AMCA Members-Only Newsletter

June 30, 2022

Budget, Strategic Plan Headline North America Region Meeting

Credit: AndreyPopov/Bigstock

AMCA held a virtual meeting for North America Region members June 20 to present the board-of-directors-approved 2022-2023 budget and more. Following is a highlighting of the proceedings. If you are interested in learning more about a particular presentation, you are encouraged to view the video recording of the hour-long event in the members' area of the AMCA website (click “Proceedings from Member Only activities”). The times in parentheses indicate the points in the recording the presentations begin.

Introduction of New Executive Director (4:16)

After calling the meeting to order, North America Region Chair Frank Cuaderno introduced new AMCA Executive Director Kevin Faltin.

“I’m … very excited to be here,” Faltin, whose appointment was announced April 1, said. “I really appreciate everybody’s warm welcome. I started in March, so it’s been a very interesting and great opportunity to learn the association.”

Faltin came to AMCA after more than 21 years with UL (formerly Underwriters Laboratories), the Northbrook, Ill.-based provider of testing, inspection and certification, advisory, and risk-management services; decision-making tools; training; and business intelligence, most recently in the role of vice president of operations (for more on Faltin’s background, click here).

“My background, I feel, prepares me very well for the opportunity here at AMCA,” Faltin said. “I think the future is great for AMCA, and I just hope that I can lean on my experience to help grow the association moving forward.”

State of the Association (5:26)

Membership trends. Geographically, AMCA’s membership breaks down as follows, Faltin said:

• North America, 156 members (40.6 percent).
• Asia, 156 members (40.6 percent).
• Middle East, 33 members (8.6 percent).
• Europe, 32 members (8.3 percent).
• Mexico and South America, seven members (1.8 percent).

“North America peaked in 2017 with about 172 members,” Faltin said. “Currently, we have about 156 members from North America. I think that’s relatively steady. I think there may be some trends within the industry regarding consolidation. We are working with (Association Engagement Manager) Tim Reilly and (Manager, Member Relations) Courtney (Stone) for membership development.”

Faltin noted a sharp increase in membership in Asia since 2009.

“I think there’s a lot of opportunity in Asia,” Faltin said. “I would actually anticipate that (trend) further increasing as we move forward.”

The Middle East and Europe “have been relatively flat over the last four or five years,” as have Mexico and South America, Faltin explained.

What AMCA members manufacture. Two hundred eighty-two (59 percent of) AMCA members manufacture air-movement products, while 195 (41 percent) manufacture air-control products.

Partners. Faltin noted AMCA has four testing partners around the world: Intertek in the United States, Centre Technique des Industries Aérauliques et Thermiques (CETIAT) in France, Thomas Bell-Wright International Consultants in the United Arab Emirates, and KTC (Korea Testing Certification Institute) in South Korea.

“As we look to expand and we look to further focus on certain subregions within a region, we may be looking to increase our testing partners around the world,” Faltin said.

Association-management company Kellen is a “strategic commercial partner that we have in Europe, and they help us more with policy and government activity,” Faltin explained.

Product certifications and listing program. Faltin reported AMCA was at a record 4,272 products certified.

“It’s great we’re at an all-time high, but I think if you asked any of the individuals on our team, especially our CRP (Certified Ratings Program) folks, we feel that could be much higher,” Faltin said. “As we look to grow and expand globally, we do anticipate that all-time-high year-over-year to increase.”

CRP product breakdown by region/country. From a CRP perspective, Faltin said, AMCA will be taking more of a subregional approach to Asia, which he described as a “very eclectic group of countries.”

“The cultures, the languages—just the market drivers within these subregions—are so much different between China and India, for example, that we’re going to look to have strategic plans for each one of those subregions,” Faltin said.

Certified products per member. In North America, the average number of certifications per company is 17.8, above the target of 15.5, Faltin shared. In the Middle East, the average number of certifications is 6.9 vs. a target of 5; in Asia, it is 6.15 vs. a target of 6.2; and in Europe, it is 2.3 vs. a target of 2.

Laboratory accreditations. Laboratory accreditations sit at 67.

This is “great,” Faltin said, but, “Member lab accreditations (are) something we … want to aggressively pursue,” as they support the headquarters laboratory “and everything we’re trying to do here.”

With non-member laboratories, “It’s important that we do this strategically,” Faltin continued. “… We want to be very careful when we expand that we maintain the value and the quality of testing that we have here with our member labs and with the AMCA headquarter lab.”

AMCA International Strategic Plan (12:05)

The tenets of AMCA’s 2022-2025 strategic plan, Faltin said, are:

• Certification: AMCA will expand and strengthen participation in and enforcement of the CRP.
• Advocacy: AMCA will defend and advance members’ interests through building codes, standards, regulations, and education.
• Engagement: AMCA will improve, broaden, and focus participation and awareness of the association.
• Operational excellence: The AMCA board will ensure and enhance AMCA’s operational excellence and organizational governance.

Certification. CRP Manager Charlie Meyers explained there are five components of the certification portion of the strategic plan:

• Enforcement: “Strengthen(ing) enforcement, rigor, and integrity” through “administrative excellence,” or the automation through AMCA Connect of “all of the administrative tasks that take up time from the staff and force backlogs,” and “market surveillance,” or “increased surveillance on what’s happening in the marketplace, reviewing company websites, reviewing product software selection systems, things of that nature.”
• Testing accessibility: “Investigat(ing) and possibly establish(ing) new regional testing facilities and expand(ing) existing facilities.”
• Scope: Possible expansion of the scope of products.
• Lab accreditation: “Enhanc(ing) and promot(ing) the Laboratory Accreditation Program,” which is a “feeder into our Certified Ratings Program.”
• Growth: “Increas(ing) the number of licensees and products” and “educat(ing) and advocat(ing) for greater awareness and acceptance of the CRP, whether that be through our webinars (or) through training modules we’ll be working to develop with our education department.”

Advocacy. Michael Ivanovich, senior director, global affairs, explained the six components of the advocacy portion of the strategic plan:

• Industry relations: “Reach(ing) beyond the boundaries of AMCA to engage with other organizations and governing bodies that affect our industry.”
• Competing standards: “Encourag(ing) other organizations to adopt or recognize AMCA standards and, where practical, work toward harmonization of standards—we’ve been doing this quite a bit with ISO (International Organization for Standardization); … some of the new things are that we anticipate getting AMCA (Standard) 208 (Calculation of the Fan Energy Index) as part of Section 6 for ISO 12759 (Fans — Efficiency classification for fans).”
• Ventilation issues: “Increas(ing) AMCA’s participation and visibility in advocacy arenas where various indoor-air-quality, airborne-disease- … mitigation, and ventilation issues are addressed—our primary focus this fiscal year is to get established within the ASHRAE (Standard) 62.1 (Ventilation and Acceptable Indoor Air Quality) community; … we don't expect to gain a lot of strategic momentum in that, but it is a very close-knit community, (and) we want to establish our credentials with them, show that we are a well-meaning and unbiased organization … so we can eventually become … part of that committee like we are for (ASHRAE) 90.1 (Energy Standard for Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings).”
• Regulations and programs: “Represent(ing) members’ interests in the development and enforcement of codes, standards, regulations, and incentive programs that require minimum product performance—along these lines, we’re going to continue advocating for AMCA members on the California regulation, the DOE (U.S. Department of Energy) regulations, … as well as working with different utilities for developing or helping them refine their existing fan rebate programs.”
• Competing technologies: “Maintain(ing) intelligence and awareness of competing technologies and develop(ing) strategies and tactics to mitigate market erosion or increase market size”—“we’re going to continue our vigilance on the VRF (variable refrigerant flow) situation in terms of ducted vs. unducted air systems; … we’re also going to be looking at … possible growth in passive ventilation.”
• Regional technical staffing: “Establish(ing) and maintain(ing) regional staff with acumen in HVAC systems, regulations, and air-system products.”

Engagement. Director of Marketing, Education, Membership, and Events Robb Clawson explained the engagement tenet is an expansion of the 2018-2021 strategic plan’s education pillar, consisting of:

• Communications: Facilitating and improving communications between staff and members so that “we’re getting things out there proactively, fully, and completely so that you know what’s happening and you have time to interact and participate.”
• Education: Expanding both internal and external educational efforts, growing audiences, and “making more resources available to you, the members, so that you can help spread the word about what AMCA does and how AMCA can help you and your customers.”
• Diversity, equity, and inclusion: “Develop(ing) diversity and mentoring programs to encourage and empower industry across genders, races, cultures, and generations.”
• Networking—meetings and events: After COVID-19, Clawson said, AMCA is returning to “face-to-face,” looking to “develop a robust schedule of meetings and events globally” and “make meetings more accessible with improved technical infrastructure with intuitive design and improved language/cultural awareness.” All meetings will have “some type of hybrid component so that, if you can’t be there face-to-face, … you can still participate and be active within the association.”

Operational excellence. For the operational-excellence tenet of the 2022-2025 strategic plan, the board of directors, Faltin said, is focusing on three main areas:

• Realigning/reconfiguring regions: “We want to look at the various regions, … specifically Asia,” Faltin said. “Asia is made up of multiple countries with different cultures, marketplace drivers—just different ways of doing business. So, we’re going to look at Asia to see if we could break some of these regions down into subregions to be more specific to the marketplace.”
• Establishing regional self-sufficiency.
• Bolstering perceptions of AMCA as a global organization: “Obviously, AMCA has been around for a while, and the foundation is (the) U.S., but as we look to expand globally, we … have to make sure that our face to the market isn’t just American,” Faltin said. “… We want to make sure that we’re … focusing on the local cultures and the local industries within the regions.”

Fiscal 2022-2023 Budget (23:50)

Director of Finance, Human Resources, and Information Technology Paul Fajnor reviewed the fiscal 2021-2022 forecast and presented the fiscal 2022-2023 budget. For all of the numbers and analysis, see the video recording in the members area of the AMCA website (click “Proceedings from Member Only activities”).

Publications and Standards Update (31:50)

In an update on the activities of the Publications and Standards department since the North America Region’s previous meeting March 3-4 in Orlando, Fla., Director of Publications and Standards Joe Brooks, PE, reported a revision of AMCA Publication 211, Certified Ratings Program Product Rating Manual for Fan Air Performance, had been completed; revisions of AMCA Standard 240, Laboratory Methods of Testing Positive Pressure Ventilators for Aerodynamic Performance Rating, and AMCA Standard 550, Test Method for High Velocity Wind Driven Rain Resistant Louvers, were ready to be published; and a revision of AMCA Standard 301, Methods for Calculating Fan Sound Ratings From Laboratory Test Data, was with American National Standards Institute (ANSI) for approval.

• AMCA Standard 230, Laboratory Methods of Testing Air Circulating Fans for Rating and Certification.
• AMCA Standard 280, Method of Test, Wind Resistance for Rooftop Fans.
• AMCA Standard 300, Reverberant Room Method for Sound Testing of Fans.
• AMCA Standard 320, Laboratory Methods of Sound Testing of Fans Using Sound Intensity.
• AMCA Standard 340, Method of Test, Large Diameter Ceiling Fan Sound Measurement.
• AMCA Standard 540, Test Method for Louvers Impacted by Wind Borne Debris.

The following are in the midst of approval, Brooks said:

• AMCA Standard 270, Laboratory Methods of Testing Fan Arrays for Rating.
• AMCA Standard 500-L, Laboratory Methods of Testing Louvers for Rating.
• AMCA Publication 11, Certified Ratings Program Operating Manual.
• AMCA Publication 201, Fans and Systems.
• AMCA Publication 203, Field Performance Measurement of Fan Systems.
• AMCA Publication 511, Certified Ratings Program Product Rating Manual for Air Control Devices.
• AMCA Publication 512, AMCA Listing Label Program.

Advocacy Update (39:56)

Succession plan. Saying he is becoming of an age that he is “beginning to have an eye on retirement” and “given the ramp-up time it takes for a new advocacy person to not only know the codes, standards, and regulations that we cover but to develop effective relationships,” Ivanovich said AMCA soon would be looking to hire an advocacy manager, part of a recently approved succession plan. The advocacy manager will assist Ivanovich and Senior Manager, Advocacy Aaron Gunzner, PE, with advocacy as well as utility incentive programs and report to Gunzner.

Air movement. In air movement, Ivanovich said a second draft of the California Title 20 fan regulation was expected by the end of June.

“That will have a 15-day review,” Ivanovich said. “They (the California Energy Commission) don’t think that the changes that they’re making from the first version are substantive enough to require a 45-day review. … As soon as it comes out, we’ll see very quickly what those changes are, and then we’ll do an … Air Movement Division webinar on that. We expect some wins and losses.”

Ivanovich said the second draft of the California Title 20 fan regulation could be voted on as soon as August 2022 and become effective as soon as August 2023.

“I went through the Title 20 regulation” and “laid out the sections that are most appropriate for AMCA members and staff to know about,” Ivanovich said.

The highlighted document is available in the members area of the AMCA website (click “Proceedings from Member Only activities”).

“You could … begin studying such things as what the testing means; what marking means; what the compliance, enforcement, and general administrative matters are,” Ivanovich said. “… You need to start preparing for operating in a regulated world.”

Ivanovich urged Air Movement Division members to become familiar with not just the content of the fan regulation, but Title 20 processes.

In addition to the second draft of the California Title 20 fan regulation, a draft test procedure for commercial and industrial fans from the DOE was expected by the end of June, Ivanovich said.

“If it finishes in December 2022, it becomes effective in the middle of 2023, six months later,” Ivanovich said of the DOE draft test procedure. “… We expect the first draft of the energy standard, which is the minimum energy-efficiency compliance criteria and all the enforcement stuff, … to finish … by the end of 2023, the middle of 2024, and then that would become effective five years later.”

In early phases are the following projects, Ivanovich reported:

• A COVID research project for air curtains that will conclude in July or August.
• Training support for a Commonwealth Edison Co. (ComEd) rebate program for fan energy index (FEI) in Illinois.
• Replacement of AMCA’s database of 2012 fan-shipment data with one of 2021 fan-shipment data, which Ivanovich called “critical” to advocacy, as it will aid in the evaluation of DOE regulatory proposals and help utilities develop meaningful FEI-based rebate programs.

“Air Movement Division members, you’re going to be getting some e-mail communications and at least one webinar (click here to register for a webinar on July 12), possibly two, to encourage you and to teach you how to participate,” Ivanovich said of the fan-shipment-database project. “… We have a contractor (Cadeo) that’s going to be coming online for that. We’re going to be protecting your confidentiality. … We’ll explain all of that.”

Air control. To combat proposals to remove allowances for remote inspection of life-safety dampers from NFPA 80, Standard for Fire Doors and Other Opening Protectives, and NFPA 105, Standard for Smoke Door Assemblies and Other Opening Protectives, the North America Region Air Control Advocacy Committee secured funding for a damper case-studies project, Ivanovich reported.

“We really encourage the damper manufacturers that are AMCA members to participate in this,” Ivanovich said. “… We’ll be coming back to you with more specifics, … but this is to help protect our gains that we’ve had in NFPA (National Fire Protection Association) standards. We really expect the SMACNA (Sheet Metal and Air Conditioning Contractors’ National Association) and union-based testing organizations to come out strong against us, so we need your support on this project.”

Other news. Ivanovich additionally announced that AMCA would be:

• Renewing the William Koffel, PE, FSFPE, SASHE/Amanda Hickman consulting contract and expanding it slightly to cover ventilation.
• Retaining the services of consultant Thomas Catania, Esq.

2022 Edition of AMCA inmotion (49:48)

Manager of Industry Content Scott Arnold announced that work on the 2022 edition of award-winning AMCA inmotion magazine is under way, with the following articles in development:

• Use of Circulating Fans to Mitigate Climate-Change-Induced Heat Stress and HVAC Performance Loss in Commercial Buildings
• Improving Fan Performance With Remote Monitoring Systems
• Application of AMCA 550-Rated Wind-Driven-Rain-Resistant Louvers
• A Closer Look: Ceiling Dampers
• Update on U.S. Fan Codes, Standards, and Regulations
• Update on European Fan Regulations
• Your Questions About Life-Safety Dampers Answered
• Q&A With AMCA’s New Executive Director and 2022-2023 President

Arnold said abstracts of the articles and information on advertising will be contained in the soon-to-be-published 2022 AMCA inmotion media kit. In the meantime, questions can be directed to him at [email protected] or +1 847-704-6335.

AMS and Community-Portal Update (52:43)

Clawson reported on AMCA’s “long-promised and soon-to-be-realized” Impexium association-management solution (AMS) with Higher Logic community portal.

“The internal launch is under way,” Clawson said. “We took the keys to it as a staff last week. We’re now doing QA (quality assurance) on it and trying to also make sure that all of our folks are trained, develop training materials that then we can share with you all, and then do a full launch hopefully by mid-August.”

On what the new AMS and community portal mean for AMCA members, Clawson said: “It’s really going to give a lot of self-service abilities to you and to your teams. You’re going to be able to maintain your own contact information, what committees you are in or want to become part of. … Probably most fun and important is going to be some of the invoicing; we’re going to have e-commerce in the event registration with self-payment options. … It’s going to give you easy-to-use-and-access information, community and committee libraries, … schedules, communications, collaboration tools. You’ll be able to pick the format and the number of e-mails that you receive from us; if you think you’re getting too many from us, you can say, ‘Hey, just send me a digest of them once a week,’ and we can do it that way. … And it’ll also be able to drop all of this stuff onto your (Microsoft) Outlook schedule as well, so that when you see something you’re interested in or want to attend, you click the button, and it’ll show up in your Outlook.”

Next Meeting

The next opportunity for North America Region members to gather will be the 2022 AMCA Annual Meeting Oct. 7-9 at The Ritz-Carlton, Lake Tahoe in Truckee, Calif., Cuaderno said.

“I hope I will see everybody there,” Cuaderno said. “I can’t wait to have our first (Annual) meeting in three years in person.”

For more information and to register to attend the 2022 AMCA Annual Meeting, click here.

ICYMI: U.S. Department of Energy Publishes Draft Fan-Efficiency Test Procedure

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On June 24, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) issued a prepublication draft of a notice of proposed rulemaking (NOPR), a request for comment, and an announcement of a public meeting for a test procedure for commercial and industrial fans and blowers.

The NOPR establishes fan energy index (FEI) as the efficiency metric and references ANSI/AMCA Standard 214-21, Test Procedure for Calculating Fan Energy Index (FEI) for Commercial and Industrial Fans and Blowers, as the method of test. It applies to most types of commercial and industrial fans with at least 1 hp fan shaft power or at least 1 kW electrical power but not more than 150 air horsepower. Exceptions include: (1) radial housed unshrouded fans with a diameter less than 30 in. or a blade width less than 3 in., (2) safety fans, (3) induced-flow fans, (4) jet fans, and (5) cross-flow fans. The exclusion of fans that create 30-in.-wg or greater vacuum is recommended.

These provisions are largely consistent with the direction the California Energy Commission is taking with its commercial/industrial fan regulation (Title 20). The NOPR differs from the California rulemaking in several key ways, however: (1) departing from the Appliance Standards and Rulemaking Federal Advisory Committee (ASRAC) term-sheet requirement by calling for a minimum sample size of two fans, which imperils most historical fan-test data; (2) including many types of embedded fans in the scope of the test procedure (while excluding many types of embedded fans); (3) disallowing Section 6.4.2.4 of ANSI/AMCA Standard 214 concerning the calculation of FEI for a fan tested without a motor and drive; and (4) including all types of circulating fans that are not ceiling fans, including fans with an electrical input power less than 125 W (AMCA advocated for >/= 125 W).

The test procedure would apply to fans sold in the United States, regardless of where they are manufactured. Through reciprocity agreements, the test procedure could apply to fans sold in Canada as well.

The NOPR soon will be published in the Federal Register (at https://www.regulations.gov/docket/EERE-2021-BT-TP-0021, which AMCA members should bookmark because it will be where comments, hearing transcripts, and the final rule are posted), at which point a 60-day public review period will commence. The deadline for comments, which will be announced in the Federal Register, is expected to be during the first week of September.

The AMCA North America Region Air Movement Advocacy Committee is engaged in the review process, with its Energy Efficiency Subcommittee leading commenting efforts. Anyone interested in participating in the meetings should contact the staff liaison, Senior Manager, Advocacy Aaron Gunzner, PE, at [email protected]. In the meantime, AMCA members that could be impacted by the regulation are urged to begin in-company analyses.

On Aug. 2 from 1-4 p.m. EDT, the DOE will hold a public meeting via webinar. Registration information, participant instructions, and information about the capabilities available to webinar participants will be published on the DOE’s website here.

AMCA anticipates a hard push by the DOE to complete the test procedure by the end of 2022. Publication of the final rule will commence a 180-day period during which manufacturers would have to complete any testing, retesting, and rerating of fans and make any necessary changes to print and electronic marketing materials, sizing/selection software, etc.

After the test procedure is complete, the DOE will publish a NOPR for an energy-efficiency standard (regulation) that includes surveillance measures.

AMCA will schedule a members-only webinar in July to discuss the regulation and its potential impacts on member companies. An invitation soon will be sent to all AMCA Air Movement Division contacts, past AMCA presidents, AMCA global staff, and the AMCA board of directors.

On July 12, AMCA will present a members-only webinar to discuss replacing the association’s database of 2012 fan-shipment data with one of 2021 fan-shipment data. The database will be used to help AMCA advocate on members’ behalf regarding the test procedure and the eventual energy-efficiency and surveillance regulation.

“Members in the U.S. and Canada are urged to attend the webinar and participate in the database project because the larger the dataset, the greater the statistical power and advocacy,” Michael Ivanovich, senior director, global affairs, said.

To register for the July 12 webinar, click here.

Meet the New Guy: Laboratory Technician Jordan Boyer

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2022 AMCA Annual Meeting Sponsorships Available

Varied but limited opportunities to build their brand, enhance their image, and generate goodwill are available to AMCA members through 2022 AMCA Annual Meeting sponsorships.

The first in-person AMCA Annual Meeting in three years, the 2022 event—with the theme “Reboot. Rekindle. Reunite.”—will be held Oct. 7-9 at The Ritz-Carlton, Lake Tahoe in Truckee, Calif. Registration is now open.

Sponsorships are available for meeting events and activities, attendee gifts, and more, including a new mobile app. For more information, click here or download the sponsorship brochure here.

June Edition of ITR Advisor Available

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Slowing growth is the prevailing trend for the U.S. economy and expected to persist through 2023, ITR Economics says in the June 2022 issue of ITR Advisor, part of the economic research and consulting firm’s partnership with AMCA.

Through the partnership, AMCA members have access to monthly articles providing ITR Economics’ data-driven, non-affiliated perspective on current events.

ITR Advisor provides a “snapshot of the U.S. economy with a quick overview of key indicators, overall business health, and immediate actions to take in response to unfolding events.”

Established in 1948, ITR Economics employs a unique forecasting methodology that has allowed it to achieve an unmatched accuracy rating of 94.7 percent four quarters into the future. It has been providing expert economic forecasting at AMCA meetings for years.

To sign up to receive free economic updates, stay current with ITR Economics’ outlook, and learn of special opportunities through the AMCA-ITR Economics partnership, click here.

For more information, contact AMCA Director of Marketing, Education, Membership, and Events Robb Clawson at [email protected].

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