From Skeptic to Task Group Chair, Best finds Value in NFRC Membership Meeting

Catherine Best (Benson Industries) was initially skeptical about getting involved with NFRC.

She soon found, however, she could offer the membership valuable insight on the process NFRC uses to create testing guidelines for the certification of commercial products.

“At first, I wasn’t sure how I could make in impact,” Best said. “But once I started coming to the meetings, I found it was much easier than I thought because the group encouraged me to come forward with my thoughts and ideas.”

Best soon overcame her skepticism, and today she serves as the Chair of the CMA Technical Task Group. Her efforts in this Task Group have resulted in some key recommendations for improving CMAST.

Best says she’s become a better listener from being involved with NFRC, a newfound skill she finds useful in many aspects of her career.

“By listening to the wide range of views on the issues NFRC deals with, I’ve learned to truly understand someone else’s point of view even though I may not necessarily agree with it,” she said, “In the end, this makes consensus easier to reach, and that creates greater benefit for everyone.”

Based on her positive experience with NFRC, Best hopes to become a member during 2012.

“Now I can see the strong impact even one person can have on the ballots being presented through the committees and subcommittees,” Best concluded. “I look forward to staying involved.”

Please offer Catherine your well wishes by responding to this posting.

BOD Discussion Concludes Fall Membership Meeting

NFRC’s Board of Directors heard a number of committee reports and approved 12 motions during this morning’s final day of the fall membership meeting.

Accreditation Policy Committee Report

Chair: John McFee

Motion to approve and to implement upon publication NFRC 701-2011 as revised and approved by APC, regarding NFRC Partner Country language, clarification of sub-contractor services, and responsibilities of non-laboratory certified simulators carried.

Other Reports:

Lab Inspections are up-to-date.

The 2008 and 2009 ILC Thermal Test Laboratory Reports were sent to labs on March 17 and September 19, respectively.

2010 Simulation and Thermal Test ILC to be published by Spring 2012.

2011 Simulation and Testing ILC is currently underway

W6/T6 training for complex glazings to be conducted in January and February for all certified simulators.

Entry door spreadsheet approval process is underway with review of revised NFRC 701 documents by APC, as well as all accredited simulation laboratories.  Hope to finalize by Spring of 2012.

Technical Interpretations Policy Committee Report

A motion to approve Technical Interpretation and Revision to NFRC 601: TI-2011-11carried

Certification Policy Committee Report

A motion to approve and to implement upon publication NFRC 702-2012 as revised and approved by CPC, regarding clarification of sub-contractor services and timeframe for online workshop carried.

Other Reports:

Inspections for 2011 will be completed by the end of the year.

Staff provided a status on the NFRC 702 language that was revised during the year.

Staff and the CPC will look at revising the NFRC 702 and IA OPs Manual regarding the fee.

Schedule requirements, workshop, and other outdated issues.

Staff provided an update on the NFRC 706 language revisions implemented recently.

Regulatory Affairs and Marketing Committee Report

Chair: Garrett Stone

The RAM Committee provided an update on international outreach, saying NFRC has made considerable progress in Canada while exploring several viable opportunities in Australia. Stone added that much of funding for this program is provided by the DOE and has been recently reduced. Finally, Stone suggested there may be a need to explore options to maintain the aggressiveness of the international program.

Research and Technology Committee Report

Chair: Dave De Block

Research Subcommittee:

A motion to extend the Window 6-Therm 6 Validation Research Project completion deadline to the Spring 12 Committee Week carried.

A motion to approve now completed CMA CR Research Project for final payment was also approved.

Other Reports:

The Spandrel Validation Research RFP was not approved due to substantive negatives finding spandrels outside NFRC’s scope.  The Research and Technology Committee requests guidance on the existence of spandrels in NFRC 100 with limited information on actual simulation instruction.

Work continues on the TDD VT Research (at LBNL), CMA Improved Algorithm Research, and Gas Permeability Research (at IGMA).

Thermophysical Properties of Materials Subcommittee

A motion to approve a WESTLab negative deleting the retesting provision in the NFRC 101 ballot carried.

Other Reports:

The NFRC 101 ballot was returned to task group with substantive negatives providing guidance on continued changes.

One new lab successfully completed the NFRC 101 ILC test and was added to the NFRC accepted testing lab list.

Please offer your thoughts on today's BOD meeting by responding to this posting.

Chair Volunteer Appreciation Dinner Builds Relationships, Creates Synergy

Last night's Chair Volunteer Appreciation Dinner was more than just a great dining experience for the guests. It was an opportunity for them to get to know each other in a more informal atmosphere and to share ideas.