Emblem recently traveled to Seoul, South Korea to visit a contractor who submitted an application to become a TABB Contractor. "Testing, adjusting and balancing is unique. It's a new industry where we can organize workers. The TABB name and the quality it brings has traveled across the Pacific. We can't put our blinders up on the coasts. We want our market share to grow and we must look beyond our borders." TABB has also received inquiries from firms across Europe and the Middle East.
"TABB has kept a rigorous pace which it has maintained since its inception. We must be able to adapt to the new markets and new technologies that evolve," stated Emblem. "That is how we will compete and stay ahead of the curve in the globalization of today's markets."
The general session of the TABB Conference was once again designed to be full of information that will help contractors and technicians in the TAB market.
Presentations and discussions included: Indoor environmental solutions, given by Susan and Richard Wing of Wing's Testing and Balancing Co.; Green Buildings, LEED and the TABB Contractor given by Mark Kukla of Air Systems in Rochester, NY; Natural Ventilation by Sezin Eren Ozcan of Catholic University of Leuven, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Heverlee, Belgium; The International Certification Board (ICB) Report, where conference attendees were able to ask questions and make comments to members of TABB's governing body, the International Certification Board; A break out session on the TABB Affiliates, where gave attendees the opportunity to ask questions and interact with TABB Affiliate members on what it means to be a TABB Affiliate and how to become one; and A Customer Trust course, in which attendees reactions to clients and situations through role playing were analyzed and they were subsequently provided the tools to communicate effectively with customers.
Building Commissioning Workshop
A building commissioning workshop was held by the National Energy Management Institute (NEMI) prior to the start of the TABB Conference. The workshop was followed by a two-hour exam, offered those who qualified the opportunity to become certified in building commissioning. Providing instruction at the workshop was Mary Coffey, a TABB Certified Supervisor from Modern Controls in New Castle, DE.
"Building Commissioning is an inspection of all building systems that determines whether they are working according to their design and interacting correctly with each other," stated Coffey. "It's becoming a more widespread practice and the TAB professional needs to be on top of it. The development of this certification demonstrates that TABB is ahead of the curve in this field once again."
TABB Hall of Fame and Visit to Local 104 Training Center
Bruce Word, business manager of SMWIA Local 104, hosted a fantastic and well-attended reception, tradeshow and tour for TABB Conference members on Friday night. The tradeshow was represented by such firms as Shortridge Instruments, Ebtron, Alnor, Belimo, Testo and AiRNAB, each giving away a prize for attendees at the end of the night. "We're proud to show our training center and TABB lab to you," noted Word. "Our partnership San Francisco Bay Area SMACNA and with TABB makes our quality training nearly impossible to beat."The TABB Hall of Fame awards were held during the Saturday luncheon. The Hall of Fame serves as a tribute to those individuals whose dedication and achievements have significantly impacted the sheet metal profession. Tim Perry, longtime member of SMWIA Local 104, and Bright Sheet Metal of Indianapolis, were this year's honorees.
