Under contract to United States Housing and Urban Development’s Office of Policy Development and Research (PDR), DRM performed a HUD national study and review of Existing and Proposed Model Installation Standards for the Manufactured Homes Industry. The HUD Office of Single Family Housing, Manufactured Housing and Standards Division have regulated the design and construction of manufactured (mobile) homes since June 1976.  

DRM performed research and analysis of current advanced housing and facility technologies. DRM conducted demonstration projects with manufactured home builders and  developed training, construction guidebooks and authored a national publication all aimed at achieving HUD’s goals of improving the performance of the nation's housing in affordability, energy efficiency, environmental impacts, durability, worker safety and hazards resistance.

DRM’s responsibilities included research of existing state and local regulations and standards pertaining to the installation procedures for manufactured homes. This consisted of compiling a collection of data on installation standards that exist at the national, state and manufacturer levels. DRM also assembled relevant literature that pertains to the installation of manufactured housing, including regulations for installation inspections and training/licensing of manufactured housing inspectors. Duties also include addressing anticipated structural load issues with respect to durability, fire, safety, snow loads, resistance to seismic and high wind forces, flood forces and variations in soil conditions.

DRM's unique and primary role has been in managing major demonstration projects in which homebuilders and non-profit housing developers have adopted PATH technologies to achieve cost savings and performance improvements.   DRM has conducted research services for Federal agencies, including the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the General Services Administration (GSA).  

DRM can respond quickly and efficiently to the often-complex needs of Federal agencies, delivering high value for the government's research dollar. Within these programs, DRM has been able to provide quality research and complement advancements in building sciences; as well as developing strategies to execute complex and difficult assignments.