Major goals of the Building and Fire Research Laboratory (BFRL) are to improve the productivity of the U.S. construction industry, which now faces stiff competition from overseas firms, and to reduce the human and economic losses resulting from fires, earthquakes, winds, and other hazards. Through performance prediction and measurement technologies, as well as technical advances, the laboratory works to improve the life-cycle quality of constructed facilities. Its products are used by those who own, design, construct, supply, and provide for the safety or environmental quality of constructed facilities.