NFRC Gets Down to Business at Summer Meeting in Baltimore

NFRC welcomed the largest crowd in recent years to its 2009 Summer Membership Meeting in Baltimore and made headway on a number of issues.

The organization welcomed more than 25 first-time attendees and nine new member companies to the meeting.

“This is the best attendance we’ve seen recently,” said NFRC Executive Director Jim Benney. “It’s great to see so many hard-working, dedicated people, both new and familiar, participating in NFRC’s proceedings.”

NFRC Chair Joe Hayden opened the meeting with his customary warm welcome, witty joke, and seamless transition into NFRC business. Hayden announced that the Board of Directors retreat in May yielded an updated, refined strategic direction for the organization. He presented NFRC’s revised vision, mission statement, core values, and goals (see the article “NFRC Refines Strategic Direction” in this issue).

During his presentation, Hayden also stressed the need to continually seek creative, new ideas rather than doing things the same way they have always been done without thinking about it. He asked the audience to consider the following statement: “The one paradigm that NFRC most needs to challenge is …” and invited attendees to complete that sentence by sharing their thoughts on a pad of paper displayed outside the meeting room.

A Message of Determination and Hope
The opening session concluded with a presentation from NFRC member and veteran Thomas Morrissey, who retired from the military after 30 years of service. This NFRC volunteer and vice president with Hunter Douglas, Inc., graciously shared the inspirational story of his three-year rehabilitation after being wounded while serving in Afghanistan.

Morrissey discussed higher callings during his presentation, and reminded attendees that NFRC service is a higher calling because the organization’s work benefits consumers.

The meeting then shifted focus to subcommittee and committee meetings, featuring updates on research projects, as well as discussions and actions on several issues.

• During the Regulatory Affairs and Marketing Committee block, John Lewis, NFRC’s senior manager of business outreach, provided a progress report on the Component Modeling Approach. (See the article “Momentum Increasing on CMA…” in this issue.) Later, Melissa Shannon, of Kountoupes Consulting, spoke about the U.S. House of Representatives’ new Green Buildings Caucus and the latest status of climate change bills on Capitol Hill and their energy efficiency provisions.
  
  
• The Technical Committee’s business spanned two days. Among the highlights: the Software Subcommittee approved a motion to recommend the CMAST software, including Window 6/Therm 6, be approved for use in the Component Modeling Approach (CMA) Pilot Program contingent on Board approval of the final CMAST validation and verification comparison study. The Condensation Resistance Subcommittee moved forward to the NFRC Board of Directors the NFRC 500 W6/T6 ballot for approval and implementation with all other 2010 documents. The CMA Subcommittee moved to approve NFRC 100, Section 5.6. Spacer Simplification Rule ballot and forward to the Board of Directors for final approval.
  
  
• The Research and Technology Committee (RTC) convened the next day. During the RTC block, the Optical Properties Subcommittee voted to suspend the NFRC 300 Task Group because its current mission (consideration of ASTM G197 spectrum) is on hold and passed an amended NFRC 304-2009 to the RTC. The NFRC 600-Glossary and Terminology Task Group approved motions to clarify definitions of various terms and successfully passed the 2009 version of NFRC 600 up to the RTC. The Thermophysical Property Subcommittee discussed NFRC 101 ballots at length and sent it back to task group for fundamental concerns on sourcing of some of the data. The Research Subcommittee moved to award the Attached Awning Research project to Sunpine Consulting, delay deadlines for several current research projects, tasked the Research Manual Task Group to improve NFRC 703-Reseach Program Manual to better ensure prompt delivery of research projects, and voted approval of $7,500 in funding to assist IGMA on a gas permeability research project. Later, the RTC voted to move all successful subcommittee items forward to the Board.
  
  
• During the Ratings Committee block, the CMA Ratings Subcommittee discussed a question in reference to NFRC 705-2009, Section 5.1: Should an Approved Calculation Entity (ACE) “select and contract” with an Inspection Agency that will conduct ACE calculation reviews? The Subcommittee recommended revising that section of the PCP document and directed the Task Group to ballot it for the Fall Membership Meeting. Later, the Labeling Subcommittee decided to form a special task force to review metric ratings and labeling issues, and the Certification Subcommittee passed several motions involving the NFRC 700 (PCP) and moved forward to the NFRC Board for approval a recommendation to suspend the certification and labeling deadline of dynamic glazing products of March 1, 2010.

For more details on the above items and other meeting business, visit nfrcnews.blogspot.com and see the entries for July 20-23.

A Charitable Tradition Continues
Continuing a tradition of goodwill, NFRC raised more than $500 for a charity in the host city. Meeting attendees made voluntary donations that benefited Habitat for Humanity® of the Chesapeake in return for lapel pin souvenirs featuring the NFRC logo and a colorful Baltimore crab. The local chapter of Habitat for Humanity® is a non-profit organization that is committed to building affordable housing, incorporating energy-saving materials and techniques when possible (e.g., its current projects include ENERGY STAR® homes). Find out more at www.chesapeakehfh.org.

For more information on NFRC conferences, including the upcoming Fall Membership Meeting in San Antonio, please visit www.nfrc.org/upcomingmeeting.aspx.

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE

Back to Home Page >>>

Chair's Message >>>

InnerView: Board Members >>>

NFRC Refines Strategic Direction >>>

Momentum Increasing on CMA Pilot Project >>>

IG Certification: The Time to
Start the Process is Now! >>>

NFRC Gets Down to Business
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The Stars at Night are Big and Bright … at the Fall Meeting >>>

Member of the Year Nominations Being Accepted Through End of August >>>

Development of Attachment Products Ratings Draws New Members >>>

NFRC Reminds Certified Participants to Check Product Line Listings >>>

Industry Happenings >>>

SPOTLIGHT ON: Air Leakage Subcommittee >>>

NFRC Insider | Vol. 3, Issue 5 - August 2009