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United States National CAD Standard® Announcements

NCS Project Committee Members Call for a Vote

This is a call for a vote on the proposed changes to the United States National CAD Standard (NCS) V4.0. The NCS "Ballot Voting Period" opened on Saturday June 19, 2010.

Changes to the NCS have been organized into four separate categories:

  • CAD Layer Guidelines Amendments - 29 ballot items
  • UDS Amendments - 19 ballot items
  • Plotting Guidelines Amendments - 1 ballot item
  • General NCS Amendments – 4 ballot items

Please log on the bSa/NCS Portal and click on the "Cast Your Vote" link available on the "My Today" page of the site - http://www.buildingsmartalliance.org/login/

  • Eligible NCS PC members must cast a vote on all proposed amendments with a Yes, No or Abstain. Members who fail to vote will lose their membership to the Project Committee.
  • Members have 28 days to vote on all 53 amendments.
  • Do Not Assume — Please read all ballots and related task team comments before casting your vote!

All eligible Project Committee Members are required to vote on each proposed amendment on the ballot to remain in good standing. Eligible members are members who have been on the Project Committee for at least 84 days prior to the opening of the ballot voting period.

The ballot voting period will close July 16, 2010.

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NCS Project Committee Meeting May 27-28

(May 12, 2010)

The Project Committee will meet on May 27-28, 2010 "to review, discuss, and debate all ballot items and comment summaries. The Project Committee may also review, discuss, and debate rejected ballot item submittals, though such discussion shall be for the limited purpose of airing issues related to rejected ballot items, after which the authors may consider re-submission in a subsequent revision cycle... Following the review and discussion meeting, standing task teams may confer with the authors of any ballot item and by mutual agreement modify a proposed ballot item in consideration of the comments made by Project Committee members. The written summary of comments to accompany each ballot item shall be amended by the Standing Task Teams to provide a summary explanation of the modifications made to any ballot item."

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NCS Ballot Comment Review and Summary Now Open

(May 12, 2010)

The Ballot Comment Review and Summary Period opened on May 12, 2010. Per section 2.11 of the NCS Rules of Governance, standing Task Teams:

  • "Shall review comments of Project Committee members for ballot items within their jurisdiction and
  • Prepare a written summary of the comments, both pro and con, to accompany the ballot item on the ballot...
  • Standing task teams may confer with the authors of any ballot item and by mutual agreement modify a proposed ballot item in consideration of the comments made by Project Committee members."
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NCS Ballot Comment Period Opened

(April 14, 2010)

The NCS Ballot Comment Period opened on Wednesday, April 14, 2010. The comment period will remain open through May 11, 2010. All NCS Project Committee members (NCS PC) are encouraged to review and comment in writing on any ballot item approved by a Task Team or Steering Committee. Eighty four (84) ballot items to amend the current version of the NCS were received:

  • 37 CAD Layer Ballot Items:
    • 30 were Approved or Approved as Noted by the NCS CAD Layer Guidelines Task Team (CLGTT)
    • 7 were Rejected (3 of which were withdrawn by the authors of the ballots) by the NCS CAD Layer Guidelines Task Team (CLGTT)
  • 38 UDS Modules Ballot Items:
    • 20 were Approved or Approved as Noted (1 of which was voted an Editorial ballot) by the NCS UDS Modules Task Team (UDSMTT)
    • 18 were Rejected (1 of which was withdrawn by the author of the ballot) by the NCS UDS Modules Task Team (UDSMTT)
  • 1 Plotting Guidelines Ballot Item – It was Approved as Noted by the NCS Printed Output Task Team (POTT)
  • 4 NCS Appendixes Ballot Items – All were Approved or Approved as Noted by the NCS Steering Committee (NCSSC)
  • 4 Rules of Governance Ballot Items – All were Rejected by the NCS Steering Committee (NCSSC).
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Ballot Submission Period Extended to February 28, 2010

(February 19, 2010)

Balloting for the next version of NCS is coming to a close. To insure that the various Ballot Authors have ample time to respond to feedback from the Task Teams, the Steering Committee met today and voted to extend the Ballot Submission period by one more week. We will be accepting ballot items until February 28, 2010.

I will continue to send email updates as we move along in the process.

R. Mark Butler
Chair, US National CAD Standard Project Committee

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Ballot Submission Period Extended to February 20, 2010

(January 29, 2010)

Balloting for the next version of NCS is well underway. So well, in fact, that the Steering Committee met today and decided to extend the Ballot Submission period by two weeks. We will be accepting ballot items until February 20, 2010. The Steering Committee does not want to encourage anyone to wait till the last minute, but if you need a couple more days to finish up those ballot items you have been working on, you got it!

Something else new and exciting to announce—enabled by the technology that we are using during this revision cycle. Ballot authors are now able and encouraged to follow items that they have submitted and participate in Task Team discussions taking place on the portal in "comment tracker". This has always been available to those authors that are part of a Task Team, the new website allows us to make this available to all ballot authors.

R. Mark Butler
Chair, US National CAD Standard Project Committee

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Revision Cycle Period For the Next Version of NCS to Open On Monday, December 7, 2009

From NCS Steering Committee:
Mark Butler, HDR Inc. - NCS Project Committee Chair
Rick Green. Wilson and Company - Vice Chair NCS Steering Committee
Greg Jordan, Dewberry - Secretary NCS Steering Committee
Kevin Busacker, Leo A. Daly
Ed Lowe, Burgess & Niple Inc.
Stephen Spangler, USACE CAD/BIM Technology Center
Sarah Meyers, CSI
Dominique Fernandez, NIBS

Dear Project Committee Members,
We are pleased to announce that the next revision cycle of the U.S. National CAD Standard (NCS) will open on Monday, December 7, 2009. The NCS revision cycle is the method by which changes to the NCS are proposed, debated and ultimately voted upon to amend the current version of the NCS. Each revision cycle actively engages the NCS Project Committee in a process designed to keep the NCS current and responsive to industry needs.

This revision cycle is designed to solicit proposals to amend NCS Version 4.0, leading to the creation of the next version of the NCS. The official document to be amended consists of the NCS Version 4.0.

NCS Project Committee Members Website

As many of you are aware, the Steering Committee had elected to postpone the start of this revision cycle until such time as we had been able to develop and test a new collaboration portal to support the efforts of the NCS Project Committee. That effort is now complete and we are pleased to announce the availability of the buildingSMART alliance collaboration portal to support submission, review and voting on proposed amendments to NCS Version 4.0.

NCS Project Committee membership is required to gain access to the collaboration portal. An email with your member portal user name and password was sent to you in October of this year. To gain access to the member portal go the NCS website at http://www.buildingsmartalliance.org/ncs/ and click on the "Member Portal Login" link. We invite you to log on the portal and take a tour of the new collaboration portal by clicking on the "Take a Tour" video located on the portal landing page. The video describes how to navigate through, and use, the site.

Work Flow for NCS Proposed Amendments

Members of the NCS Project Committee can propose a change or addition to the NCS. The NCS Rules of Governance, located in Appendix F of NCS Version 4.0, describe the methods for submitting a proposed amendment and the process for reviewing and voting on the amendment. Each proposal follows essentially the same four steps:

  1. Ballot Item Submission - A proposed amendment must be documented on an NCS ballot form. Three forms have been developed for the submission of proposed changes to the NCS: a CAD Layers Form, a UDS Symbols Form and a general Multiple Form for amendments other than layers or symbols amendments. The forms must be submitted through the balloting module of the portal. The balloting module will be officially opened on December 7, 2009. The ballot forms can be downloaded from the "NCS Ballot Forms and Review Procedures V5" folder located on the NCS Project Committee page of the collaboration portal.
  2. Task Team Review - Ballot forms submitted are first reviewed by the appropriate NCS Task Team. Dialog may take place between the Task Team and the author of the ballot to clarify a proposed amendment. Task Teams will either "approve" or "reject" a proposed amendment and notify the author. Task Teams also have the purview to suggest that the author resubmit the ballot item with appropriate changes. Approved ballot items are moved to the Accepted Ballot items group for full NCS Project Committee review and discussion. Rejected Ballot Items will also be available for comment in the Rejected Ballot Items group.
  3. Project Committee Discussion - After approval by the Task Team, the merits of each proposed ballot are open for review and discussion by the full NCS Project Committee.
  4. Voting - At the close of the discussion period, the NCS Steering Committee will announce the opening of the voting period. NCS Project Committee members will be asked to vote on each of the task team approved ballot Items. Voting will take place electronically on the collaboration portal.

The NCS ROG indicates that results of a ballot to amend the NCS shall be valid only if votes are cast by a minimum of 2/3 of eligible Project Committee members. The Steering Committee respectfully requests that all Project Committee members recognize their voting responsibility as part of their participation on the NCS Project Committee as noted in the ROG." 1.8e...Members who fail to submit a vote on any written ballot shall be considered inactive and no longer a member of the Project Committee..."

Schedule

The Ballot Submission Period due to open on December 7, 2009, is scheduled to run through February 6, 2010. During that period ballots can be submitted and will be reviewed by the appropriate Task Teams through March 6, 2010. Ballots that are approved by Task Teams will be promoted for full Project Committee discussion. That discussion period will remain open through April 3, 2010. At the conclusion of that discussion period, the Project Committee will meet on April 19-20, to review the ballot summary that will be submitted to a vote. Project Committee members will be asked to vote on each of the ballots. We expect that the voting period will commence on May 12, 2010, and will remain open until June 21, 2010. The results of the vote will be distributed to the Project Committee on or before June 30, 2010. Changes and updates to the NCS will be incorporated in the document with a new release tentatively planned for March 2011. The NCS revision cycle schedule will be maintained and updated on the NCS collaboration portal.

We Appreciate Your Involvement

We are glad that you have chosen to become an active participant in this NCS revision cycle. We appreciate the patience that everyone involved has shown as the Steering Committee tested the new collaboration portal. We look forward to your contributions to serve the interests of the NCS and its constituents.

Mark Butler
Chair, US National CAD Standard Project Committee

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NCS PC Officers' Election Ballot Opened

(September 10, 2007)

The National CAD Standard Project Committee (NCSPC) Officers' ballot opened September 10, 2007. The Project Committee is voting to elect the new NCS PC Vice-Chair and Secretary. There are four candidates for the two open positions on the NCS PC Officers' ballot. All eligible NCSPC members are required to vote. All members who joined the NCS PC before June 18, 2007 are eligible to vote. The ballot will close September 30, 2007. All eligible NCS PC members are urged to cast their electronic vote on the NCS voting page.

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NCS Discussion Forum Now Available

(July 23, 2007)

The NCS discussion Forum was launched on July 23, 2007. The forum is designed to help streamline questions, comments and discussions pertaining to the NCS. We invite you to take advantage of this new feature by posting your questions or comments to the forum. All discussion groups are moderated by members of the NCS task teams. The forum is open to everyone; however, only visitors who register will be able to use the Forums' email function to receive notification of new postings to threads or topics of interest. To access the new webpage, go to the "Forums" button on your NCS tool bar or click here.

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New NCS PC Chair Appointed

(July 22, 2007)

On July 19, 2007 the NCS Nominating Committee and NIBS' President appointed Mark Butler, from HDR, as Chair of the NCS Project Committee for the next NCS Revision Cycle. The NCSPC Chair provides leadership in one of NIBS' most visible efforts. In addition to leading the NCSPC through a revision cycle, the Chair is responsible for appointing and chairing the NCS Steering Committee (NCSSC). The term of the current members of the NCS Steering Committee will expire with the December release of NCS Version 4.0.

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NCS V4.0 Amendments Approved by NCS Project Committee (NCSPC)

(April 26, 2007)

The NCS V4.0 ballots submitted to a vote of the Project Committee during the 35-day voting period of March 14 - April 18, 2007, passed. All sixty seven (67) ballot items were approved by over 2/3 of the non-abstaining members who cast their votes. Over 85% of the NCSPC members voted on the NCS V4.0 ballots. In accordance with Paragraph 2.15b of the NCS Rules of Governance, the ballot results were reviewed and approved by the NCS Steering Committee on April 25, 2007. The new version of the US National CAD Standard is scheduled to be released in December 2007.

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NCS V4 Amendments Submitted to NCSPC's Vote

(March 14, 2007)

The National CAD Standard Version 4 (NCS V4) ballot opened to a vote of the Project Committee members on March 14, 2007. The NCS V4 ballot voting period of 35 calendar days will close on April 18, 2007. Eligible NCS PC members are voting on 67 proposed amendments to the current version of the standard. All amendments were vetted by NCS Task Teams before they were submitted to a vote of the full committee.

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NCS Project Committee and NIBS Board of Directors Approve Amendments to Rules of Governance

(March 5, 2007)

The four NCS Rules of Governance (ROG) amendments submitted on January 12, 2007, to a vote of the NCS Project Committee were approved on February 16, 2007, by over 94% of the eligible committee members. In accordance with section 1.5g of the NCS ROG the approved amendments were subsequently presented to the NIBS Board of Directors for final approval. On March 2, 2007, the changes, as approved by the NCS Project Committee, were approved by a majority of the board members. Download your copy (PDF 27 KB) of the approved NCS ROG amendments.

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NCS Project Committee Re-Balloting Amendments to Rules of Governance

(January 12, 2007)

On January 8, 2007, the NCS Steering Committee moved to re-submit the ballot on the following four proposed changes to the Rules of Governance (ROG) to a vote of the NCS Project Committee (NCSPC). The first ballot of the ROG amendments, submitted to a vote of the NCSPC in November, 2006, failed to generate the 2/3 membership quorum required to validate the ballot. Eighty three (83) members who failed to vote on the ballot are no longer members of the NCSPC.

The new ballot voting period opened on January 12, 2007 and will close on February 16, 2007. Eligible NCSPC members have 35 days to cast their vote to approve, reject, or abstain on, each amendment on the ballot.

  • STR-076M-Lowe-01-Nov-06.xls: Change Article 1.5b of the Rules of Governance to require amendments to the Rules of Governance to require the approval of a minimum of 2/3 majority from non-abstention votes cast from Project Committee members instead of 2/3 of Project Committee members.
  • STR-053M-Green-23-Aug-06.xls: Change Article 2.8d of the NCSPC Rules of Governance to change task team approval of ballot item submittals from 2/3 of task team members to a simple majority of non-abstention voting task team members.
  • STR-090M-Green-16-Nov-06.xls: Change Article 2.9b of the Rules of Governance to eliminate the requirement that ballot items submitted by petition must be received by the Steering Committee no later than 7 days prior to the close of the Ballot Submission Period.
  • STR-054M-Green-23-Aug-06.xls: Change Article 2.13b of the Rules of Governance to require the NCSPC roster to be made available to the NCS Project Committee members before the Ballot Item Review Period instead of before the Ballot Voting Period.

Members must have been on the NCSPC for at least 84 days prior to the opening of the ballot in order to be eligible to vote. Members who've joined the NCSPC after October 20, 2006 are not eligible to vote on this ballot. For more information contact Dominique Fernandez.

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NCS Version 4.0 Revision Cycle Extended

(July 24, 2006)

The National CAD Standard Steering Committee extended the NCS ballot revision schedule by eight weeks. The new revision cycle will now close in April of 2007. The Steering Committee determined that because of the number of process changes introduced into the current NCS Revision Cycle additional time would be needed during the Ballot Item Submission Period. To help interested Project Committee members better understand the Ballot Item Submission process, the Steering Committee and Staff will schedule a series of teleconference to explain and answer questions regarding the new ballot submission workflow using the NCS Project Committee site.

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