IVP Documents Available, NFRC Seeks Input from Participants

In order to meet the requirements as a recognized EPA Certification Body (CB), the National Fenestration Rating Council (NFRC) is introducing the Independent Verification Program (IVP) as an enhancement to the NFRC 700 Product Certification Program (PCP).

The IVP will verify ENERGY STAR® qualified and NFRC rated fenestration products sold in the market are consistent with the products listed in the NFRC Certified Products Directory (CPD) with procedures that complement the inspection and validation testing requirements of the NFRC PCP. All NFRC participants are required to participate in the IVP, whether or not the participant is an ENERGY STAR partner.

NFRC has been working for close to 2 years to create the NFRC 713 program document that will administer the IVP. NFRC has also been taking many steps to ensure the IVP is an enhancement to the NFRC PCP. Since late 2011the IVP pilot program has been underway allowing NFRC to evaluate the IVP processes. In order to provide the funding for the IVP, the NFRC Board of Directors approved major changes to NFRC program fees and membership dues schedule. The 2012 fee schedule uses a flat dues structure for membership and a sliding scale for program participation fees creating a more fair and equitable system for NFRC participants.

Once approved by the NFRC Board of Directors, the NFRC 713 IVP program document is scheduled for implementation in January 2013. NFRC anticipates that the enhancements to the IVP will allow NFRC to remove the requirement to validate products lines when recertified. This will decrease costs for program participants by reducing recertification expenses.

NFRC participants are encouraged to download the following documents for review from the IVP web page:

       - IVP Program Document NFRC 713 (DRAFT)
       - IVP Compliance Flowchart
       - IVP Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

The NFRC is requesting participants to provide comments on the program documents by forwarding all correspondence to NFRC staff at ivp@nfrc.org. NFRC will present a summary of the comments and answer questions about the IVP at an open forum during the March committee week meeting. The forum is scheduled for Wednesday morning prior to the NFRC Board of Directors meeting.