By Erik S. Emblem Administrator, TABB and Executive Director, National Energy Management Institute

You might have heard in the past about the Testing, Adjusting, and Balance Bureau (TABB); or we might be new to you. In any case, you'll be curious as to why such an organization sponsored this 16-page insert into the May 2003 issue of Engineered Systems.

Answer: We're hot! TABB and its parents, SMWIA and SMACNA, are moving in many directions.We've hit a "sweet spot" at present, in which the results of past efforts are starting to bear fruit.

What am I talking about? Here's a short list:

• We held our first-ever national conference, held in last year's fourth quarter. You'll find details on these pages.
• The U.S. Army's Corps of Engineers is working with us to incorporate TABB into its standards.
• A CD-ROM aimed at educators and school boards from NEMI, outlining the effects of poor indoor air quality on school children is now available for distribution.
• We're working on a new certification-for sound and vibration.
• A recent effort to explain the benefits of TABB-certification for contractors and supervisors resulted in requests from more than 400 engineers for TABB specifications (in electronic format). This isn't a big deal…until you realize that this took place in just one locale!

The "Why"
Essentially, TABB isn't brand new. The idea arose in discussions between our parent organizations, SMACNA and SMWIA, a few years ago. Decisionmakers in those organizations helped to form the International Certification Board which has been doing a lot of research regarding this Bureau, for several years.

Readers of this magazine, however, might well find TABB to be "news." All of that planning has produced something quite special-a certification process that ensures those who do testing, adjusting, and balancing work are qualified. TABB-certified people and companies must stay up-to-date which makes continuing education a requirement. There is also a Code of Conduct every technician and supervisor must sign.

But why is TABB so hot now? Well, we've tapped into two major needs of the HVAC industry-to obtain installations that perform as designed, and to have the necessary TAB efforts that help achieve such results performed by certified people and companies.

Getting into Gear
You're going to hear a lot more about TABB. This insert is, certainly, a special effort to get our information to you. But the future will see TABB becoming more active on a broadening front.

As you might know, engineers who are members of ASHRAE are part of the TABB picture (along with SMACNA-member contractors and SMWIA-member workers). We consider the HVAC engineer to be our primary customer. Our job, then, is tosatisfy you!

I hope this initial insert stimulates within you a thirst to learn more.

For general information about TABB, visit www.tabbcertified.org.

For specific or urgent requests, contact John Hamilton at jhamilton@tabbcertified.org or at 703- 739-7100 ext. 602.