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The Energy to Thrive NEMIC works for SMACNA and SMART identifying new market and education opportunities for labor and management By / Jessica Kirby For a labor-management partnership to be successful, using every available tool is critical. Jointly-funded organizations like National Energy Management Institute (NEMI) are a gold mine of ideas and resources that can play an important role in keeping partnerships running smoothly, particularly when delving into developing markets. The National Energy Management Committee (NEMIC), a not-for-profit organization, is jointly funded by SMACNA and SMART. It identifies and develops market and educational opportunities, seeking to create or expand employment for SMART members and programs that assist SMACNA contractors. Particularly, NEMIC’s emphasis is on accelerating the benefits derived from ANSI accreditation of TABB (International Certification Board/Testing, Adjusting and Balancing Bureau) certification standards in the areas of testing, adjusting and balancing, and HVAC fire life safety. Soph Davenberry is NEMIC’s director of technology. She is also co-chair of the Outreach and Marketing Committee of the newly formed nonprofit Rainscreen Association in North America (RAiNA)—a coalition of industry experts dedicated to providing a forum to discuss the latest topics impacting rainscreen assemblies and the necessary action to lead the industry into the future. A passion of Davenberry’s is advocating for clarity around green collar jobs and identifying new markets within the environmental sector. The environmental movement and push for better energy efficiency has created some skepticism in the trades with concerns over job security if certain carbon fuelbased energy projects are not permitted, or that Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is just a stack of extra documentation. “Yet, the crew that puts in their 40 hours and more slamming in duct is the same crew that wants to preserve streams for 14 » Partners in Progress » www.pinp.org
fishing and forest reserves for hunting,” Davenberry says. “The policy makers who ask how much energy is used in building out of steel also want safe conditions and living wages for all involved on a project. For me, the term ‘green collar’ represents where my values as an inhabitant of this planet and my ethic as a member of the organized construction industry merge. “The skills we have in building new are the same skills we use to renew what we already have,” Davenberry adds. “Longterm vision for our industry includes not just participating in the creation of a project but sticking around to maintain it afterwards.” Clients in the building industry now have access to more information and tools to establish immediately whether systems installed in a project are performing as expected. As more performance data becomes available, the skills of the workforce installing, setting up, and maintaining these systems are just as important as the energy rating a piece of equipment was assigned on the factory floor. NEMIC, through the International Certification Board (ICB) and TABB, provides the certification programs that are the documented verification of the skills of the personnel and contractors performing this essential work. “Now more than ever, when people ask how we really know if we’re getting the right airflow conditions, performing safety systems work correctly, or ensuring the building will last as long as it’s supposed to, we can use the integrity of our certifications to allay their concerns,” Davenberry says. Daveberry says. “The NEMIC team is dedicated to educating our members, other industry professionals, and the public at large about accessing the certifications and certified professionals and contractors, and especially the significance these certifications carry.”
