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You Bet Your Glass: January-February 2011

So we’ve put another year behind us and by now are digging into what we want to get done in 2011.

So we’ve put another year behind us and by now are digging into what we want to get done in 2011. The past year wrapped up with a number of interesting things going on in the industry.

In our little corner of the country, Ennio Rea stepped down as president of the Ontario Glass and Metal Association (OGMA), after serving six years of a two-year term of office (no, that’s not a typo). Ennio has been involved on and off in our association for the better part of the past 30 years. You would be hard pressed to find anyone in our industry who has given so much of his time and heart to the cause, and I’d like to offer my personal acknowledgement of his contributions. Of course, getting rid of him completely won’t happen immediately. We’re happy to have him continue on the OGMA board as past president, and you’re still bound to see him with the microphone in his hand at our golf tournaments.

Take the LEED
The OGMA wrapped up our year with a seminar on LEED presented by Peter Wong, one of a handful of LEED Accredited Professionals in North America. I attended the presentation with the intention of learning enough on the subject to enlighten you in this column. Instead, I’m going to do you a favour by just hitting what struck me as most useful, because, quite frankly, to elaborate on the details of this program would bore you to death, or at a minimum cause you to turn the page. It’s a difficult and complicated subject that Peter handled well.

LEED stands for “Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design.”

It’s a certification program for the design, construction and operation of green buildings.

LEED is a point system that deals with five key areas: sustainable site development, water and energy efficiency, materials selection, and indoor environmental quality.
Doing a LEED project is going to cost you. As a contractor or material supplier working on a LEED project, you’re going to spend a lot of time and money in submissions, documentation and consultants, so don’t get caught short.

Get an expert like Peter Wong involved to guide you through the confusing maze of requirements.

Standards
The Canadian Standards Association A-440 Windows technical committee convened towards the end of last year as well. In addition to the usual maintenance and housekeeping issues associated with the standard, the committee voted to allow the A-440-00 version to expire at the end of 2010.

What this means is that the new North American Fenestration Standard (NAFS-08) is the active standard for window products in Canada, effective January 2011. This is actually quite a big deal because the rating systems of product performance are very different from previous versions and may likely require retesting of many windows and doors on the market. 

It also means that the 2011 version of the National Building Code of Canada will be referencing the NAFS-08 standard. If you manufacture windows or doors, it would be in your best interest to get up to speed on the new standard if you haven’t done so already.

Lastly, to wrap up on last year, it was my honour to succeed Ennio Rea and take the reins of the OGMA for the next two years. One of my first duties was to attend a directors meeting of the Canadian Glass Association (CGA) as a guest, where I caught up with CGA president Richard Verdon.

On the heels of a very successful program held in British Columbia last year, the national group will host Glass Connections 2011 at the Delta Chelsea Hotel in Toronto on May 3. Visit www.glasscanadamag.com for updates and previews as the day draws closer. The OGMA is going to hold its race night at Woodbine Racetrack on May 2 to support the event.

Frank Fulton is president of Fultech Fenestration Consulting. He has been in the industry for 30 years and can be reached via e-mail at fultech.fc@gmail.com.