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The Latest...
IG Certification and Fees Discussed at NFRC Meeting
Denver—The task group focusing on new rules within the National Fenestration Rating Council program for insulating glass certification voted to require that all types of IG be certified. Some proposals called for applying the new certification requirements to units incorporating low-E coatings and/or gas fills only, but the vote to cover all types of IG within the new program was overwhelming at the council’s summer meeting this week.
With some contentious discussions, the task group addressed a number of issues related to implementing the new plan, approved by NFRC’s board earlier this year. Under the current proposal, NFRC would rely on third party programs to implement certification. Several members voiced a concern that certification quality might go down if NFRC is relying on numerous IG certification agencies.
“This is the first time that NFRC is opening its certification to outside bodies,” said Rich Biscoe, vice president for Architectural Testing Inc. “I don’t think those outside bodies are created equal, and it needs to be very clear that the bar is set very high." Chris Mathis, president of MC Squared, agreed. “If we make the bar so low that everyone can play, then our bar is too low,” he explained. “Being rigorous protects NFRC’s integrity.”
The group eventually voted to toughen requirements for third party certifiers in the proposal by changing the language to say “an approved NFRC independent accreditation agency,” including International Accreditation Service Inc., the National Voluntary Laboratory Accreditation Program, the American Association for Laboratory Accreditation or an equivalent agency.
The meeting opened with Jim Benney, NFRC executive director, reviewing the proposed fee structure for the organization’s nonresidential component modeling approach rating system, as well as a recent across-the-board increase in membership dues. Announced in June, the CMA fee proposal (outlined in the June issue of Window & Door sister publication Glass Magazine) was greeted with significant concern by members of the American Architectural Manufacturers Association and the Insulating Glass Manufacturers Alliance (click here for story).
“Are these fees set in stone? No,” Benney said. “It depends on outside support from the Department of Energy and utility companies. If NFRC gets additional funds, those fees can change.”
Commenting on the increase in dues, he reported that they are up about 10 percent for typical members. “Our revenues have leveled off, and we’ve seen program services and costs increase.” The increases were not related to the CMA program, he noted.
Despite Benney’s comments on the fee increases, specifically regarding CMA, several attendees expressed frustration that the topics weren’t brought up in a more open forum.
“This is an organization with dues-paying members. We have the right to come up to the microphone and identify issues important to members,” said Greg Carney, technical director for the Glass Association of North America. During a CMA task group session, he commented, “I’m sick of hearing that we can’t bring up discussion of fees...we will all continue to push discussion on issues that are critical to this program.”
—By Katy Devlin, e-newsletter editor, e-glass weekly
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