Certification is a statement that the TABB-recognized Certified Technician is a competent, reliable, and qualified professional who is able to perform, without on-the-job supervision, testing, adjusting and balancing of air and/or hydronic building environmental systems to produce the design objectives.
The Testing, Adjusting and Balancing Bureau recognizes the following certifications:
A Testing, Adjusting and Balancing Technician certified in air and/or hydronic environmental systems must be proficient in all of the following categories as proven by a Written and a Performance Examination.
1. Mathematics
A Testing, Adjusting and Balancing Technician must be able to perform the following functions:
| A. |
Addition |
F. |
Ratios |
| B. |
Subtraction |
G. |
Percentages |
| C. |
Multiplication |
H. |
Equations |
| D. |
Square root |
I. |
Decimals |
| E. |
Cube root |
J. |
Powers of Ten |
A Testing, Adjusting and Balancing Technician must be able to apply and solve equations related to testing, adjusting and balancing work.
2. Fluid Flow
A Testing, Adjusting and Balancing Technician must be able to apply the following basic principles of fluid flow to testing, adjusting and balancing work:
| A. |
Pressure (static, velocity and total) |
| B. |
Resistance (friction and dynamic loss) |
| C. |
Velocity |
| D. |
Viscosity |
| E. |
Density |
| F. |
Quantity |
3.Heat Flow
A Testing, Adjusting and Balancing Technician must be able to apply the following basic principles of heat flow to testing, adjusting and balancing work.
| A. |
Heat transfer including conduction, convection, and radiation |
| B. |
Temperature |
| C. |
Insulation |
| D. |
Liquids and gasses |
| E. |
Latent heat |
| F. |
Specific heat |
| G. |
Heat exchangers |
4. Psychrometrics
A Testing, Adjusting and Balancing Technician must be able to plot and understand the following properties of air:
| A. |
Dry bulb temperature |
E. |
Specific humidity |
| B. |
Wet bulb temperature |
F. |
Specific volume |
| C. |
Dew point temperature |
G. |
Density |
| D. |
Relative humidity |
H. |
Enthalpy |
A Testing, Adjusting and Balancing Technician will be able to analyze existing testing, adjusting and balancing problems using a psychrometric chart and involving all of the subject areas listed above.
5. Systems in General
A Testing, Adjusting and Balancing Technician will understand how systems are intended to perform and must be able to read and interpret contract drawings including:
| A. |
Mechanical drawings |
| B. |
Specifications |
| C. |
Submittal data |
| D. |
Addenda and alterations |
| E. |
Shop Drawings |
6. Air Distribution Systems
A Testing, Adjusting and Balancing Air Technician will be able to use the following items regarding air distribution systems in testing, adjusting and balancing air systems:
| A. |
Know the purpose for each component in an air system and how these components interact |
| B. |
Know the effect of duct leakage, resistance, and dynamic loss on balancing, as related to system operating pressure. |
| C. |
Know the function of the following in air distribution systems:
|
| 1. |
Fan laws |
| 2. |
System effect |
| 3. |
V-belt drives |
|
| D. |
Explain the function of each component in the following air distribution systems: |
| 1. |
Supply |
5. |
Reheat or recool systems |
| 2. |
Return/exhaust |
6. |
Induction boxes |
| 3. |
Single-zone |
7. |
Dual duct |
| 4. |
Multi-zone |
8. |
Variable air volume |
|
| E. |
Gather and record data for the following: |
| 1. |
Sound |
| 2. |
Duct leakage (pressure) testing |
|
7. Hydronic Distribution Systems
| A. |
A Testing, Adjusting and Balancing Hydronic Technician will be able to explain the purpose of each component in a hydronic distribution system and how these components interact with each other. |
| B. |
A Testing, Adjusting and Balancing Technician will know the effect on balancing of system resistances, dynamic losses, system effects and foreign material in the system. |
| C. |
A Testing, Adjusting and Balancing Technician will be able to apply pump laws and the effect on pumps when balancing a system. |
| D. |
A Testing, Adjusting and Balancing Technician will be able to explain the function of each component in the following hydronic systems: |
| 1. |
One-pipe |
6. |
Reverse return |
| 2. |
Two-pipe |
7. |
Hot water heating |
| 3. |
Three-pipe |
8. |
Chilled water |
| 4. |
Four-pipe |
9. |
Condensing water |
| 5. |
Direct return |
10. |
Variable flow systems |
|
| E. |
A Testing, Adjusting and Balancing Technician will be able to explain the purpose for each component in a steam system and how these components interact. |
8. Automatic Control Systems
| A. |
A Testing, Adjusting and Balancing Technician will know the purpose for each component in an automatic control system and how these components interact. |
| B. |
A Testing, Adjusting and Balancing Technician will understand how the automatic control system relates to the entire environmental system. This requires the ability to: |
| 1. |
Understand the sequence of operation |
| 2. |
Trace the system without a control drawing |
|
| C. |
A Testing, Adjusting and Balancing Technician will understand the operation of the following basic systems: |
| 1. |
Pneumatic |
3. |
DDC (use of laptop computers) |
| 2. |
Electric |
4. |
Self-contained |
|
9. Electrical Systems
| A. |
A Testing, Adjusting and Balancing Technician will be able to apply the basic principles of electricity to TAB problems including: |
| 1. |
Definitions of voltage, current, resistance, reactance, capacitance |
| 2. |
Ohm's Law |
| 3. |
Watts |
| 4. |
Kilowatts |
| 5. |
KWH |
| 6. |
Power and power factors |
| 7. |
Series and parallel circuitry |
|
10. Instrumentation
A Testing, Adjusting and Balancing Technician will be able to gather accurate, repeatable, and reliable data using the instruments listed in this section. For all the instruments listed in this section, the Testing, Adjusting and Balancing Technician will be able to:
| 1. |
Supervise other testing, adjusting and balancing technicians in the proper use of these instruments. |
| 2. |
Select the proper instrument for the task to be performed. |
| 3. |
Properly care for and use the following listed instruments. |
| A. |
Air Measuring Instruments |
| 1. |
Manometer |
| 2. |
Pitot tube |
| 3. |
Magnetic linked pressure gauge |
| 4. |
Rotating vane anemometer |
| 5. |
Deflecting vane anemometer |
| 6. |
Electronic anemometer |
| 7. |
Flow hood |
|
| B. |
Hydronic Measuring Instruments |
| 1. |
Manometer |
| 2. |
Bourdon tube pressure gauge |
| 3. |
Differential pressure gauge |
| 4. |
Metering devices |
| a. |
venturi tube |
| b. |
orifice plate |
| c. |
annular flow indicator |
| d. |
calibrated balancing valve |
|
| 5. |
Hydronic system components used as testing, adjusting and balancing devices. |
|
| C. |
Rotating Measuring Instruments |
| 1. |
Chronometric tachometer |
| 2. |
Digital tachometer |
| 3. |
Photo tachometer |
| 4. |
Strobe tachometer |
|
| D. |
Temperature Measuring Instruments |
| 1. |
Glass tube thermometer |
| 2. |
Dial thermometer |
| 3. |
Electronic thermometer |
| 4. |
Psychrometer |
| 5. |
Pyrometer |
|
| E. |
Electrical Measuring Instruments |
|
|
| F. |
Computer - DDC Controls |
11. Preliminary TAB Procedures
A Testing, Adjusting and Balancing Technician will be able to perform preliminary TAB procedures including:
| A. |
Initial planning |
| B. |
Preliminary procedures |
| 1. |
Procurement of data |
| 2. |
Study of systems and data |
| 3. |
Report forms |
|
| C. |
Air distribution system inspection |
| 1. |
Fans |
| 2. |
Air conditioning units |
| 3. |
Terminal unit/devices |
| 4. |
Duct systems |
|
| D. |
Hydronic distribution system inspection |
| 1. |
Pumps |
| 2. |
Boilers |
| 3. |
Coils and heat exchangers |
| 4. |
Refrigeration equipment |
| 5. |
Condenser and cooling towers |
| 6. |
Piping systems |
|
| E. |
Automatic control system |
12. Air System TAB Procedures
A Testing, Adjusting and Balancing Air Technician will be able to balance a system without on-the-job supervision. A Testing, Adjusting and Balancing Technician will be able to use both of the methods listed in this section. Regardless of the procedure used, the least possible resistance must be imposed on the balanced system to meet the design objectives. The two methods are:
| A. |
Proportionate balancing |
| B. |
Sequential balancing |
13. Specific Air System Procedures
A Testing, Adjusting and Balancing Air Technician will be able to balance the systems listed in this section, using the most appropriate procedures that will result in the least possible resistance imposed on the balanced system.
| A. |
Supply air systems |
| B. |
Return, exhaust and relief air systems |
| C. |
Dual duct and single duct (constant volume systems) |
| D. |
Dual duct pressure dependent systems |
| E. |
Variable air volume systems |
| 1. |
Pressure dependent |
| 2. |
Pressure independent |
| 3. |
Induction |
| 4. |
Fan powered terminals |
|
| F. |
Induction systems |
| G. |
Special systems |
| 1. |
Laboratory fume hoods |
| 2. |
Kitchen hoods |
| 3. |
Industrial hoods |
| 4. |
Material handling systems |
| 5. |
Ceiling plenum systems |
| 6. |
Cleanrooms |
|
14. Hydronic System TAB Procedures
A Testing, Adjusting and Balancing Hydronic Technician will be able to balance the hydronic systems listed in this section, using the most appropriate procedures that will result in the last possible resistance imposed to meet the design objectives on the balanced system.
| A. |
Open system |
| B. |
Open system |
| C. |
Two-pipe system |
| D. |
Three-pipe system |
| E. |
Primary-secondary system |
| F. |
Primary-secondary-tertiary system |
A Testing, Adjusting and Balancing Technician will be able to balance hydronic systems using either of the two methods listed below:
| A. |
Differential pressure |
| B. |
Temperature difference |
15. System Design
A Testing, Adjusting and Balancing Technician will be able to advise regarding location and type of system TAB devices.
A Testing, Adjusting and Balancing Technician will be able to perform the following functions in a professional manner.
| A. |
Problem solving |
D. |
Data gathering |
| B. |
Human relations |
E. |
Report writing |
| C. |
Safety |
F. |
Task scheduling |
A Testing, Adjusting and Balancing Technician will be able to locate and use all reference and submittal data required for performing TAB work.
Required Verifications
| The following items require written verification to accompany the application: |
| A. |
Completion of an approved TAB training course. This can be by one of the following: |
| 1. |
A certificate of course completion. |
| 2. |
A letter of verification from the course instructor or from the local Sheet Metal JATC Coordinator. |
|
| B. |
Experience must be verified by letters from employers stating the dates of employment and the type of work performed. |
| C. |
Verification of good standing in the SMWIA and SMWIA membership number by submitting a copy of the most recent dues receipt. |
Length of Certification
| Certification will be for two years. |
Decertification
The Testing, Adjusting and Balancing Bureau may withdraw certification of any Testing, Adjusting and Balancing Technician for the following reasons:
| 1. |
Proof of falsification of data and reports |
| 2. |
Willful inadherence to the provisions of these standards |
| 3. |
Not being a member of the SMWIA in good standing |
| 4. |
Any reason deemed necessary by the ICB. |
For more information on becoming an ITI - certified technician, contact the ITI at:
