6 minute read
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 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.”
Whether it is research for legislation, presentations online (and in-person as the pandemic fades), answering technical questions, or assessing new market opportunities, NEMIC represents the collaboration for furthering the organized sheet metal industry, which can only happen when labor and management work together.
“Because we have dedicated staff who are able to do so full time on behalf of all SMART and SMACNA members, investments in the ITI, SMOHIT, and NEMIC are guaranteed down payments on our future as an industry,” Davenberry says.
INDUSTRY AWARDS: Locals 105 and 88
NEMIC announced its annual Industry Awards earlier this year, which recognize Locals, training centers, SMACNA chapters, and other sheet metal organizations for leadership, commitment, and innovation in the unionized sheet metal industry.
Southern California JATC Local 105 near Los Angeles was recognized for its leadership in implementation and promotion of Mechanical Acceptance Test (MAT) certifications mandated under California Code of Regulations Title 24. Local 88 in Las Vegas was recognized for its commitment to the passage of statewide fire life safety legislation.
In California, training apprentices and journeypeople to certify in MAT allows SMART members to grasp the work and hold onto it for now and into the future. To expand opportunities, the training center was opened to members from Local 206 in San Diego, which doesn’t have the ability to conduct certifications.
Beginning this semester, apprentices are required to complete the training and certification for Mechanical Acceptance Test Technician (MATT) before they graduate.
Training and certifying in MAT goes back to a mantra Lance Clark, administrator for Local 105’s training center, shares with his apprentices: get as many certifications as you can, so you’re never expendable.
Well-rounded apprentices—and journeypersons—are an asset to contractors. “Contractors want workers with certifications to allow them to bid that work,” he added.
NEMIC and Local 88 leadership had work hours and public safety on their minds as they lobbied to pass legislation in Nevada that would require fire and smoke damper maintenance and testing of smoke and fire dampers and smoke control systems in most commercial buildings.
According Bill AB 297, the inspection, testing, and maintenance of these fire life safety systems must be completed by a technician certified by the ICB, through a program accredited by ANSI, similar to legislative passed in California.
Nevada was the second state to pass statewide legislation. Washington followed suit as the third, this spring.
Jeff Proffitt, business manager for Local 88, attributes the passage to presentations given by Scott Hammond, NEMIC director of research, and member Kennedy Sanders, a Local 88 instructor who works with fire life safety systems daily.
Together, NEMIC and Local 88 worked to educate building owners who didn’t understand the severity of leaving fire life safety systems unchecked. Implementation was set to begin in January 2020, but has been derailed due to the pandemic.
Local 88 was recognized for exceptional commitment to passage of fire life safety legislation and promotion of ICB/ TABB certifications, and Proffitt says it is recognition shared with the entire team that made it happen.
“It can be done, and it’s important to both Republicans and Democrats,” he says. “In the committees, it was a unanimous vote. We have a really good team. Those guys do the work.” ▪
Jessica Kirby is a freelance editor and writer covering construction, architecture, mining, travel, and sustainable living for myriad publications across Canada and the United States.
NEMIC CERTIFICATIONS
Technicians: • Fire and Smoke Damper Technician • Smoke Control Systems Technician • TABB Technician • Acceptance Testing Technician • Building Envelope Installer Technician • Fume Hood Performance Testing Technician • Indoor Air Quality Technician • Total Building Energy Audit Technician • Infection Control Awareness Worker
Supervisors: • Fire and Smoke Damper Supervisor • Smoke Control Systems Supervisor • Commissioning Supervisor • Sound and Vibration Supervisor • TABB Supervisor • Indoor Air Quality Supervisor
Contractors: • Fire and Smoke Damper Contractor • Smoke Control Systems Contractor • Commissioning Contractor • TABB Contractor • Sound and Vibration Contractor • Acceptance Testing Employer
