MEETINGS AND EVENTS

AMCA insite Webinar: Environmental Noise Due to Fans and Equipment
Sept. 30, 2 p.m. ET
Register

AMCA insite Webinar: Basics of Fan Noise
Oct. 14, 2 p.m. ET
Register

AMCA insite Webinar: Vibration Isolation and Wind and Seismic Restraint for Mechanical Equipment
Oct. 28, 2 p.m. ET
Register

AMCA insite Webinar: High-Wind Testing and Certification of Fans
Nov. 18, 2 p.m. ET
Register

AMCA insite Webinar: Louvers—Selection and Application
Dec. 9, 2 p.m. ET
Register

2020 AMCA Annual Meeting
Virtual Meeting being planned for
early December
Stay tuned for more details

Update Your AMCA Library

Click here to shop for AMCA technical documents, including the revised AMCA Publication 211, Certified Ratings Program Product Rating Manual for Fan Air Performance, and ANSI/AMCA Standard 500-D, Laboratory Methods of Testing Dampers for Rating.

Click here to learn more about CETIAT's AMCA CRP fan-testing capabilities.

AMCA White Papers

Stay abreast of topics that are top of mind for AMCA and its members. Check out AMCA's white-paper library by clicking here.

Survey Reveals Impact of COVID-19 on AMCA Members’ Businesses

Between June 24 and July 3, AMCA surveyed members to assess the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on their businesses and to gauge their outlook for recovery. The results of that survey are now available.

The survey yielded responses from 107 individuals in 19 countries. Among the findings:

• About 70 percent of the respondents indicated the pandemic’s impact on their sales had been 25 percent or less.
• The general outlook of the respondents with regard to recovery from the pandemic is positive, with more than half estimating the impact on their sales will be 10 percent or less in six months’ time.
• On a scale of 0 to 10 rating the impact of the pandemic on various aspects of respondents’ businesses, the average rating was less than 5, indicating moderate to minimal impact, for all categories.
• The greatest challenges posed by the pandemic are loss of business opportunities, maintaining employee health and safety, and building and maintaining customer relationships.

A report of the findings is available here. For news and resources related to COVID-19, click here.

25 Years With AMCA and Counting: Joe Brooks Celebrates Milestone

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On July 10, Director of Publications and Standards Joe Brooks celebrated 25 years with AMCA, 25 years that have seen him involved in nearly every facet of the association’s technical operations.

“I started out working as a project engineer and as liaison to the Air Control Division publication committees,” Joe recalled. “My biggest project was the design and building of the elevated-temperature test facility. I also initiated and got AMCA approved as an American National Standards writing organization from ANSI (American National Standards Institute) and got our first ANSI-approved standard (AMCA Standard 240, Laboratory Methods of Testing Positive Pressure Ventilators for Aerodynamic Performance Rating). In the late ‘90s, I was asked to take over the lab and CRP (Certified Ratings Program) management, which I did—back then, the lab and CRP came under the same department, Technical Services. About four or five years ago, with a major reorganization, I took over all AMCA TCs (technical committees), including the role of ISO (International Organization for Standardization) liaison.”

Joe has witnessed firsthand the evolution of AMCA over the last quarter-century.

“I have served under four leaders: Pete Hanley, Barbara Morrison, Wade Smith, and Mark Stevens,” Joe said. “All were very different in management style, but all very much embraced the concept of working as a team. Over the 25 years, the number of staff has only grown slightly, but the membership numbers and breadth of membership has expanded greatly. The lab has grown in physical size. Testing programs have been initiated, but our bread and butter remains fan, louver, and damper tests. The CRP has always been the largest and, in my opinion, the most important service we offer our members; that has not changed. But the CRP has grown quite a bit, along with the global expansion. Probably the biggest change in the industry that has affected AMCA is ‘regulation’ and, of course, advocacy, which is closely related and now is growing in importance to our members.”

Joe came to AMCA by way of the power industry. After receiving a degree in nuclear engineering from the University of Michigan in 1973, he went to work for an engineering consulting firm in Jackson, Mich. Soon, he was involved in a project for a nuclear power plant planned for Ohio.

“After five years on the project, it was clear to me that the nuclear-power industry was stagnant, and the project would probably not get off the ground, which it didn’t,” Joe said. “Since I was still relatively young, I joined the Navy to fly, but ended up in submarines. I was in the Navy for over 16 years.”

Following the conclusion of the Cold War, the United States reduced it submarine force, offering early retirement to some officers.

“I took advantage of this and, thus, retired from the Navy,” Joe said. “Still relatively young, I looked for another job. I was perusing a magazine in the local library when I saw an ad from AMCA looking for an engineer. The desired skills seemed to fit closely with my skill set, so I wrote to them with my resume and talked with the executive vice president. I flew in (from Connecticut) for an interview, and the rest, as they say, is history.”

Joe said the best part of working for AMCA has been the people.

“The most rewarding part of working for AMCA simply has been working with a great team and our members—learning from those people and learning about a fascinating industry,” Joe said. “Also, it has afforded me an opportunity to visit places around the world that I would never have seen otherwise.”

AMCA Executive Director Mark Stevens said he is grateful to have worked with Joe for most of the 25 years Joe has been with AMCA.

“Joe’s foremost attributes during his career with AMCA have been service to our members and integrity,” Mark said. “These are highly valuable attributes to bring to AMCA when you consider our role in the industry, and we’re mighty glad that he chose to spend the majority of his career with us.”

To wish Joe a happy anniversary, click here.

AMCA Seeks Volunteers for Committee to Reaffirm Fan-Sound Standard 301

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AMCA is seeking volunteers—fan manufacturers, building designers, engineers, acoustic consultants—to serve on a technical committee responsible for reaffirming ANSI/AMCA Standard 301, Methods for Calculating Fan Sound Ratings From Laboratory Test Data.

ANSI/AMCA Standard 301 applies to any fan for which a test standard for measuring fan sound power levels exists.

Compared with the process of revising AMCA standards, the reaffirmation process is much shorter. The committee is expected to meet only a few times.

To volunteer, click here and complete and submit the form by the close of business on Oct. 12, 2020. For more information, contact AMCA Project Manager/Technical Editor Shruti Kohli-Bhargava at [email protected].

AMCA insite^TM Webinars Return

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Following a brief hiatus, AMCA’s series of free, professional-development-hour- (PDH-) eligible insite^TM webinars returned Sept. 16 with “Laboratory Exhaust Fan Selection—Considering Energy Consumption.”

Presented by Doug Ross, business-development manager for an AMCA member company, the webinar was attended by 260—or 60 percent, above the industry average of 46 percent—of the 432 individuals who registered. Eighty-nine PDHs were issued.

The next AMCA insite^TM webinar will be “Environmental Noise Due to Fans and Equipment,” presented by John Sofra, on Sept. 30 at 2 p.m. ET. To register, click here.

Following is the schedule of AMCA insite^TM webinars for the remainder of 2020. To register, click on the titles:

• Oct. 14, 2 p.m. ET: “Basics of Fan Noise,” presented by Rad Ganesh.
• Oct. 28, 2 p.m. ET: “Vibration Isolation, Wind, and Seismic Restraint for Mechanical Equipment,” presented by Lee Chiddention.
• Nov. 18, 2 p.m. ET: “High Wind Testing and Certification of Fans,” presented by Daniel Hernandez.
• Dec. 9, 2 p.m. ET: “Louvers—Selection & Application,” presented by Charles DiGisco.

AMCA Education Manager Lisa Cherney is accepting webinar proposals for 2021. She can be contacted at [email protected] or +1 847-704-6328.

To view recordings of, and download slides for, previous AMCA webinars, click here.

Meet the New Guy:
Laboratory Engineer David Nowak

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On Sept. 22, David Nowak joined the staff of AMCA International in the role of laboratory engineer.

Reporting to Technical Director Nazme Mohsina, David is responsible for developing and renovating test rigs, visiting and evaluating the capabilities of manufacturers’ laboratories and offering advice to help the laboratories get accredited, reviewing catalogs/submittals for compliance with AMCA publications, ensuring the integrity of AMCA members’ technical marketing information, and participating in the development of AMCA test standards.

A 2018 graduate of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign with a bachelor’s degree in engineering mechanics, David previously worked as an engineer for Baxter International Inc., the Deerfield, Ill.-based medical-products company, for which he diagnosed problems with products and created new test methods to ensure product compliance with U.S. Food and Drug Administration, European Union Medical Device Regulation, and International Organization for Standardization standards, among other responsibilities. Prior to that, he worked as a corporate engineer for THK America Inc., the Schaumburg, Ill.-based supplier of linear-motion, feed-screw, rotation, oscillation, and lubrication products, for which he analyzed damaged machine components to determine the root cause of failure and consulted with designers to prevent future failure, among other responsibilities.

“I got into mechanical engineering because I’ve always enjoyed building custom projects, starting with Legos and now using wood and used parts from around the house,” David said. “Mostly, I build furniture and games used at tailgates, but take ideas from friends and family to make fun stuff for us to use.”

David’s other interests include playing sports and music—namely, the piano/keyboard. Also, he enjoys snow skiing and visiting national parks.

David can be reached at [email protected] or +1 847-704-6312.

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