Pagemike@standardsmichigan.com, Author at Standards Michigan

Human Factors Using Elevators in Emergency Evacuation

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Agricultural Research Essential Works

Standards Developer	Titles
International Code Council Agricultural / Farm	International Building Code (IBC) International Fire Code (IFC) International Mechanical Code (IMC)
International Code Council Water / Plumbing / Sewage	International Plumbing Code (IPC) International Private Sewage Disposal Code (IPSDC) International Green Construction Code (IgCC)
NFPA / National Electrical Code Agricultural Services	NFPA 70 — National Electrical Code Article 547 — Agricultural Buildings
NFPA / National Electrical Code Fences / Grounding	Article 547 — Agricultural Buildings Section 250.194 — Grounding and Bonding of Fences and Other Metal Structures Note: Section 250.194 applies particularly to fences associated with electrical installations and should not be confused with requirements for energized livestock fencing.
ASABE Farm Buildings	ASAE EP378.4 — Floor and Suspended Loads on Agricultural Structures Due to Use ASAE EP484.3 — Diaphragm Design of Metal-Clad, Wood-Frame Rectangular Buildings ASAE S401.2 — Guidelines for Use of Thermal Insulation in Agricultural Buildings ASAE EP486.3 — Shallow Post and Pier Foundation Design ASAE EP473.2 — Equipotential Plane in Livestock Containment Areas ASAE S412.2 — Ladders, Cages, Walkways and Stairs
ASABE Agricultural Electrical	ASAE EP258.5 — Installation of Electric Infrared Brooding Equipment ASAE EP473.2 — Equipotential Plane in Livestock Containment Areas
Illuminating Engineering Society	ANSI/IES RP-45-21 — Recommended Practice: Horticultural Lighting
American Society of Civil Engineers	ASCE/SEI 7 — Minimum Design Loads and Associated Criteria for Buildings and Other Structures On-Farm Irrigation Systems standards and technical work

Working index. Additional titles from ASHRAE, ASTM International, AWWA and ASME will be brought forward as research continues.

Minimum Design Loads and Associated Criteria for Buildings and Other Structures

Two redlines that run close coupled with the International Building Code are open for public consultation until September 14 and October 15, respectively:

Public Comment for Supplement 5 on ASCE/SEI 7-22 Minimum Design Loads and Associated Criteria for Buildings and Other Structures for Ch 11 and Ch 21 (Comment Deadline 09-14-2026)

Public Comment for ASCE/SEI 84-20YY Minimum Design Loads for Structures Supporting Overhead Power Lines (Comment Deadline 10/15/26)

NOAA National Weather Service: Storm Total Maps and Verification

ASCE Codes & Standards Catalog

Engineers Joint Contract Documents Committee

Code and Standards Open for Comment

America’s Infrastructure Score: C-

Snow Load

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Our engagement with ASCE standards dates to the founding of Standards Michigan, when we challenged legacy live-load requirements for university armories whose contemporary use no longer resembled the military occupancy from which the requirements arose.

“What Happens When Data Centers Come to Town”

What Happens When Data Centers Come to Town

Terry Nguyen | BA Public Policy

Ben Green |Assistant Professor, School of Information and Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy

Partner | Michigan Environmental Justice Coalition

Introduction. [Abstract]. The rapid growth of data centers, with their enormous energy and water demands, necessitates targeted policy interventions to mitigate environmental impacts and protect local communities. To address these issues, states with existing data center tax breaks should adopt sustainable growth policies for data centers, mandating energy audits, strict performance standards, and renewable energy integration, while also requiring transparency in energy usage reporting. “Renewable energy additionality” clauses should ensure data centers contribute to new renewable capacity rather than relying on existing resources. If these measures prove insufficient, states should consider repealing tax breaks to slow unsustainable data center growth. States without tax breaks should avoid such incentives altogether while simultaneously implementing mandatory reporting requirements to hold data centers accountable for their environmental impact. Broader measures should include protecting local tax revenues for schools, regulating utility rate hikes to prevent cost-shifting to consumers, and aligning data center energy demands with state climate goals to avoid prolonging reliance on fossil fuels.

Gallery: Other Ways of Knowing Climate Change

Agriculture

“Harvest Rest” | George Cole

One characteristic of the “customer experience” of school children, dormitory residents, patients in university-affiliated hospitals and attendees of large athletic events is the quality of food. School districts and large research universities are responsible for hundreds of food service enterprises for communities that are sensitive to various points along the food supply chain.

The American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE) is one of the first names in standards setting for the technology and management of the major components of the global food supply chain. It has organized its ANSI-accredited standards setting enterprise into about 200 technical committees developing 260-odd consensus documents*. It throws off a fairly steady stream of public commenting opportunities; many of them relevant to agricultural equipment manufacturers (i.e, the Producer interest where the most money is) but enough of them relevant to consumers (i.e. the User interest where the least money is) and agricultural economics academic programs that we follow the growth of its best practice bibliography.

A few of the ASABE consensus documents that may be of interest to faculty and students in agricultural and environmental science studies are listed below:

Safety for Farmstead Equipment
Safety Color Code for Educational and Training Laboratories
Recommended Methods for Measurement and Testing of LED Products for Plant Growth and Development
Distributed Ledger Technology applications to the global food supply chain

The ASABE bibliography is dominated by product-related standards; a tendency we see in many business models of standards setting organizations because of the influence of global industrial conglomerates who can bury the cost of their participation into a sold product. Our primary interest lies in the movement of interoperability standards — much more difficult — as discussed in our ABOUT.

The home page for the ASABEs standards setting enterprise is linked below:

ASABE Standards Development

michigan state university farm agriculture needs attribution 1919 721

"It is spring again. The earth is like a child that knows poems by heart." -- Rainer Maria Rilke

university of georgia spring aerial 1921 721

texas a&m university spring facebook cover 1921 721

Vermont Tech farm spring facebook timeline farm agri 1922 721

As of this posting we find no live consultation notices for interoperability standards relevant to educational settlements. Sometimes you can find them ‘more or less concurrently’ posted at the linked below:

ANSI Standards Action

We always encourage our colleagues to participate directly in the ASABE standards development process. Students are especially welcomed into the ASABE Community. Jean Walsh (walsh@asabe.org) and Scott Cederquist (cedarq@asabe.org) are listed as contacts.

University of Kentucky College of Agriculture, Food and Environment facebook cover horses 1919 723

EQsS5HmXsAM7Pxc University of Pennsylvania's New Bolton Center 1919 721

You’ll rarely need a doctor, lawyer, or policeman

But every day, three times a day, you need a farmer pic.twitter.com/X4CTPe11eT

— Conor Lynch (@c_k_lynch) July 25, 2022

Category: Food

Colleagues: Mike Anthony, Jack Janveja, Richard Robben

Meet Raley Kirk from San Saba, TX. Raising hair sheep and Spanish goats in the Texas Hill Country, Raley is proud to play a part in providing the food and fiber our country depends on every day.

For her, National Ag Week is about highlighting that meaningful work and ensuring… pic.twitter.com/9KKC4pzRgC

— Dept. of Agriculture (@USDA) March 19, 2026

More

Why Industry Standards Matter https://t.co/Nn7CgfEdAV

— Scott Cedarquist (@CedarquistASABE) March 4, 2019

Lovely 1873 view of New York. Source: https://t.co/rixNirgB8S pic.twitter.com/tQz6SsXUv9

— Simon Kuestenmacher (@simongerman600) January 27, 2025

Doors & Windows

Entrance door to Standards Michigan Ann Arbor office

Means of Egress

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International Code Requirements for Windows & Doors

Transcripts of 2021 International Building Code Group A Public Comment Agenda

Class list day! #gosages pic.twitter.com/yumktgvM9v

— Adam Clapp, Supt (@MonticelloCUSD) August 8, 2023

Overnight Guests

Residential Services

Standards Illinois | Homophily Illinois

Introducing the Thriving Planet Institute at Northwestern 🌱

This new institute advances systems‑level, community‑engaged research and education to address the interconnected water, land and air challenges that impact human health. https://t.co/bOtKu3k2Ur pic.twitter.com/tq8tUKYCfx

— Northwestern (@NorthwesternU) July 21, 2026

What’s a Father to Do? Send his daughter to college to find a man only to discover that there are no men

A father has a simple, time-honored plan. Pack the minivan, drive the daughter to a respectable college, and wait for the inevitable phone call announcing she has found a solid young man—someone with a firm handshake, a future, and the ability to change a tire without consulting YouTube. He waves goodbye with the quiet confidence of a man who believes the campus still stocks reliable husbands the way it stocks textbooks — someone from a family born in the same weather their family was born in.

Months later the first report arrives. “Dad,” she says, “there are no men here.”

He blinks. “What do you mean, no men? I saw several walking around during orientation.”

“Those were boys,” she explains patiently. “They wear pajama pants to class, call their mothers three times a day, and consider ‘adulting’ a competitive sport they are currently losing. The ones who do shave have somehow managed to make facial hair look like a cry for help.”

He suggests she look harder. She does. She finds young males who communicate exclusively in memes, whose idea of providing is splitting the Uber Eats bill, and who treat commitment the way most people treat expired yogurt—something to be avoided until it becomes a science experiment. One proudly announced he was “working on himself,” which turned out to mean leveling up a video-game character while living on instant ramen in a dorm that smelled faintly of regret.

The father tries the classic advice: “Look for the ones who open doors.” She replies that the only doors being opened are the ones to the campus counseling center after yet another group-chat misunderstanding. He mentions careers and ambition. She counters with stories of seniors still majoring in “figuring it out” and minors in “vibes.”

In the end the father sits on the porch, staring at the empty driveway, wondering whether he should have invested in a time machine instead of tuition. Perhaps the real lesson is that college still produces plenty of degrees—just not the kind that come with a man attached. What’s a father to do? Buy extra tissues, lower his expectations, and hope the next generation invents a major in “basic adulthood.”

The $7 Billion Stargate “Barn”

Saline Area Historical Society

“Whatever It Is, I’m Against It”

America demands art deco data centers https://t.co/4POJMy6Lui pic.twitter.com/uoxMuN1rnD

— Nick Krosse (@nkrosse) April 30, 2026

Call for Committees

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Fire Doors and Fire Windows