NFRC Fall Membership Meeting Begins Today in Arlington, Va.

Members of the National Fenestration Rating Council (NFRC) have gathered in Arrington, Va., for the group's Fall Membership Meeting. Over the next three days task group and committee meetings will be held in which those involved will discuss a number of topics and issues.

The morning kicked off with a series of task group meetings, including two that convened to begin discussions on how to rate and certify the following new products: storm doors and windows and garage/rolling doors.

The Component Modeling Approach Technical and PCP task groups also met this morning to discuss outstanding items and review CMA certification procedure ballot responses.

During the membership luncheon NFRC Chair Marcia Falke addressed the group and spoke about the importance of change.

"We need to learn to embrace it, learn from it and recognize it for the benefits it brings," she said. Falke explained that she chose change as her topic since she had just finished reading Tough Choices, by Carly Fiornia, the former CEO of Hewlett-Packard who led the company's acquisition of Compaq, a transaction that ultimately cost her her job. "… Change, successful change, requires everyone to work together. To help one another. To support one another. Leaders need to point everyone in the right direction, but the journey--the change--is a team effort," said Falke.

She explained that sometimes changes seem "forced," such as by building officials. "So does the U.S. Department of Energy, and other regulatory bodies," Falke said. "In some ways our efforts to offer new and improved options for rating and labeling nonresidential products can be considered forceful change. The California Energy Commission came to us and asked us to provide an alternative to the current Site-Built Program."

She also pointed out that change can also come from within a group or organization.

"Every time we meet, members of this wonderful organization come forward with proposals to help us better achieve our mission." Some examples she cited included new way to test thermal performance, requests to add new products to the rating and labeling system and proposals to conduct research for the benefit of the entire fenestration community.

"Over the last 17 years, NFRC has changed a lot. I could sit here for hours and describe the many, many differences between NFRC in 1989 and NFRC in 2006," she said. "And my point really isn't how we've changed. What I want to emphasize is why we've changed. We've changed because we had to, of course. But we changed mostly because we wanted to."

She said it was certain that there would be many issues that would be a challenge for the NFRC, including the new nonresidential options and re-certification, and added, "I hope that when change presents itself you will embrace it."

More coverage of the NFRC fall meeting will be on USGNN tomorrow.