimilar and proprietary software applications, without requiring the reengineering or redesign of those applications, by establishing a common, non-proprietary data format and classification system for the information to be exchanged.
Volunteers are being recruited for the Review and Validation Committee (RVC). Membership on the RVC, which may include up to 50 persons, will consist of architects, building owners, contractors, engineers, material suppliers, software developers, and subcontractors—every conceivable player in the building design and construction process. The RVC will also seeks to reflect a cross-section of the industry by functional job description—owners of companies, project managers, job captains, construction site supervisors, clerks-of-the-works, and bookkeepers—anyone who currently uses construction contract documents and related paper forms in their job every day.
No software or IT expertise is necessary to serve on the RVC, says NIBS Information Technology Project Manager Michael Tardif. The role of the committee is to review and validate the development work of the NIBS technical team. Most of the work of the RVC will be conducted via e-mail and conference call over a twelve-month period. Prospective RVC members should be prepared to spend no more than one to three hours weekly reviewing documents, participate in e-mail discussions, and attend periodic one-hour conference calls (no more than biweekly). Members serve as professional volunteers at their own expense.
Anyone interested in serving on the RVC should send an expression of interest and a resume or brief biographical summary to Tardif via e-mail.
--RSN