NFRC Advances Ratings for Attachments, Unveils CMAST in Chicago
The Windy City played host to the NFRC Summer Membership meeting, held July 28-31. More than 115 participants representing 84 different companies attended the meeting, where NFRC moved forward on a number of fronts.
The first day of meetings began with a series of attachment product task group meetings as well as an Attachment Forum, which drew a crowd of nearly 50 participants.
An expert panel, led by NFRC Executive Director Jim Benney, Board Chair Joe Hayden, Attachment Subcommittee Chair Fred Higgins, and Technical Interpretation Policy Committee Chair Tom Culp, discussed:
• The length of the process, which is necessary to reach consensus and protect the technical integrity of the NFRC rating and certification system
• How to move forward on exterior attachments through consultation between the task group and the Board
• How to balance a “top down” vs. “bottom up” approach to attachment ratings in order to make sure that interested parties benefit both from guidance from the Board of Directors and the expertise present among the NFRC membership
CMA Software Demonstrated Live
Meeting attendees were also given a glimpse of the Component Modeling Approach (CMA) Software, CMAST, in real-time. Charlie Curcija of Carli, Inc, the firm developing CMAST, presented an hour-long demonstration of CMAST.
Curcija explained that the application on a user’s computer will have its own database that stores all of the client’s data. Components, certified products, and label certificates are then synchronized to the main server database for public view.
“This demonstration was extremely informative and gave everyone a real-time view of CMAST,” said NFRC Executive Director Jim Benney. “After all of the hard work that has been put into developing this – and other aspects of the CMA program – it’s really exciting to see the pieces come together.”
Action Items Moving Forward
Following the various committee block meetings, a number of initiatives were debated and the group came to consensus on an array of issues.
• A new task group was formed, led by John Lewis of AAMA, to address the NFRC 400 standard. It was decided by the group that, in the short term, the North American Fenestration Standard and ASTM E283 will be used within the standard, with the long-term goal of phasing out NFRC 400.
• Under NFRC’s IG Certification Program, NFRC will maintain a list of third-party IG Certification Programs that participants can choose to follow. The group is in the process of finalizing the program language.
• The Dynamic Attachments for Swinging Doors Task Group completed its work and the products are now on the way to being rated and labeled.
• After a lengthy discussion during the CMA Ratings Subcommittee, it was decided that the CMA PCP will be re-balloted to the membership for full review.
Summer Meeting Comes to a Close
The NFRC Board of Directors meeting capped off the four-day event with reports from each committee chair and discussion on the future of NFRC meetings. Specifically, Chair Joe Hayden Chair Joe Hayden opened the floor for discussion on a recommendation stemming from the Meetings Committee that would alter the NFRC meeting schedule to two full membership meetings rather than the current set of three starting in 2010.
Meetings Committee Chair Jeff Baker of WESTLab explained that NFRC can take advantage of webinars and other forms of electronic technology to take care of business.
While most supported the concept, specifically the reduced costs and energy savings associated with less traveling, others questioned whether or not NFRC would be sacrificing the personal relationships built at a face-to-face meeting.
“As a newcomer to NFRC, we appreciate how the task group has been working via conference call,” said Michael Cienian of Hunter Douglas, Inc. “But as I see the process, I think it is important to have face-to-face contact and establish relationships with everyone. We are coming into a new phase with attachments.”
The Board is considering all viewpoints and looking to make a decision on this issue later this year and will communicate 2010 dates to the members as soon as possible.
To view photos or presentations from the meeting, visit http://www.nfrc.org/meetingarchives.aspx. NFRC will see you in Jacksonville!
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NFRC Insider | Vol. 2, Issue 4 - September 2008